Lincoln Mitchell: Time for Obama to Start Spending Political Capital -HuffPo

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Time for Obama to Start Spending Political Capital
by Lincoln Mitchell
Assistant Professor in the Practice of International Politics, Columbia University
Huffington Post
Posted: June 18, 2009 08:13 AM

Throughout his presidential campaign, but more notably, during his presidency, President Obama has shown himself to have an impressive ability to accumulate political capital. During his tenure in the White House, Obama has done this by reaching out to a range of constituencies, moderating some of his programs, pursuing middle of the road approaches on key foreign policy questions and, not insignificantly, working to ensure that his approval rating remains quite high.

Political capital is not, however, like money, it cannot be saved up interminably while its owner waits for the right moment to spend it. Political capital has a shelf life, and often not a very long one. If it is not used relatively quickly, it dissipates and becomes useless to its owner. This is the moment in which Obama, who has spent the first few months of his presidency diligently accumulating political capital, now finds himself. The next few months will be a key time for Obama. If Obama does not spend this political capital during the next months, it will likely be gone by the New Year anyway.

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Significantly, Obama has yet to spend any of his political capital by meaningfully taking on any powerful interests. He declined to take Wall Street on regarding the financial crisis, has prepared to, but not yet fully, challenged the power of the AMA or the insurance companies, nor has he really confronted any important Democratic Party groups such as organized labor.

This strategy, however, will not be fruitful for much longer. There are now some very clear issues where Obama should be spending political capital. The most obvious of these is health care. The battle for health care reform will be a major defining issue, not just for the Obama presidency, but for American society over the next decades. It is imperative that Obama push for the best and most comprehensive health care reform possible. This will likely mean not just a bruising legislative battle, but one that will pit powerful interests, not just angry Republican ideologues, against the President.

More, including some excellent readers' comments, at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lincoln-mitchell/time-for-obama-to-start-s_b_217235.html

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1. Here are some great comments, with lots of sentiment I can relate to

Accompanying the above article (highlighting mine):

i dont believe i am going to say this but here it is. why is our president, such a softy? he is been hit adult gloves and he is hitting back with baby gloves. when would he stand up and say enough is enough? he is the goddam president. yeah we know that there are procedures but still he is the president with the peoples mandate. he rules the country and not the interest groups or the bribed congress men...aka lobbyist...it is time he does what he said he would do and stop hiding behind rhetoric and promises. for crying out loud we voted democrats in and they are been slapped around like little p***ys. the effing republicans lost and still wield and unprecedented power in this country, what the f is going on? does this country belong to republicans? it is effing AMERICA. the president should get this over with and be sure of a second term otherwise he would go down in history as the demorilser in chief. Please MR PRESIDENT, STEP ON TOES FOR ONCE AND DO THE RIGHT THING.
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Insurance companies are simply extortionists -straight up.

I believe it was Lincoln who said "You can fool some of the people some of the time...etc"

To me, this is Obama's last stand. If he doesn' t take this opportunity to exhibit some courage take on Big Insurance, Big Pharma and Big Medical Profiteers and insist on single payer (as three-quarters of the American people want!) , damn the torpedos, I'm through with the Democratic party.

Ive been suspicious of Obama since he voted for the FISA bill last summer. I voted for him to do the right thing not just " get along and go along" with a bunch of free-market fundamentalists who refuse to acknowledge that their philosophy created this Great Recession . The whole "consensus" thing infuriates me.Why should Dems compromise with a gang of crooksand liars whom the American people have overwhelmingly disowned?

Because Job 0ne for most members of Congress is pleasing their corporate sponsors so they can hold on to their job. To hell with the will of the people.

Obama was elected to make "change we can believe in". He has a mandate to take on the special interests who have a strangle-hold on our country. Where's all that much promised "transparency"? It still looks pretty damn opaque to me.

He's caved to Wall Street and continues to offer up watered down, half-assed ultimately ineffective solutions.

[MarjorieG]

2. Too easy to say caved to Wall St, when hands tied on some action and banks being in trouble, needing

them to survive. Easy to say from the outside. The new proposed regulations a good first step. I suspect he'll tackle more as needed. Roemer wants to tackle CitiGroup, so I'm waiting.

How does Obama push a Congress who is bought off. That's different than cajoling and working on relationships.

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3. But with Geithner at the helm, is he really changing things that much?

And eliminating tax cuts for the wealthy would turn the economy around for middle and lower income people in a dramatic way. Clearly the tax cuts never worked and clearly Obama isn't interested in overturning them. That's like allowing a hemorrhage to continue.

I'm sure that Obama sincerely is trying but he needs to do a lot more.

This article is a bummer, but it's excellent and, I'm afraid, all too true:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/les-leopold/obamas-financial-reforms_b_217375.html

[MarjorieG]

5. I think he went slower at first, even with these regulations, but would go back in before this is

over. Obama is still considering increases to get health care, but again, he's working aginst Congress' worst motives.

He did say he didn't want as big a dumping of what we had at the time of crisis, and Geithner knows just where the complexities will lead, whatever the tact. There's value to Geithner's thinking complexly and not just bold for bold sake.

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4. More comments from HuffPo here

Bill Maher has made most correctly addressed this issue facing Obama, because Obama doesn't seem to get it. Americans voted for him to get the JOB-DONE not to be popular or bring Right and Left together...

Obama is trying way too hard to appeal to the right and to be popular, he doesn't understand that if things improve then the country will come together. He's just got thing turned around.

Hey Obama, stick the boot in! and GET BUSY! We're behind you so make it happen.
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I agree w Bill Mahr, where is the audacity? I see where Obama wants the country to be - dead center w a lean to the left. He can't do it by himself. Where are the democrats speaking up for the policies the people voted for them to enact. The corporations (special interests) are dogging Obama as shown in the latest round of polls we are seeing where his policy plans are below 50%. We gotta remember that what we see and hear on tv/radio is what corporate media wants us to see/hear. Lately, the republicans' concern about Obama's alleged deficit spending is the biggest crock of bull to behold. Corporate media lets these clowns come on tv/radio and spew this nonsense. The repubs have no creditability after their eight years on office, but they are allowed to speak, and speak.
It's time for Bill Clinton and Al Gore to come on stage. Enough of Cheney and Bush.
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I adore Obama, think that he has done a wonderful job so far, but now it's time to really take side. Heath Care reform is the one issue in which trying to please everyone, will end up not pleasing anyone. Compromising can't be the way all the time. Obama is a brilliant man and could become a great president, but now his whole presidency is on the line. He's got a massive public support for this reform, he should bring all those pathetic blue dogs to the oval office, and seriously kick their collective a@@..