President Obama Sets the Stage for 2016

[sheshe2]

Greg Sargent has written something with which I wholly concur.

If Obama gets his way, two of the most important pieces of his legacy — an Iran deal, and a global climate treaty — will involve comprehensive international settlements. Hillary Clinton will all but certainly support an eventual Iran deal, and she’s already pledged to protect all of Obama’s climate actions “at all cost.” Thus, she will be for international engagement as the solution to two of the most pressing problems the country faces: The prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran, and climate change. Meanwhile, on Iran and climate, the eventual 2016 GOP presidential nominee will probably have pledged to undo whatever Obama has achieved — locking him on both fronts into a position of staunch opposition to international engagement.

snip

Remember when Republicans got so angry that President Obama didn't take the shellacking Democrats experienced in the 2014 midterms and present himself as humbled and contrite? Instead he decided to dump the whole idea of a lame duck and play on until the buzzer sounded at the end of his second term.

snip

That transformation means that the President's agenda sets the tone for a lot of the narrative that will consume 2016 candidates. I am reminded of the fact that this is exactly how one Obama advisor described their "to do list" a few months ago.

One senior Obama adviser says the administration "To Do list" after 2012 included thinking "about how you lock in the Obama coalition for Democrats going forward. Because it's not a 100 percent certainty that they come out for the next Democrat." Part of the answer, the adviser said, was to pursue aggressive unilateral action on "a set of issues where we have an advantage … and believe are substantively the right thing to do" and dare Republicans to oppose him.

In other words, "Please proceed, Republicans."

Read More http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2015/04/president-obama-sets-stage-for-2016.html

[Thinkingabout]

1. I have an idea President Obama will leave the WH with his sleeves still rolled up.

He has taken the office very seriously and has been willing to do the work required.