Last night’s State of the Union address made clear that the Obama administration has reassessed its priorities in light of recent events. Health care legislation has stalled in Congress, and Democrats experienced the loss of two governorships and Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat in Massachusetts to the Republicans. Opinion polls reveal the President’s approval rating hovering around 20 points lower than they were at this same time last year.

These setbacks are a sea change from the expectations put forth for a new way of communicating and governing when Mr. Obama was inaugurated a little over a year ago. He was the transformational candidate complete with a goal to increase bipartisan cooperation on many issues – from fixing the economy, health care, energy and climate change to addressing national security, WMD, terrorism and foreign policy issues.

Congress has presented him with a different reality, however. Congressional Quarterly recently measured partisanship on Capitol Hill and came to a stark conclusion: No matter the issue, we have just experienced the most partisan year of Congress since they started measuring in 1953. According to CQ:

A roll call vote is considered partisan if a majority of Democrats votes against a majority of Republicans. It has hovered around a relatively high 50 percent in the House for the past two decades and stayed there this year, at 51 percent. But in the Senate, it was a whopping 72 percent – the highest percentage of partisan votes ever tallied in that chamber.

While the majority of Mr. Obama’s address focused on the economy and his plans to stimulate job growth, he also took Congress to task for its continued partisan division. He played the role of populist explaining why the American people have lost faith in government. “They wonder why Washington has been unwilling or unable to solve any problems. They are tired of partisanship, pettiness and the shouting. They want us to overcome the numbing weight of our politics.”

So he went about reminding Congress where there is common ground. He reiterated his administration’s success in renewing America’s standing in the world. He outlined his support for building more nuclear power plants, a willingness to consider and debate the merits of offshore drilling, and expressed the country’s obligation to those who serve in the armed forces, especially when they return home. He plainly stated that throughout our history, we have found the most unity when addressing our national security. He believes our greatest threat is from terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons and detailed the goals of the upcoming summit to reduce our stockpile while strengthening deterrence capabilities. He received applause and standing ovations from both sides of the aisle when he highlighted these topics.

After all, politicians like the idea of governing from the middle. But translating intention to action within the legislative process is difficult. There is some hesitation on the part of those in office to make hard choices and follow-through. Republicans feel shut out and Democrats feel they have extended a hand but have been rejected for political reasons. This leads to gridlock and as Mr. Obama illustrated, “It is sowing further division among our citizens, further distrust of our government.”
There is room for the parties to work together on addressing issues but the window is closing the closer we get to Election Day, 2010. The President has called on Congress to “Reform how we work with one another.” But just two days ago, the Senate rejected his proposal for a bipartisan commission on the deficit so the President will establish the commission with an executive order instead. Whether rhetoric translates into engagement across the aisle remains to be seen. A Congress that commits itself anew to working in a bipartisan fashion would be welcomed not only by the President, but by the American people alike.

No related posts.