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Ed Driscoll » Barry Munchkin Syndrome
LBJ was on the phone for several hours every day with members of Congress. That was how, for good or ill, he got the Great Society passed. He knew before the first votes were taken who would vote for the Civil Rights act, and he did everything he could think of to grease the skids, working deals with every representative he needed.
Clinton was in touch with most of the Congress and shifted his agenda to align with something that Congress would support. Thus he was able to get a lot done. Again, he communicated with representatives constantly. The question was always, "What can you support? What can we agree on?" A big part of getting an item of one's agenda made into law is knowing which items have enough support!
Obama does almost exactly none of this. It really is something astonishing. On the occasions that he meets with representatives he uses it to complain to them and make demands if he even talks about the business of government at all.
Of course, LBJ had an easier time of it because Congressional power was more concentrated in the leadership in his day. But that does not explain why the President doesn't even try.
The approach of the community organizer is to gain support to complain about how things are and demand that they be changed. It was left to the people who have the power to decide how to do the changing. Here we have a President who is used to complaining and demanding that things change and doesn't seem to realize that the power to do the changing is in his own hands, power that he doesn't seem to know how to use.
Putting it another way, there's one thing the President knows how to do really well, and that's get himself elected. So he's been going around trying to solve problems by campaigning and campaigning and campaigning because he has no desire or ability to get down in the mud pit and wrestle with the problems of governance. It's not working.
LBJ was on the phone for several hours every day with members of Congress. That was how, for good or ill, he got the Great Society passed. He knew before the first votes were taken who would vote for the Civil Rights act, and he did everything he could think of to grease the skids, working deals with every representative he needed.
Clinton was in touch with most of the Congress and shifted his agenda to align with something that Congress would support. Thus he was able to get a lot done. Again, he communicated with representatives constantly. The question was always, "What can you support? What can we agree on?" A big part of getting an item of one's agenda made into law is knowing which items have enough support!
Obama does almost exactly none of this. It really is something astonishing. On the occasions that he meets with representatives he uses it to complain to them and make demands if he even talks about the business of government at all.
Of course, LBJ had an easier time of it because Congressional power was more concentrated in the leadership in his day. But that does not explain why the President doesn't even try.
The approach of the community organizer is to gain support to complain about how things are and demand that they be changed. It was left to the people who have the power to decide how to do the changing. Here we have a President who is used to complaining and demanding that things change and doesn't seem to realize that the power to do the changing is in his own hands, power that he doesn't seem to know how to use.
Putting it another way, there's one thing the President knows how to do really well, and that's get himself elected. So he's been going around trying to solve problems by campaigning and campaigning and campaigning because he has no desire or ability to get down in the mud pit and wrestle with the problems of governance. It's not working.
