President Obama has faired well but has a lot to learn
Wes Mayle
Issue date: 1/26/10 Section: Opinion
What a great gift to hand the President of the United States exactly a year into his first term.
Scott Brown, a republican, beat Massachusetts State Attorney General Martha Coakley, a democrat, in a special election to decide who takes the late Ted Kennedy's place in the U.S. Senate.
Not only did Brown vow to be the person to break up the democrat's fillibuster-proof majority, but things look grim with the nearly completed health insurance reform legislation.
This was a bad way to end a moderately successful year in office for President Obama. However, there is no need to look too much into the special election. A filibuster-proof majority and the use of such is overrated, especially in today's political climate.
Look at health care for example. In order to secure 60 votes in the Senate, special negotiations had to be made with the most conservative members of the democratic caucus. By the time a bill was passed, it was so watered down that many of the more progressive members of the House of Representatives refuse to pass the Senate's version.
So, the 60-vote-majority wasn't a "we can govern anyway we like for free" card to begin with.
Did Obama's agenda take a big blow when Brown won? Yes, for sure. However, with unemployment still incredibly high, this could be a chance for the president to work on things that aren't as overreaching, such as climate change, jobs, and Wall Street reform.
There are still 59 senators who vote with liberal causes most of the time, and there is Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, who usually aren't too hard to sway in negotiations.
Obama's first year in office was historic, and memorable, and he has a lot of work left ahead of him. A lot of things are out of his hands, such as the death of Kennedy, and the special election which put the 41st republican in the senate. His handling of health care and the war in Afghanistan were fair-weather, but he has a lot to learn.
The chief thing he needs to learn is that congress isn't going to do all the hard work. When it comes to whatever decisions he makes about jobs, the Middle East, Wall Street, or climate change, he needs to learn a lesson he has learned from health care: be direct with congress and the American people.
Scott Brown, a republican, beat Massachusetts State Attorney General Martha Coakley, a democrat, in a special election to decide who takes the late Ted Kennedy's place in the U.S. Senate.
Not only did Brown vow to be the person to break up the democrat's fillibuster-proof majority, but things look grim with the nearly completed health insurance reform legislation.
This was a bad way to end a moderately successful year in office for President Obama. However, there is no need to look too much into the special election. A filibuster-proof majority and the use of such is overrated, especially in today's political climate.
Look at health care for example. In order to secure 60 votes in the Senate, special negotiations had to be made with the most conservative members of the democratic caucus. By the time a bill was passed, it was so watered down that many of the more progressive members of the House of Representatives refuse to pass the Senate's version.
So, the 60-vote-majority wasn't a "we can govern anyway we like for free" card to begin with.
Did Obama's agenda take a big blow when Brown won? Yes, for sure. However, with unemployment still incredibly high, this could be a chance for the president to work on things that aren't as overreaching, such as climate change, jobs, and Wall Street reform.
There are still 59 senators who vote with liberal causes most of the time, and there is Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, who usually aren't too hard to sway in negotiations.
Obama's first year in office was historic, and memorable, and he has a lot of work left ahead of him. A lot of things are out of his hands, such as the death of Kennedy, and the special election which put the 41st republican in the senate. His handling of health care and the war in Afghanistan were fair-weather, but he has a lot to learn.
The chief thing he needs to learn is that congress isn't going to do all the hard work. When it comes to whatever decisions he makes about jobs, the Middle East, Wall Street, or climate change, he needs to learn a lesson he has learned from health care: be direct with congress and the American people.