by Pete Snyder, chairman of Virginia Victory 2012
The answer seems to be no.
Lately, President Obama has been touting a “to-do list” of proposals he wants Congress to act on urgently. On his high-priority action list are items ranging from incentives for clean energy manufacturing to cutting red tape for homeowners trying to skirt foreclosure.
But a look at Wednesday’s Roll Call suggests that the to-do list seems to be much ado about nothing. Even some of the President’s closest allies in Congress don’t seem to have gotten the message.
Reports Roll Call:
When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) outlined his agenda for the June work period this week, only one item from Obama’s to-do list made the cut — a business tax cut package….
[S]everal Senators confessed to Roll Call that they don’t know what is on the to-do list anyway, despite several speeches in which Obama has urged his followers to tweet, call, write and email lawmakers urging them to take it up.
Just a few years ago, Barack Obama was hailed as a transformational leader. It turns out that he often lacks even ordinary political skills, let alone extraordinary ones.
In the past, the President has often blamed recalcitrant Republicans for his legislative failures. But as Roll Call makes clear, his problems run far deeper than that. Members of Congress in his own party are tuning him out. The result is gridlock.
In a race against Mitt Romney, who’s made his name by getting things done in a wide variety of spheres, the contrast between the two men could be damaging to the President’s standing.
Four years ago, Barack Obama proved highly adept at running a campaign. But he’s not proved highly adept at running a country. Now that he’s got a record to defend, it remains to be seen whether he can rekindle the campaign magic of 2008. My guess is that he’s going to need the combined skills of a Harry Houdini and a David Copperfield to get out of the box in which he’s locked himself.
