Obama: I didn't appreciate how weak the presidency is until I was president

[DonViejo]

Updated by Andrew Prokop Dec 21, 2016, 10:53am EST

One big thing Barack Obama has learned about being president? The job isn't as powerful as you might expect.

In an interview with Bill Simmons in 2015, which is well worth reading in full, Obama explained that he "didn't fully appreciate" how "decentralized power is" in the US political system until he took office.

That is, to get anything done, he had to spend a ton of his time trying to persuade other people. Here's what he told Simmons:

OBAMA: What I didn’t fully appreciate, and nobody can appreciate until they’re in the position, is how decentralized power is in this system. When you’re in the seat and you’re seeing the housing market collapse and you are seeing unemployment skyrocketing and you have a sense of what the right thing to do is, then you realize, "Okay, not only do I have to persuade my own party, not only do I have to prevent the other party from blocking what the right thing to do is, but now I can anticipate this lawsuit, this lobbying taking place, and this federal agency that technically is independent, so I can’t tell them what to do. I’ve got the Federal Reserve, and I’m hoping that they do the right thing—and by the way, since the economy now is global, I’ve got to make sure that the Europeans, the Asians, the Chinese, everybody is on board." A lot of the work is not just identifying the right policy but now constantly building these ever shifting coalitions to be able to actually implement and execute and get it done.

more
http://www.vox.com/2015/11/17/9749754/obama-presidential-power

[still_one]

1. That is when you have a congress constantly trying to undermine you. It doesn't appear that will

be the case this time

[kacekwl]

2. Tough job indeed.

It takes a smart person to understand that. Trump is way over his head and we need to keep a close eye on who is actually in charge.

[BeyondGeography]

3. It's easier when you're just trying to help the winners run up the score

Far fewer roadblocks, as we will see.

[Wounded Bear]

4. It's really tough when you respect things like the rule of law...

a lot easier if you're a Republican.

[octoberlib]

5. There will be no persuading

with Trump. It will be constant threatening and bullying if he doesn't get his way.

[HoneyBadger]

6. Which makes the real question

Who actually runs this country ? Lobbyists ?

[mopinko]

7. this has sure been discussed here.

how many post replies of "he wasnt elected king" and "he didnt get a magic wand w the job" do you suppose their have been over the last 8 years?
brazillions.