Friday, January 23, 2009

Obama to GOP "I won"

Per Politico:  President Obama listened to Republican gripes about his stimulus package during a meeting with congressional leaders Friday morning - but he also left no doubt about who's in charge of these negotiations. "I won," Obama noted matter-of-factly, according to sources familiar with the conversation.

MSNBC on the House GOP's irrelevance:  
"The job of the minority is to make a quorum and to draw its pay."

Obama reverses abortion gag rules.

Newsweek on the rapid turnabout in official policies:
After Inauguration Day, departed presidents usually become footnotes pretty quickly. What we are witnessing now is far more dramatic. It's closer to a liquidation, or a cauterization. George W. Bush is being turned into an unperson, like a character out of Orwell. It's been only two days, and there is scarcely a trace of not only his personal presence, but of his policies.

Yeah, I'm really enjoying this week.   You?

4 comments:

JimII said...

Yeah, this is pretty cool. I remember when W took over and being just dumbfounded by how much power the president has.

This is way better.

Matlatzinca said...

So power is better when it coincides with your own perspective?

No, I hear you. Power is better when used judiciously and rationally. This is WAY better.

On abortion gag rules though: do you think that was only put in place so late in W's presidency because he knew it would be overturned by his successor?

shadowfax said...

On power: I was mostly just glad that it meant that Obama was actually going to govern according to the principles he campaigned on, rather than compromise unnecessarily or pre-emptively capitulate, which has been the democratic MO for quite some time. Power is only useful when actually exercised, and it seems like dems have a genetic fear of actually using power when they have it.

The abortion gag rule goes back to the Reagan or Bush I administration. Clinton reversed it on Roe v Wade day 1993, and Bush reinstated it on Roe day 2001. So, hardly new.

JimII said...

I think it is way better when power is used in accordance with my views. I don't think that is a universal test.

I'm not sure I understand the gag rule comment. It was the first thing he did, right?