Presidential Power

[babylonsister]

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/08/presidential-power

Kevin Drum
Presidential Power

— By Kevin Drum
| Wed Aug. 3, 2011 3:49 PM PDT


snip//

I'm not trying to make it sound like presidents are powerless. They can set agendas, they have control of executive orders, they have a pretty free hand in foreign policy, they can sway public opinion, they can lead their own party, and they can bargain with the other party. But Richard Neustadt taught us a long time ago that, especially on domestic issues, presidential power is distinctly limited. There's just not that much in the way of ruthless arm-twisting that they can do these days, and while Obama may not be as creative on this score as he ought to be, neither was Bush. That's more a reflection of political reality than it is of the character of either one of them.

On the specific issue of the debt ceiling, the obvious thing Obama could have done differently was to insist that it be included as part of the lame duck deal last year. But for all the grief he's gotten over this, it's worth keeping in mind that Obama got a helluva lot out of that deal. In the end, he got a food safety bill, passage of the START treaty, a stimulus package, repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, and a 9/11 first responders bill. Maybe it would have been worth risking all that over inclusion of a debt ceiling increase, but that's hardly an open-and-shut case.

What's more, Obama also won passage during his first two years of a stimulus bill, a landmark healthcare bill that Democrats had been trying to pass for the better part of a century, a financial reform bill, and much needed reform of student loans. And more: a firm end to the Bush torture regime, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a hate crimes bill, a successful rescue of the American car industry, and resuscitation of the NLRB. Oh, and he killed Osama bin Laden too.

Sure, we all could have wished for more. Everyone has different hot buttons, and I particularly wish that financial reform had been stronger and that Obama had somehow managed to get cap-and-trade across the finish line. I'm also unhappy with the extension of the Afghanistan war and Obama's Bush-like policies regarding national security and civil liberties. Still and all, in two years Obama has done more to enact a liberal agenda than George Bush did for the conservative agenda in eight. That's not bad, folks. All things considered, I'd say Obama is the most effective politician of the Obama era. And the Bush era too.

[William769]

1. ...

[ProSense]

2. .

[William769]

3. .

[ProSense]

4. Is that

Clinton in the middle?

:rofl:

[William769]

5. Yes telling Obama he to cozy to Bushs wars!

:rofl:

[ProSense]

6. Um

Fact check:

"I have repeatedly defended President Bush against the left on Iraq, even though I think he should have waited until the U.N. inspections were over.," Clinton said in a Time magazine interview that will hit newsstands Monday, a day before the publication of his book "My Life."

:rofl:

[soleft]

7. Adults will appreciate this

[OHdem10]

8. Very good points. There is a tendency for some to expect too

much out of a President, any President, and let
Congress slide by.

Point two: We should give some deep thoughts to the
reality: Yes, without a doubt the Economic Fundamentalism
of the Right (Reagan through Bush (GW) Policies) have
brought us to the brink. We cannot ignore the fact that
while these things were happening, there was a Democratic
Congress. There were times the Democrats controlled
at least one body, and sometimes both the House and Senate.
This requires some serious thought. Were Democrats enablers?
Just asking.

Both got Legislation passed. We can argue about the Legislation.

Totally different point: On the Stimulus. Most of us
know that without the Stimulus we would still just be
picking up the pieces in this country. There needs to
be an all out effort to make the American People understand
the Stimulus how it worked and what it did. They need to
understand that Conservatism of Milton Friedman does
not have an answer as to what to do when there is Financial
Failure pending. Just doing more cutting and belt tightening
when Business is not creating jobs only cuts more jobs
and makes higher unemployment. Higher unemployment means
Businesses stay contracted. They are waiting for Customers.

In times of serious recession Keynes is the answer. Business
has slowed, no hiring. Banks not making loans (Banks in trouble)
The only entity large enough with financial where with all
is the Federal Government. The Government must act or we
let the Fiancial System around the World Collapse. Stimulus
money keeps the economy moving, people buying and trading
until the Business Community senses it is safe enough for
them to take risk. Instead of making this plain and selling
it to the people, Dems and the President have permitted
the Republicans to smear the stimulus and have average
Americans thinking it failed. Thus we have the Mantra
Obama is a failed President. Just explaining something one
time does not work. Instead, the repeated over and over
Obama is a failure is catching on. I do not know the
complete answer but the DNC and Dems on the Hill had
better come up with a plan to turn this around. How
about all those Teachers, Policemen Firefighters
and State Workers who kept their jobs until the Tea Party
came in. Stimulus Money subsidized the states so they
did not get fired the fist year and a half? Do they
even know this???? DC is so in a bubble they do not
know what is going on in the country. Get something
going on Stimulus. We need another one--Double Dip.

[stklurker]

9. ..

You mean the president isn't a dictator??? But,but,

:sarcasm:

[treestar]

10. yeah, I remember reading about how Presidents end up

spending time on foreign policy, because in that, they have more power and don't run up against so many obstacles.

Domestically, our system is set up to avoid new laws - it is full of opportunities for obstruction. A lot of people claim their "frustration" is with Obama when it is really the system we have.

[cilla4progress]

11. I don't know...

it doesn't feel this way, Babs, but it's a valuable perspective. If nothing else, the communication machine out of the White House is less effective than it could be.

[Ozymanithrax]

12. Oh, my, that changes everything...

Notttttttt......

[Tarheel_Dem]

13. Agreed. (nt)

[Recursion]

14. I'm also glad to see somebody trying to deflate the myth the GWB did "whatever he wanted"

The only things he did without Democratic support were his two tax cuts, and he used reconciliation for both of those (which is why they're expiring at the end of the year -- Conservatives accused him of caving and not fighting because of that). NCLB and Medicare Part D were classic bits of triangulation: taking a liberal issue and passing the most conservative bill he could get through Congress (basically what Clinton did with Welfare by transforming AFDC into TANF, when conservatives would have rather just get rid of it entirely). Social Security privatization and immigration reform both went nowhere fast.

[Dad Infinitum]

15. All Obama had to do was refuse to bow down to extortion

Period. 'America does not, and will not, bow to the demands of extortionists'

That is how presidential power should be used

[babylonsister]

16. That's all? Please explain how that might have worked, thx. nt