Obama Finally Goes on the Offensive

One wonders how long the current Republican strategy can be effective -- can it really carry them back into power by simply doing nothing? Obama has decided it's time to test their resolve and that of the American people. After a series of speeches and a press conference, Obama has gotten to work, attempting to use his executive power to either pressure Congress or bypass them altogether: www.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/us/politics/13obama.html?th=&emc=th&pagewanted=print. He warned Republicans he would use recess appointments if they didn't act on all the nominations held up, and 27 confirmations went through within the next few days. He asked for a commission on the deficit and went Congressional Republicans balked at their own idea, he simply circumvented them and did it himself. Now he is planning to soften enforcement of "don't ask don't tell," allow the EPA to enact enforcement of emissions as the Senate bill continues to languish, among a series of other initiatives.

One should remember that Presidential bullying and resolve have been at the heart of two of the most important, widescale governmental initiatives in history -- the series of bills that became known as the New Deal (against strong opposition) and the ambitious Great Society of LBJ. Both are constantly debated among liberals and conservatives, based on the reality that admitting that both helped the country would undermine the essential myth of conservatism in America today.  I have spoken about both in this blog before, but in brief one can say the following -- the New Deal ultimately ushered in the longest substained period of economic growth in this countries history (1947-1973) and the Great Society cut Black poverty and overall poverty in this country in half and led to two decades of school desegregation that cut the racial achievement gap in half; besides a whole host of other achievements in education, the arts, civil rights, the environment and the like. Obama will never gain popular support for altering the nature of politics and economics in America, but he can still serve the nation by ignoring those corporate lackey's and others that refuse to acknowledge where the power lies in America today.