I thought President Barack Obama's "State of the Union" speech was strong. He genuflected long enough at the important points to show that, more than any other top politician in this country, he has a clear grasp of the direction our nation badly needs to go. And he made some policy proposals that, while not exactly game changers, would certainly nudge the ball in the right direction.
But at this point Obama has more of a credibility gap than anything else. The big question facing him is: can you deliver, Mr. President? Can you cobble together the 60 votes you need in the filibuster-gone-wild Senate to pass major legislation? Whether through sweet talking conservative Democrats and a few Republicans, or twisting their arms, or horse trading or cajoling, or log rolling and pork barreling, or legally bribing them, or threatening to un-elect them -- by any means necessary -- is this president ready to use all the many legal tools of persuasion that a president possesses?
I have said all along that this president needs to channel his inner LBJ. Lyndon Johnson was willing to twist arms and step on toes of his narrowly tribal colleagues in the South. He knew how to stare down some of his former Senate associates, calling them into his office, rolling up his sleeves, poking them in the chest and getting nose to nose, eyeball to eyeball. He could curse, bully and hound like a red neck thug when he needed to. But he could sweet-talk and horse-trade too.
It wasn't pretty, but it sure was effective. LBJ got the job done with a multi-pronged attack, using all the instruments at his disposal for the battle, and also having a clear compass on what could be bargained away while still maintaining his objectives. And what resulted was the greatest civil rights legislation since the abolition of slavery -- The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 -- that significantly reduced discrimination and started America down a path that ultimately led to the election of the first black president. And LBJ won REPUBLICAN votes for that historic legislation.
Obama needs to let the Blue Dog Democrats like Senators Max Baucus, Ben Nelson and Kent Conrad know who is in charge. He needs to tell Lieberman to get on board, or he'll be stripped of his committee chair and re-assigned to the Sub-committee on Toxic Waste. Besides channeling his internal LBJ, if necessary Obama needs to tear a page from the playbook of two other southerners who knew how to put on the brass knuckles. Former GOP operatives Karl Rove and Tom Delay made it clear that any Republican representatives who crossed their agenda would face a well-funded conservative opponent in their next party primary. That sent a shiver through the ranks, and the back benchers fell in line.
Whatever happened to the Internet presidency, and Team Obama's ongoing mobilization of the huge contact lists they had stockpiled with the names of the millions of people who had participated in his campaign? That was supposed to be Obama's army, ready to pressure foot-dragging Democratic senators. Yet we have seen little of that kind of mobilization, and none of it specifically targeted at certain legislators.
Well it's a campaign year and it's not too late to let that genie out of the bottle. Obama should tell any Democratic foot-draggers that if they don't get with the program, he will un-elect them and put in Democrats more in tune with his priorities. Let the two GOP Senators from blue state Maine know the same thing. Obama could convincingly threaten to fund candidates to run against uncooperative Senators in the Democratic primary, and to campaign on behalf of his slate of candidates. It would reshape the Democratic Party in a way that it badly needs, even if it resulted in a few less seats. But it might just result in getting some top legislation passed in the sclerotic Senate, despite its ridiculous 60 vote threshold.
Call it the "audacity of governing." It's time for battle. If Obama cares about the country as much as he says, and believes in his ideas as much as he professes, he will pull out all the tools at his disposal. It is past time for him to show a quality that the nation has not seen in him since the presidential election.
So, great speech Mr. President. Now: are you ready to deliver?
Steven Hill is director of the Political Reform Program for the New America Foundation. His new book, Europe's Promise: Why the European Way is the Best Hope in an Insecure Age, was published in January 2010 by the University of California Press