Since Election Loss We Have a New Improved Obama

     Those losses have freed him.

     http://prospect.org/article/barack-obama-set-free

     Think about just how much he has done since the November loss.

     "For years, progressives have sharply criticized President Obama for shaping major decisions around the idea that scaling back his ambitions would ultimately secure the GOP cooperation he had long sought. But the GOP takeover of Congress has effectively freed Obama from that illusion, leaving him little choice other than to be as aggressive and ambitious as possible in unilaterally pursuing his agenda wherever he can."

     "This is now setting in motion a series of arguments that will shape the next race for the presidency."

I     "n a very good piece, the New York Times’ Michael Shear reports that Obama’s decision to pursue normalized relations with Cuba is only the latest in a pattern that may characterize his last two years in office:"

The announcement…follows similar decisions by Mr. Obama in recent weeks to defy Republicans on immigration, climate change policy, the regulation of the Internet and negotiations with Iran…

Mr. Obama’s unilateral action on Cuba is part of a pattern that will define the end of his presidency. Frustrated by congressional inaction and Republican efforts to block legislation, the president has increasingly pushed the limits of his executive authority in domestic and international policy making — an approach that anticipates, and largely dismisses, angry responses from his critics…

Mr. Obama is returning to the original case he made as a presidential candidate, casting himself as a transformational leader who is eager to discard old conventions of politics and policy in ways that appeal to the sensibilities of younger people. Although the midterm elections last month were a victory for Republicans, who took control of the Senate and added to their House majority, the results seem to have only accelerated the president’s use of regulatory, diplomatic and executive authority.

     "Republicans like to say all of this unilateral action defies the will of the people as expressed in the last election. If that is so, then Republicans will surely be glad to hear that much of what Obama is setting in motion may be litigated in another electoral contest — the 2016 presidential race."

     http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/12/18/morning-plum-obama-unbound-puts-his-stamp-on-2016/

   Those who claim that American style conservatism, the conservatism of our Republicans is not simply one and the same with being reactionaries have to explain why every thing about today's Republican party is defined in terms of Obama. They're whole agenda is undoing what Obama has done. All they have really done for 6 years of his Presidency is vow to undo what he's already done. Their whole identity is in opposition to him-nothing else. They tell us what they don't want, but very little about what they do. 

    As Greg Sargent and others are arguing, 2016 is shaping up to be sudden death OT for the fight between Obama's agenda and the reactionary Congressional GOP as Hillary is embracing everything the President does while all the GOP candidates line up on reversing everything he's done.  

    The question that begs is what was so great about where this country was back in 2008 during the Bush years that makes Republicans want to return to it so badly. Most Americans don't have great memories of the Bush years. Yet, all the big money in the GOP if you can believe it are lining up behind yet another Bush. No doubt as Hillary agrees with Obama on a great deal-as she should-you're going to hear GOPers claim that she's the third Obama term. She should point out that they want to run as the third Bush term. 

      I say she should support Obama as though I supported her over Obama originally in the 2008 primary and only turned to him after she lost, I for one don't want her running against Obama the way the Allison Grimeses of the world did in 2014 as it's a strategy of losers to run against your own party, especially against such an accomplished record, or should I say consequential record? More on that below. 

    Just check the job numbers alone between the two Administrations-job creation was historically weak under Bush and historically strong-admittedly from a very low starting base thanks to Bush-under Obama. 

   Meanwhile his immigration EO has already proven to be inspired. 

   http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/us/obamas-immigration-move-benefits-democrats-where-it-counts.html?abt=0002&abg=1&_r=0

    There is a suggestion that maybe the President's poll numbers are about to make a come back. To be sure the GOP always exaggerates how bad they are at present. The low to mid 40s is nothing to brag about but it's not nearly as bad as Bush was at this time of his second term after his party's election losses.

     Remember when pundits loved Barack Obama? It’s been quite a few years now. But I suspect some of the adoration is about to come back.

    "There are three reasons. The first is that politically, Obama’s immigration gamble is working. Fearful of alienating Hispanics or shutting down the government, Republican leaders have largely abandoned hope of overturning Obama’s move. What’s more, Obama’s approval ratings are up 15 points among Hispanics but have not dropped among Anglo whites. Add immigration to health-care reform and the fiscal stimulus and more commentators will start noticing that, whether you like Obama’s agenda or not, it’s been the most consequential of any Democratic president’s since Lyndon Johnson."

     "Second, and more importantly, the economy is improving. The third quarter saw the fastest job growth in three years, and the unemployment rate is now 5.8 percent, down from 10 percent in 2009. Gas prices are also plunging. And there’s evidence Americans are beginning to notice. As Time recently noted, consumer confidence has just hit its highest mark in eight years. Even if the improving economy doesn’t boost Obama’s approval rating, it’s likely to improve the way he’s seen by the Beltway press. And given the role a strong economy played in buoying Bill Clinton’s approval ratings in the late 1990s, despite the Monica Lewinsky scandal, it’s quite possible that Obama’s will rise too, which will further fuel the journalistic perception that Obama is back."

      "Finally, the context in which journalists judge Obama is about to change. This year’s dominant storyline was about Obama and the midterm elections. Most key Senate races took place in red and purple states where Democratic candidates distanced themselves from Obama, thus magnifying the media’s perception that he was a political pariah."

   http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/12/here-comes-the-obama-boom/383754/

   There is a lot of talk in the media about his revival. 

    http://prospect.org/article/barack-obamas-revival-way

   I would just add one more possible reason to the three reasons listed above. I think maybe Americans in general will come to respect him more as he's standing up for what he believes. Americans don't like doormats or cowards-which is why I don't get Sony's move.  I know NK or whoever was doing this on their behalf was threatening another 9/11 but there was no intel that showed anything was on the horizon. It was a total bluff and it's pathetic that it worked. 

    http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/killing-the-interview-could-cost-sony-100-million/

     The Dems ran such a hangdog campaign-yeah, we kind of hate Obama too so why should you hold him against us?-they didn't deserve to win.  Obama with no more elections he has to worry about is now unleashed and I think many will respect him more for that whatever they may think of the moves. 

    UPDATE: After the November GOP wins, Rush Limbaugh insisted that the GOP was elected for 'one thing to stop Barrack Obama, what other reason could they be elected for?'

    It must be very frustrating to Rush and his friends that this is surely not what is happening. 

    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/us/politics/cuba-action-is-obamas-latest-step-away-from-a-cautious-approach.html?_r=0