If you have read me for any length of time-I've been writing since July, 2011-you know there are no bigger Obama partisans than me.
Cleaver, who campaigned in Missouri for Clinton ahead of the state's mid-March primary, said he’s not looking for anything in return.
“I’m a part of the Clinton movement without expecting that I’ll be moving anywhere. I’m not looking for anything. I think they know that as well as anyone,” Cleaver said
"But Cleaver’s support is notable. He remained with Clinton in 2008 and crisscrossed the South this year to rally support among black voters, who powered Clinton to a string of victories that stabilized her campaign."
"Cleaver said Clinton has an active network of Democratic backers on the Hill because she understands the value of socializing with lawmakers. After years of feeling largely shunned by Obama, who's eschewed the glad-handing that was a hallmark of Bill Clinton's presidency, elected Democrats are eager to see another Clinton in the White House."
“It does not hurt for the president to have personal relationships with the Senate and the House. It’s not bad for [the president] to be able to pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey, can you come over at 6 p.m. tonight?” he said. “And when you pick up the cellphone, you know there is a relationship there.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/democrats-power-hillary-clinton-administration-221308#ixzz44mjME2eO
Obama wasn't in to that. At 6 p.m. he'd understandably rather go home to his wife and daughters. This makes him a good father-though the Clintons were also always good parents who put Chelsea first.
But it made him in some ways a less effective politician. Which he always had some mixed feelings about being, anyway.
However, as with any great POTUS there were areas that left room for improvement. One area, he'd probably admit was schmoozing Congress. It's true the GOPers from day one had literally decided on a policy of 'no' straight down the line.
In a sense, Obama came into the WH in 2009 expecting too much. He talked about a post-partisan Washington that never has quite existed. As Maureen Dowd, noted recently, Obama always stayed above the fray, but politics is the fray.
The GOP opposed the President at every turn-even on things they agreed with. They would say no to ideas they had proposed when he came round to them. In 2010 he literally showed up at a GOP meeting to try to talk things through. It was painful to see the President putting himself out on that shaky limb of GOP goodwill. I mean watching his Quixotic quest was painful.
But Obama always eschewed transactional politics. It's not just about a policy debate, part of building a relationship with Congress is socializing with them after hours. This was something Obama didn't do well.
I can understand not wanting to have a beer with Mitch McConnell. But what about Harry Reid? Obama didn't schmooze his own party either which was a mistake. I mean that's an easy layup.
Emmanuel Cleaver is an African-American Congressman from Missouri. In 2008, he was one of the few black elected Dems who stayed with Hillary until the end. Here he does a good job explaining why many Dems are looking forward to having another Clinton in the WH.
“I’m a part of the Clinton movement without expecting that I’ll be moving anywhere. I’m not looking for anything. I think they know that as well as anyone,” Cleaver said
"But Cleaver’s support is notable. He remained with Clinton in 2008 and crisscrossed the South this year to rally support among black voters, who powered Clinton to a string of victories that stabilized her campaign."
"Cleaver said Clinton has an active network of Democratic backers on the Hill because she understands the value of socializing with lawmakers. After years of feeling largely shunned by Obama, who's eschewed the glad-handing that was a hallmark of Bill Clinton's presidency, elected Democrats are eager to see another Clinton in the White House."
“It does not hurt for the president to have personal relationships with the Senate and the House. It’s not bad for [the president] to be able to pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey, can you come over at 6 p.m. tonight?” he said. “And when you pick up the cellphone, you know there is a relationship there.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/democrats-power-hillary-clinton-administration-221308#ixzz44mjME2eO
Obama wasn't in to that. At 6 p.m. he'd understandably rather go home to his wife and daughters. This makes him a good father-though the Clintons were also always good parents who put Chelsea first.
But it made him in some ways a less effective politician. Which he always had some mixed feelings about being, anyway.
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