Posted on 03/18/2015 12:47:35 PM PDT by Jim Robinson
Washington (CNN)At the time in his tenure when most presidents fret over their waning clout, Barack Obama is redefining the concept of the lame duck.
His administration has been energized by his aggressive use of executive power. Some of the most hard-won achievements of his early years in office are beginning to pay off. And his political luck seems to be turning. With a term and a half behind him, Obama's prospects are brighter than they have been for years.
"We are on offense," said a White House official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, noting with satisfaction that predictions that the new Republican majority would grab the initiative and quickly make the White House a peripheral player did not pan out.
Though Republicans paint Obama's glass as half full, and argued that the administration is overstating its record, that hasn't rattled the man in the Oval Office.
The new sense of serenity in the White House solidified this week with figures showing that more than 16 million people have now signed up for health plans under Obamacare, the president's top domestic achievement.
~~snip~~
Second term presidencies are not typically about aspiration. They're a grim struggle for relevance as the power of an administration inevitably fizzles.
But historian David Pietrusza argued that Obama is achieving something new by reshaping the notion of the lame duck presidency itself.
"(Obama) is not doing anything in terms of legislation, or very little," he said. "He has ratcheted up everything in terms of the regulatory executive order agenda."
Obama could argue that he is piecing together the most activist second term since the concept of the lame duck was enshrined by the 1951 enactment of the 22nd Amendment, which limited presidents to two terms.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Sounds like cnn supports hussein’s all out offensive against the American people.
I agree with the article. How can Obama not be on offense when the opposition party offers no meaningful opposition? He just keeps running up the score on the feckless GOP.
” How can Obama not be on offense when the opposition party offers no meaningful opposition? “
There is no opposition party.
Sadly true. He has the opposition party as his personal butler.
Democrats are trained by the various factions of the Mob.
And (most) Republicans are trained at country clubs.
The difference is outcomes is unsurprising.
Sadly Lee Atwater passed away in 1991.
Before 0bamaCare was passed without one Republican vote in either House or Senate, the progressives screamed there were 40 million people without health insurance. So if only 16 million of the 40 million signed up, how is that an accomplishment?
I suppose we are suppose to celebrate the wholesale disregard for our constitutional founding. The rule of law is dead and, according to CNN, YEA!!!!!
The kneepads is strong with Collinson
More like “The Republicans Invent The Lame Duck Congressional Majority”
Just think , a few months into 2016 the Obama’s will have to start packing their bags ,makes you feel warm all over
Cause the Republicant Party act like losers even when they win.
What they are doing is an offense against the Constitution. These executive actions are a crime, and everything they do should be repealed - scorched earth - nothing left of Obama's legacy except the massive debt he left for our children and the graves of brave Americans who died under his inept leadership.
Actually watching them collect a billion $$ in POTUS pardon bribes and live like potentates for the next 40 years is going to p*ss me off even more.
“We are on offense,” said a White House official...”
I find it mind boggling that it has become completely acceptable to use a term such being “on the offense” when the recipients of said “offense” are the United States Citizens! Yeah, that’s the ticket! The White House is on the offensive against the citizenry of the U.S. of A!
Rah! Rah! Go Obama! Beat those citizens!
I was going to say there was one...
but then I looked at recent voting history..
You are correct.
I say president Jug Ears is destroying thep Democraht party.
Only the crazy dems will be seen with. Preezy Jug Ears.
Did I meintion the president has JugEars
in my opinion Obama’s more dangerous in his lame duck term. the reason why is that the closer he comes to leaving office the more illegal his activities. what worries me is the last 3 months of his presidency after the next president has been elected before the president takes his office the guy is a narcissist and I see him setting up things so that there are structural problems in the cabinet positions that will get in the way of who ever is president democrat or republican unless it is the person he wants to take the office. and even then he will try through executive order to put in place things he wants but does not want to be held responsible for.
“I agree with the article. How can Obama not be on offense when the opposition party offers no meaningful opposition? He just keeps running up the score on the feckless GOP.”
I well remember Katrina as the turning point for the George W. Bush administration, during his second turn. From that point, Bush played the role of lame Duck. Democrats and the media blamed him for Katrina and every negative news story from that point on. Bush did not fight for his agenda, did not defend himself from the attacks, and essentially served as a punching back through the 2008 election.
Compare Obama to the Republicans. Today they control both Houses of Congress and through the appropriations process control the flow of dollars to the bureaucracy Obama requires to execute anything. They refuse to use the Constitutional power of the purse which can stop Obama in his tracks. Meanwhile Obama uses executive powers he does not have to regulate, legislate and spend money.
Obama is not a lame duck because the Republican leadership in Congress prefers him to be an activist chief executive.
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