Obama's Due

Our own anxiety over rumors of a future "grand bargain" compromise aside, there is much to what Steve Benin says:

Looking back over the last couple of weeks, I've complained a bit about aspects of the economic stimulus bill and the process in which it worked its way through Congress. It's not ambitious enough. There are too many tax cuts. President Obama overemphasized bipartisanship. The White House lost control of the message. House Democrats made too many concessions. Senate Democrats made far too many concessions.

You get the idea.

But the Washington Post has a good piece [Saturday] that adds some perspective to what's transpired in recent weeks. It's a reminder that while the trees have been frustrating at times, the forest looks pretty impressive.
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For historical parallels, the Post piece noted that we haven't seen a legislative win for a president on this magnitude since FDR's banking system overhaul in 1933, "which cleared Congress within days of his inauguration."

We heard a lot of talk after the election from the president and his team about hitting the ground running. I guess they meant it.

Give him his due. Obama has achieved a remarkable legislative victory. And, he did it with all 183 House Republicans spitting on his out stretched hand. Borrowing from FDR, Barack Obama can say just three weeks into his administration that "the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match."