Where Obama Can Look For Help On The Hill

[babylonsister]

I know I lose sight of the fact that Obama was a senator and a senator hasn't been elected in 48 years, so that's another hurdle he has to figure out how to overcome. I think he's doing a good job so far.


Where Obama Can Look For Help On The Hill
A look at the members of Congress who could serve as allies to the new president.

by Richard E. Cohen, Brian Friel, and Kirk Victor

Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008


In March 2006, about 15 months after he was elected to the Senate, Barack Obama reflected on his job and the importance of personal relationships in the legislative process. When asked in an interview with National Journal which senators had been especially helpful as he learned to navigate Capitol Hill, he was effusive about Sens. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and Richard Lugar, R-Ind.

"I'd put at the top of the list Dick Durbin, who I think has been very generous with advice and counsel and worked with me and my staff, and has just been a terrific partner to work with," Obama said of his home-state colleague. He then referred to Lugar as "a real gentleman and sort of a senator's senator -- extraordinarily knowledgeable about the issues, very gracious and bipartisan in how he handles the {Foreign Relations} Committee. I just love working with him."

Less than three years later, as Obama prepares to assume the presidency, he is aware that he will have to rely on congressional partners to make his administration a success. As the first president to be elected directly from the Senate since John F. Kennedy in 1960, Obama knows firsthand that no matter how sound his policy initiatives are, they will not be enacted into law without steadfast allies on the Hill. House and Senate Democrats, in turn, recognize that a close working relationship with the White House is instrumental to racking up the accomplishments they so desire.

In the early days after their November 4 electoral sweep, the president-elect and congressional Democrats seem determined to heed the lessons of history. Their party's most recent presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, were former governors who made little effort to coordinate with Congress, and they quickly found themselves struggling legislatively. On the other hand, President Bush, another former governor, enjoyed early success because most congressional Republicans lined up behind his agenda.

more...

http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/cs_20081115_5302.php