Time for Obama to Start Spending Political Capital

Throughout his presidential campaign, but more notably, during his presidency, President Obama has shown himself to have an impressive ability to accumulate political capital. During his tenure in the White House, Obama has done this by reaching out to a range of constituencies, moderating some of his programs, pursuing middle of the road approaches on key foreign policy questions and, not insignificantly, working to ensure that his approval rating remains quite high.

Political capital is not, however, like money, it cannot be saved up interminably while its owner waits for the right moment to spend it. Political capital has a shelf life, and often not a very long one. If it is not used relatively quickly, it dissipates and becomes useless to its owner. This is the moment in which Obama, who has spent the first few months of his presidency diligently accumulating political capital, now finds himself. The next few months will be a key time for Obama. If Obama does not spend this political capital during the next months, it will likely be gone by the New Year anyway.

Much of what President Obama has done in his first six months or so in office has been designed to build political capital, interestingly he has sought to build this capital from both domestic and foreign sources. He has done this by traveling extensively, reintroducing to America to foreign audiences and by a governance style that has very cleverly succeeded in pushing his political opponents to the fringes. This tactic was displayed during the effort to pass the stimulus package as Republican opposition was relegated to a loud and annoying, but largely irrelevant, distraction. Building political capital was, or should have been, a major goal of Obama's recent speech in Cairo as well.

Significantly, Obama has yet to spend any of his political capital by meaningfully taking on any powerful interests. He declined to take Wall Street on regarding the financial crisis, has prepared to, but not yet fully, challenged the power of the AMA or the insurance companies, nor has he really confronted any important Democratic Party groups such as organized labor.

This strategy, however, will not be fruitful for much longer. There are now some very clear issues where Obama should be spending political capital. The most obvious of these is health care. The battle for health care reform will be a major defining issue, not just for the Obama presidency, but for American society over the next decades. It is imperative that Obama push for the best and most comprehensive health care reform possible. This will likely mean not just a bruising legislative battle, but one that will pit powerful interests, not just angry Republican ideologues, against the President.

The legislative struggle will also pull many Democrats between the President and powerful interest groups. Obama must make it clear that there will be an enormous political cost which Democrats who vote against the bill will have to pay. Before any bill is voted upon, however, is perhaps an even more critical time as pressure from insurance groups, business groups and doctors organizations will be brought to bear both on congress, but also on the administration as it works with congress to craft the legislation. This is not the time when the administration must focus on making friends and being liked, but on standing their ground and getting a strong and inclusive health care reform bill.

Obama will have to take a similar approach to any other major domestic legislation as well. This is, of course, the way the presidency has worked for decades. Obama is in an unusual situation because a similar dynamic is at work at the international level. A major part of Obama's first six months in office have involved pursuing a foreign policy that implicitly has sought to rebuild both the image of the US abroad, but also American political capital. It is less clear how Obama can use this capital, but now is the time to use it.

A cynical interpretation of the choice facing Obama is that he can remain popular or he can have legislative and other policy accomplishments, but this interpretation would be wrong. By early 2010, Obama, and his party will, fairly or not, be increasingly judged by what they have accomplished in office, not by how deftly they have handled political challenges. Therefore, the only way he can remain popular and get new political capital is through converting his current political capital into concrete legislative accomplishments. Health care will be the first and very likely most important, test.

Comments

[professor]

He's supposed to go after UNIONS? Is that what you said? UNIONS?

The middle is where nothing is.

[Anna Kaminsky]

The need for President Obama to exert pressure to get health care reform passed, and with the public option since that is the argument for lowering costs, is something I agree with completely. I do not however agree with the implication that these months have not been measurably productive. I am not saying that your implication is that he has been simply posing and performing, but I am finding myself angry at every group who thinks that President Obama has failed in delivering his promise. There is no fair consideration for what he has accomplished. As you state I believe health care reform is the top priority as well but I am getting so angry at the criticism coming from every corner, especially the Democrats. The Republicans are merely inciting hate every moment they speak. Losing support from those who should have some perspective is infuriating. We could have McCain, another Bush, Clinton or Reagan.

[wishfor]

The Democrats in Congress receive corporate money from insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies; perhaps to the same extent as Republicans. They will not willingly give us the health care reform we need.
Only the president has the power to use the BULLY PULPIT to reach the American public and create a loud enough responding voice to force through reform. He did this most effectively in his speech on racism. Americans have shown enormous respect for his words. Now is the time to use them to accomplish the goals which supposedly laid behind his words.

[jerryg1111]

What is socialistic about insuring good health for everyone in America. Is medicare socialistic. Are services like fire, police and garbage collecting socialistic. If they are then I'm on board the socialistic train because no human being in any country of the world, but especially the United States, should ever die because they were too poor or didn't have health care or good enough health care, to get the treatment that they needed.

Its time for President Obama to take a page out of the George W. Bush playbook. Bush was not even legally elected but no mandate didn't mean anything to him. He and his Republican allies did not care at all about what Democrats wanted. They rammed their flawed agenda down our throats for 8 years. If they had the votes they ran over the Democrats like they weren't even there.

President Obama was legally elected with a large mandate and it is time for him to take off the gloves when it comes to single payer healthcare for everyone in the United States. The great majority of Americans are behind him on this. It is time to act on this issue NOW.

www.letterstoalostnation.blogspot.com

[Peter Stoll]

You folks crack me up. Really, you do. The term "public option" is no more than a marketing slogan for more socialism..... A LOT MORE!

