Obama's opportunity to be the decider
By Eugene Robinson
WashPost
Friday, November 19, 2010
We don't define periods in American history by who held the majority in Congress. It was the Reagan Era, not the Tip O'Neill Era - just as we're now living in the Obama Era, no matter what John Boehner or Mitch McConnell might hope.
President Obama is being inundated with contradictory advice on what to do next, now that his party is losing its majority in the House and will have weaker control of the Senate. Most of the punditocracy's counsel centers on how Obama should greet the strengthened and emboldened Republican opposition.
With a defiant, Churchillian vow to fight in the committees, on the beaches, etc., but "never surrender" to the encroaching hordes? With a broad smile and an invitation to join hands in bipartisan compromise, and perhaps a singalong around the campfire? With a somewhat less genuine smile and a series of maneuvers, in concert with the Democratic leaders in Congress, that forces congressional Republicans to cast politically difficult votes?
For what it's worth, my advice for Obama is to forget the Republicans. Not literally, of course - the new House leadership is going to make itself hard to ignore. But ultimately, it's the president who sets the agenda and who ultimately is held accountable for America's successes and failures. Obama's focus should be on using all the tools at his disposal to move the country in the direction he believes it must go.
(More here.)
WashPost
Friday, November 19, 2010
We don't define periods in American history by who held the majority in Congress. It was the Reagan Era, not the Tip O'Neill Era - just as we're now living in the Obama Era, no matter what John Boehner or Mitch McConnell might hope.
President Obama is being inundated with contradictory advice on what to do next, now that his party is losing its majority in the House and will have weaker control of the Senate. Most of the punditocracy's counsel centers on how Obama should greet the strengthened and emboldened Republican opposition.
With a defiant, Churchillian vow to fight in the committees, on the beaches, etc., but "never surrender" to the encroaching hordes? With a broad smile and an invitation to join hands in bipartisan compromise, and perhaps a singalong around the campfire? With a somewhat less genuine smile and a series of maneuvers, in concert with the Democratic leaders in Congress, that forces congressional Republicans to cast politically difficult votes?
For what it's worth, my advice for Obama is to forget the Republicans. Not literally, of course - the new House leadership is going to make itself hard to ignore. But ultimately, it's the president who sets the agenda and who ultimately is held accountable for America's successes and failures. Obama's focus should be on using all the tools at his disposal to move the country in the direction he believes it must go.
(More here.)
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