Not that he likes the results, of course, but his praise for Obama's accomplishment shines through.
Riding the lamest of ducks, President Barack Obama just won the Triple Crown. He fulfilled (1) his most important economic priority, passage of Stimulus II, aka the tax cut deal . . . (2) his most important social policy objective, repeal of "don't ask, don't tell"; and (3) his most cherished (achievable) foreign policy goal, ratification of the New START treaty with Russia.
Politically these are all synergistic. The bipartisan nature of the tax deal instantly repositioned OBama back to the center, and just when conventional wisdom decided the deal had caused irreparable alienation from his liberal base, Obama almost immediately won it back -- by delivering one of the gay rights movement's most elusive and coveted breakthroughs. . . .
Then came START, which was important for Obama . . . because treaties . . . carry the aura of presidential authority and diplomatic mastery.
Krauthammer goes on to detail what's wrong, from his perspective, with these actual pieces of legislation, but he then concludes:
The great liberal ascendancy of 2008, destined to last 40 years (predicted by James Carville), lasted less than two. Yet, the great Republican ascendancy of 2010 lasted less than two months. Republicans will enter the 112th Congress with larger numbers but no longer with the wind -- the overwhelming Nov. 2 repudiation of Obama's social-democratic agenda -- at their backs.And that is a conservative Republican speaking.
"Harry Reid has eaten our lunch," said Senator Lindsey Graham . . . . Yes, but it was less Harry than Barry. Obama came back with a vengeance. His string of lame-duck successes is a singular political achievement. Because of it, the epic battles of the 112th Congress begin on what would have seemed impossible just one month ago -- a level playing field.
Disappointed progressives will not be assuaged, probably. Their retort is likely to be: why hasn't he done that sooner on other issues, or why hasn't he used that political power and skill to get better deals on these pieces of legislation?
Good questions. It may just be that Obama is smarter than us all and knows that you have to pick your times and your battles. It's pretty hard to argue with the overall achievement in 2010, especially given the crowd he had to deal with.
Ralph
This is the most positive assessment I have read, including anything coming from the White House itself.
ReplyDeleteHere's my prediction: the big loser in this is Mitch McConnell, who thought he had more power than he does to corral his GOP senators. Now that this group of moderates have tested their independence and found it made them heroes to many, as well as making them feel good about voting sensibly instead of politically, it will be easier to get their cooperation in future bipartisan votes.
I predict there will be a shift -- less rancor between the GOP and the Dems and more within the GOP itself, as they have to deal with the influx of the Tea Party freshmen who think they're going to transform our government.
If this sizable band of moderates (it will change with different issues, of course) feels less beholden to vote the party line, and the T-P crowd pull the other way -- it's going to be an interesting intra-GOP struggle.
They will have not only the Dems but the moderate Repubs to deal with.
Forget Obama and forget his book “Of Thee I Sing”, instead read a BANNED book like “America Deceived II” by E.A. Blayre III.
ReplyDeleteLast link (before Google Books bans it also]:
http://www.iuniverse.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-000190526
Are you just trying to hype a book? This one is readily available on both barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com
ReplyDeleteAnd, no, I do not plan to but it.
No, I do not plan to BUY it.
ReplyDeleteSuper productive lame duck, an anti-birther governor in Hawaii, a White Christmas in Georgia...
ReplyDeleteWhat'll they think of next?
Falling unemployment on January 7, 2011 would be nice...