TW: The beltway pundits (in particular David Broder from WaPo) raised a stink last week when some congressional folks started their inevitable hemming and hawing over some of Obama's plans and appointments. These are the little ruckuses that will be forgotten in two weeks once Obama is POTUS and starts pounding in legislative proposals. Those who fear the alleged "left wing radicals" will lead Obama around by the nose are mistaken or more likely just very biased. Obama is doing as well as any POTUS-elect could hope at this point, time will tell if he can keep it going.
From Al Hunt at Bloomberg:
"...[The naysayers] argue that while Obama may be a moderating influence, a liberal and renegade Democratic Congress will push him, and the U.S., to the left on fiscal and national security issues.
“Pelosi will be the most powerful speaker in a generation,” predicted Tom DeLay, the former Republican leader in the House of Representatives. After a “little honeymoon,” DeLay said, the House speaker is “going to run circles around Obama.”
...First, Congress is a reactive institution, not an agenda- setting one. It can thwart chief executives and is good at generating stalemates, yet rarely initiates. Runaway Congresses are the stuff of scare tactics for direct-mail campaigns, not real American political science.
...The argument also misjudges the composition of this Congress. On key issues, authentic big-government, anti- business, turn-swords-into-plowshares liberals are a minority. The Democrats came to dominate Congress -- they have 257 House members and probably 59 Senate seats -- by capturing swing districts, even some Republican-dominated areas.
...Finally, the DeLay charge misjudges the pragmatism of the congressional Democratic leaders, and their realization that their interests and Obama’s coincide. "
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=avYlM1VeBieo&refer=politics
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