The Incredible Shrinking Presidency
Charles M. Blow, NYT
JAN. 29, 2014
It was hard to watch President Obama during Tuesday’s State of the Union address and not see a man who has had his coat trimmed and his ambitions adjusted.
He touted his accomplishments, as he should have, but in laying out the parameters of his “year of action” he outlined goals that didn’t ask America to dream as much as adjust to the paralysis, abandoning big moves for smaller ones.
Republican lawmakers have made clear that they have no desire to work with him and that they have every intention of opposing him, even if that means the legislative branch passes almost no laws. And that’s exactly what they’ve done. In December, Politico put it this way: using “public laws passed” or “bills passed” as the measurement, “the 113th Congress has passed just 58 laws so far, the lowest since 1947.”
So, the president pledged Tuesday that he would work with Congress where he could, but would move forward without Congress if necessary, saying, “Wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that’s what I’m going to do.”
(More here.)
JAN. 29, 2014
It was hard to watch President Obama during Tuesday’s State of the Union address and not see a man who has had his coat trimmed and his ambitions adjusted.
He touted his accomplishments, as he should have, but in laying out the parameters of his “year of action” he outlined goals that didn’t ask America to dream as much as adjust to the paralysis, abandoning big moves for smaller ones.
Republican lawmakers have made clear that they have no desire to work with him and that they have every intention of opposing him, even if that means the legislative branch passes almost no laws. And that’s exactly what they’ve done. In December, Politico put it this way: using “public laws passed” or “bills passed” as the measurement, “the 113th Congress has passed just 58 laws so far, the lowest since 1947.”
So, the president pledged Tuesday that he would work with Congress where he could, but would move forward without Congress if necessary, saying, “Wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that’s what I’m going to do.”
(More here.)
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