David Broder on All Topics
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“Looking at the campaigns in Massachusetts and Illinois, the first two states to vote this year, it is clear as can be that voters are trying desperately to figure out how to change the dynamics of Washington. They will support candidates in either party who offer hope of stifling the poisonous partisanship and addressing the real-world problems of jobs, deficits and health care. But Obama does not have to wait for the voters to change Congress -- which they will do, come November. He can, as his friend from Springfield days reminded him, start that change now by being himself.”
“Obama is right in saying this Congress cannot simply walk away from health-care reform. It has to try again, with an invitation to Republicans and Democrats to make lowering costs the prime objective and not quitting until there is agreement on a plan.”
“Such direct confrontations between the branches of the federal government are almost unprecedented, and they set the stage for what ought to be a serious debate.”
“As President Obama delivered his first formal State of the Union address, the reigning journalistic cliche described the "angry, frustrated electorate" he confronts. If you want to know where this anger should really be directed, look at the Tuesday Senate roll call and focus on the 22 Democrats, 23 Republicans and one independent who combined to scuttle what one sponsor has called "the last, best hope" to avert a catastrophe.”
“On Tuesday night, when underdog Scott Brown beat Martha Coakley in the Massachusetts special election to fill Ted Kennedy's seat, Cornyn and his boss, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, suddenly had the power -- with 41 votes -- to filibuster and defeat any legislation on which they were united.”
“Politically, he is notably weaker than when he began. Not, as some of his critics maintain, because the voters have tuned him out or become indifferent to his well-crafted speeches but because none of the goals most important to the American people have been achieved.”
“What I know is that the Senate will be a poorer place, in both human and political terms, without Chris Dodd in its membership.”
“Was Christmas Day 2009 the same kind of wake-up call for Barack Obama that Sept. 11, 2001, had been for George W. Bush?”
“The closer we get to the midterm elections, when they will be on the ballot and he will not, the more members of Congress -- and not just Pelosi -- will judge what is best for themselves and the less they'll be swayed by Obama”
“When Congress this week ducked its responsibility again by deciding to enact a temporary, two-month increase in the debt ceiling, the need for a shock treatment like this report could not be plainer.”
“One of the things that sets Barack Obama apart from most politicians is how much can be learned from listening to his speeches.”
“We badly need a ... transformation in health care, and the freshmen's amendments may help bring it sooner.”
“A president who wages a war supported mainly by his political foes and opposed by large numbers of his own party runs a huge political risk. Even if he prevails for a time, he pays a price: the loss of his most loyal supporters.”
“It is well that Obama does not panic. Holding things together will be a constant test through every day of 2010.”
“The challenge to Congress -- and to Obama -- remains the same: Make the promised savings real, and don't pass along unfunded programs to our children and grandchildren.”
