Remember the big newspaper headlines "Dewey Wins !!!" which the next morning had to be changed to "Truman Pulls Surprise Upset"?
This morning conflicting headlines on Huffington Post are still posted as of noon:
12/16/10 9:53 pm. "Tea Party Win: A New Era Begins as Conservatives Help Kill Major Bill." The article details how the GOP congressional leaders bowed to the pressure from the new insurgent group, led by Sen. Jim DeMint, and refused to allow debate on the appropriations bill.
12/17/10 4:03 am. "Tax Cut Passage Passed by Congress." The bill is now on its way for President Obama's signature. There must have been some intense negotiating in the dead of night. Obama was directly involved, making phone calls to key senators.
Aside from the off-again, on-again status of the bill, leading to conflicting headlines; and as much as we hate the gratuitous give-away to the wealthiest Americans -- the bill contains much that the Democrats wanted as well.
My guess is that this will prove to be the pivotal point in Obama's presidency and will ensure his re-election in 2012. You may disagree with him, but I think he no longer looks weak and ineffective. I predict that this is the first step in some real cooperation from the new GOP leadership in the House. We may actually begin to see some bipartisan success.
We would all like to see more forceful leadership from Obama on getting progressive legislation passed. But the fact is that we have nearly equally divided congressional houses -- and I'm willing to give Obama credit for playing his hand the way he thinks is going to be most productive in the long run -- at least, I'm willing to give him some more time in this new climate to prove himself.
As Charles Krauthammer pointed out in his AJC column today, Obama has recovered from his mid-term shellacking a full year sooner than Bill Clinton did in a comparable situation. And we call Clinton "the comeback kid."
Ralph
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This also clears the way for a vote on DADT. Some wavering votes on that were holding back until the tax cut bill passed.
ReplyDeleteHarry Reid has even timed the vote on it for Saturday, which could allow Sen. Ron Wyden to vote if needed. He announced yesterday that he will be having surgery for prostate cancer next week and will miss votes today because he has to go in for tests. But, he said, he would be available for voting over the weekend if needed.
I know, I know. Don't count them before they hatch. But it looks good -- for an actual, simple vote to repeal an odious law and grant equal rights to gays and lesbians in this one area.