American presidents, it is often said, have about a year to make their mark ”“ enact a major piece of legislation that then shapes and defines the rest of their term in office. Failure to choose the right weapons, or the right turf, can be fatal.
Barack Obama has at times struggled to find a cause he can truly make his own. He seemed to take on too many issues at once, from Middle Eastern peace to climate change, without demonstrating that he had a clear strategy to carry them through. With the Senate’s passage of his bitterly contested healthcare bill, the clouds have lifted a little. Just in time for the Christmas break, the President can afford to wipe the sweat from his brow and contemplate his holiday with some satisfaction.
Umm, the bill wasn’t Obama’s–it was Harry Reid’s. And it still has to get through the conference committee, followed by votes in both houses. It’s also an utterly incoherent piece of legislative sausage that may be the worst bill to ever be passed by a house of Congress. If this is “A Victory that may come to define the Obama presidency,” the incumbent’s tenure may have us looking back on Jimmy Carter with nostalgia.