When Barack Obama was elected President I was happy, relieved and thankful that now we might have policies that actually made sense. There were a lot of things I wanted done. Some have already been accomplished via Executive Orders. And there are others (such as overturning the restrictions on stem cell research) that are on the way.
But unfortunately some of his promises have to get legislated and that is where I find myself caught in a Catch-22. Because part of me really wants him to tell the Republican party to shove their idiotic ideas where the sun don't shine and just use the Democratic majorities in Congress to push through legislation that the majority of the country knows needs to get passed.
But then I remember how much I hated when former President Bush would essentially do the same thing to the Democrats. It doesn't right to basically advocate for a process that I hated when the policies I supported where the policies being ignored. Especially when I voted for a guy who promised to try to end that type of political warfare. I think that President Obama wouldn't be the President I voted for if he didn't at least try.
However, that said there has to be a line drawn. There is that old saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. If the Republicans continue to show their unwillingness to act in good faith then it is time to say "I tried and they refused to work together" and then move forward with enacting the necessary laws without Republican support.
But for now I can't fault him for at least trying. I do think President Obama didn't handle it as well as he could have. He let the Republicans frame the discussion far too much in the beginning and let so-called centrists remove some of the most promising parts of the stimulus bill in the Senate. I hope that the tougher rhetoric he has been using, as well as his town hall appearance and press conference show that while he's still willing to reach out he's not willing to let the GOP walk all over him.
It is only a few weeks into the Obama Presidency. He's shown that he can reach across the aisle. Now it is time for him to show he can lead when the other side is more interested in soundbites than serving the interest of the country.