The reality is that the vast majority of Americans work in the private sector, and are starting to see how little of what Obamas done, and wants to do will actually help them, and the private sector. The longer people look at his proposals, the less popular they are.

Keep on telling yourselves we WANT more and more stuff being provided/done for us by our government and DEMAND that YOUR GUY follows through. It will simply help end this insanity quicker.

[ThePeoplesKey]

"Keep on telling yourselves we WANT more and more stuff being provided/done for us by our government"

An example of the kind of nonsense being published by people who don't have a clue but think that their opinion should matter . . .

If big private health care is eliminated in favor of a 1 big risk pool public plan, the money currently being spent supporting the "For Profit" system we have now, will instead be spent supporting the new public plan that INCLUDES EVERYONE. So according to the figures being bandied about in the media.

In 2007 it's estimated that the US spent 2.26 trillion on health care. Right now, the public replacement system is estimated to cost 1.6 trillion. So far, that's a savings of 66 billion per year according to my calculator.

That's without doing anything else to increase efficiency and reduce costs, or making it illegal for pharmaceutical companies to sell their drugs in the US for 50% more than the rest of the world pays.

The word "socialism" infers receiving a benefit without payment. No one in this debate is advocating that from the left that I've seen.

In debating this issue I have to wonder if the right slept through 4th grade math and English provided to them and their children by the socialist public education system they seem to take for granted . . .

[Wooty]

Pragmatism makes for a poor legacy.

[Manx]

President Obama needs to be assertive and stop trying to romance the Republicans. To put it in a colloquial way: If he keeps trying to be everything to everybody, he will wind up being nothin' to nobody.

[bighat]

Someone fire this manx. he is criticizing Obama.

[rosal]

Well said. I have supported Obama since day one of his campaign, so did millions. Time to walk the talk. If we do not get Health Care Reform, with at the very least a public option, all heck is going to break loose, and in 2010 we'll make sure to send Dems and Repbs alike packing.
This is the perfect time for a Third Party with a leader who is not bought and paid for by Corporate America. When 76% of the country want reform, and still the politicians are listening to $$$$$$$$ instead, is time for REAL change.

[Crissy Patters]

I am curious,for all those here calling for PO to get some balls and make sure he pushes through public option/single payer how many are writing to their reps/senator? How many here are being as critical and demanding of the ones they elected and who will actual determine if the bill passes through the house and senate?
We can scream PO needs balls but if we don't scream at those who will need to write the bill and sign it, all the screaming is a waste of time.

[Crissy Patters]

PO is going to need the dems in the congress and senate to support public option to get the bill passed. We need to work forcefully on our representa­tives/sena­tor to make sure they know they don't have an option with the public option/single payer. We can blast PO all we want but if we don't push our politicians to step up to the plate we're blowing smoke.

[Crissy Patters]

I want President Obama to step up to the plate and push with all he has public option and for any democrat who doesn't fall in line and give their constituents what they want, call them out so they'll lose the next election.

On the other hand, I remember the 2007-8 election, when Sen. Obama was the underdog and too nice to stay in the race. We saw the 12+ candidates dropping out while the good guy Sen. Obama kept moving to the top of the list. When it was Clinton vs Obama it was clear to many especially the media that Obama didn't have a chance, well he was the party's ticket.
Obama was too nice to out do miliatary war hero John McCain, he was too nice for not fighting dirty when McCain/Palin were downright dirty.

Sen. Obama became the President of the United States.

PO was too nice and there was no way he was going to get the stimulus money from a say NO party and a weak democratic party, well he got was many said he'd never get.

I'm hoping, we'll see the same with the public option, POTUS will win doing things his way.

[CAPTAINSKIPPY]

I have not changed my opinion on Obama - I'm very sad to report.

[shtoonk]

Obama's got no balls. The solution? He should grow some and ram thru the best, most comprehensive, single payer system the world has ever seen. At the very LEAST, an extremely robust public option plan....not some bare bones piece of crap plan. Trust me, Mr. President, I WILL work for the GOP in the next election if you don't put it on the line for us.

[Cleanerman]

I am with you on this one except for working for the GOP. Why work for the opposite ideology? If the Democrats don't deliver, the GOP win anyway. We progressives don't want the GOP to win. If Obama doesn't get more forceful and commanding and fails the majority who voted for him, I just give up. Perhaps I won't ever vote anymore period. We Americans have been through such a dark era with Bush---we voted for major change. After what our country has been through with Bush and the GOP, if change doesn't happen now, when? Ever? Perhaps not.

[Crissy Patters]

I understand what you're saying, but how is working for the reps. who haven't made any secret that they're totally without question against a public option and single payer plan? If the gop were for a public plan/single payer there wouldn't be a fight and the bill would pass with flying colors.

[shadow322]

So many people worked so hard to elect this President. President Obama has to stop trying to placate the extreme right Republicans or he will end up like President Jimmy Carter. Our new President has to stand for something.­..........­....... This group of Republicans has already proved it will try to sabotage his every move - including attempting to anger the Iranian leaders into using the US as the threat that makes it impossible to allow a free society over there. The time for stradeling the fence has passed. The moderate Republicans will show themselves once they get organized. Until then, we have a country that needs help and turning into a President that panders to the neocons (that will never put our country's best interests first) will only waste another four years!

[k6007]

I'm tired of watching, "the same old people, doing the same old things and wishing for a different result."