Does President Obama Have the Power to Overcome?

Source: Congressional Quarterly


There is no doubt that the Republicans - the "Party of No" (jobs, health care, democracy, justice, fair play, ect.) - are counting on President Obama to take the fall. They're banking on his failure because they know what a disaster he inherited.

White men scapegoating the 'black man'? What else is new? Even white supremacists endorsed President Obama after they saw gains in the number of visitors to their Neo-Nazi, skinhead and segregationist web sites, not to mention an escalation in membership, since the previous senator from Illinois secured the Democratic nomination. These groups saw opportunity, and viewed his candidacy/presidency as a recruiting tool and a vehicle further polarize America along racial lines.

"One person put it this way: Obama for president paves the way for David Duke as president. This is finally going to make whites begin to realize it's a necessity to stick up for their own heritage, and that's going to make them turn to people like me. We're the next logical step." - David Duke

"If we need someone to take the fall because of our illicit profiteering, greed, lies, illegal unconstitutional practices, torture and corruption we put one of them in charge for awhile. Do you even think for one second we would ever let a black become president in a normal climate, hell no! This guy is going to get everything thrown at him. [...] When George W Bush leaves office, he will be hailed a hero by the American people and Republican guard. Obama will then be placed into office to take the can for 'dubya's' horrific mistakes. We don't want any part of this mess and we will allow the black guy to take the heat and be back for the 2012 election with Sarah Palin. That is if America is still around by then." John Thompson, a senior GOP representative

In other words, the timing of the Obama presidency couldn't be better as far as "white privilege" goes, and the neo-conservative's agenda to facilitate, we, the people's race to the bottom. Letting the black guy take the fall will give the neocons time to regroup and pave the way for what they hope will result in a "Palin" victory.

Nevertheless, President Obama may surprise those counting on his failure. According to a Congressional Quarterly study, Obama's Winning Streak On Hill is Unprecedented and he "did better even than legendary arm-twister Lyndon Johnson in winning congressional votes on issues where he took a position".

Although, all by itself, the results of this study do not offer a comprehensive view of Obama's "success". Aside from the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, Obama's careful selection of issues, and his willingness to negotiate and to compromise, which lead to countless concessions, this study also fails to illuminate the substance of these "successes" and how closely they align with his goals and what he promised to achieve.

Having said that, there is no doubt President Obama has a strategy, and part of his plan of action may be that he wanted to demonstrate his bipartisanship, and that he's capable of getting things done. Now, that he's achieved this, maybe we'll start to see him take on a more aggressive agenda and facilitate real change.