Obama To Emphasize Intention To Use Unilateral Presidential Authority

[jct74]

What Constitution? Obama To Emphasize Intention To Use Unilateral Presidential Authority

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/27/2014 19:23 -0500

While the stats of the union remain unremarkable at best, it would appear that despite the rancor in Washington, President Obama will get his way "whatever it takes." As the WSJ reports, the State of the Union address Tuesday night will emphasize his intention to use unilateral presidential authority — bypassing Congress when necessary — to an extent not seen in his previous State of the Union speeches. "We need to show the American people that we can get something done," Dan Pfeiffer, a senior White House adviser, told CNN; it seems no matter how totalitarian and unconstitutional it would appear to be.

Via WSJ (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303277704579345163039263136?mod=WS J_hp_RightTopStories),



President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night will seek to shift the public's souring view of his leadership, a challenge the White House sees as critical to shaping the nation's policy direction over the next three years.

Mr. Obama will emphasize his intention to use unilateral presidential authority—bypassing Congress when necessary—to an extent not seen in his previous State of the Union speeches, White House officials said.

...

Mr. Obama will stress that he intends to take unilateral action on a host of other issues: infrastructure development, job training, climate change and education. Administration officials hinted broadly at the assertive new direction Sunday.

"We need to show the American people that we can get something done," Dan Pfeiffer, a senior White House adviser, told CNN as part of a round of interviews previewing the speech.

The more aggressive, executive-led approach marks a recalibration by the White House after seeing how congressional Republicans responded in 2013 to the president's re-election, a senior administration official said. Several key White House initiatives stalled in Congress last year, including an immigration revamp, an increase in the minimum wage, gun-control legislation and economic proposals.

...

read more:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-27/what-constitution-obama-emphasize-intention-use-unilateral-presidential-authority

[milgram]

Ron Fournier notes that a legacy of executive orders is "written in invisible ink." We can only hope.

A Pen, a Phone, and a Flailing President
The White House's problem might not be strategies and tactics. It might be Obama himself.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/white-house/a-pen-a-phone-and-a-flailing-president-20140127


For months, the White House and its allies mocked critics of Barack Obama's leadership, arguing that no president has "Green Lantern" superhero powers. Now these same people are predicting that Obama can salvage his agenda by waving a magical "pen and phone."

The contradiction illustrates how far partisans will go to defend a flailing presidency, grasping at slogans and insults as a growing majority of Americans tune out. We witnessed a similar drama under President Bush, who set a low bar for public approval that Obama is close to matching.

More than that, Obama's plan to exert executive branch authority, starting with his State of the Union address, further illustrates his unfamiliarity with the levers of political power, the limits of his leadership style, and the vast amount of time and potential squandered by the president so far.

A conservative Republican faction killed his gun-control proposals—joined by some Democratic senators—and eventually shut down the government for 16 days. "We still didn't know enough about the Republicans," said one senior administration official, who like others interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the internal assessments.

Didn't know enough? After five years in office? This official, like so many others in the West Wing, apparently is not sufficiently self-aware to realize he confirmed an Obama critique—that the president is too removed and disinterested from the political process to affect it, that he doesn't value congressional relations enough to give them anything more than lip service, and that, for his enormous intellectual gifts, Obama is handicapped by a lack of political curiosity. He chose not to know enough about the Republicans.

The story raises several other questions. First, why did it take this long for the White House to discover the power of executive orders and rule-making? (Republicans are warning of "tyrannical executive orders," ignoring the fact that GOP presidents issue them, too.) For instance, Obama has refused to use the power of clemency in a broad way to correct injustice in crack-cocaine sentencing. He punted to Congress the most important questions about NSA overreach rather than taking executive action. And now we're supposed to be impressed by his pen and phone?

At the same time, executive orders are far less durable than laws passed by Congress in bipartisan fashion. The next president can reverse actions Obama takes with a stroke of a pen. It's a legacy written in invisible ink. Is that good enough for Obama?

Third, there is an obvious contradiction in the goals laid out in the Wilson story. How does a president simultaneously "distance himself from a recalcitrant Congress" and strike deals on immigration, the farm bill, a minimum-wage hike, and transportation. It's possible, not likely.

[Kords21]

Maybe he's shooting for something like this?


http://youtu.be/Lo4cFViNLes

http://youtu.be/Lo4cFViNLes

[Lucille]

http://www.jsmineset.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/clip_image001_thumb14.jpg

[Acala]

Sadly, Americans like "strong" presidents. And by "strong president" I mean tyrant.

[69360]

Is tonight the night he declares himself führer?

[bunklocoempire]

So I guess with all the opposition to 'O' this means there are more racists than ever in this country eh? That's a shame. Way cool how it can't stop the progress though...

:toady:

Great toon Lucille.:cool:

[DamianTV]

Is tonight the night he declares himself führer?

I was wondering the same thing.

[jkob]

Obama wants to get impeached, he knows he would be in no danger of getting convicted and thinks it would be politically advantageous just like the government shutdown.