My life on the Republican right—and how I saw it all go wrong (Bruce Bartlett)

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10. There is no other explanation.

I am fortunate enough to remember other Democrats who knew how to use the immense power of the Oval Office
and the #1 spot in the Party to "influence" Congressmen and Senators to see things HIS way.
In fact, pretty much EVERY President in my long living memory knew how to use the power of the office.
THis is the first time I can remember party spokesmen and apologists saying stuff like:
"It was ALL Joe Lieberman's fault.
There was nothing the President could doooooo.
It was HORRIBLE!"

"Johnson was the catalyst, the cajoler in chief. History records him as the nation's greatest legislative politician. In a great piece on the Daily Beast website, LBJ aide Tom Johnson, writes about how his old boss would have gotten a health care reform bill through the current congress. It's worth reading to understand the full impact of the "Johnson treatment" and how effective LBJ could be in winning votes for his legislation."

http://thejohnsonpost.blogspot.com/2009/08/johnson-treatment.html