And with unemployment still above 8 percent, Obama cannot afford to look as if he is out of big ideas. The White House is planning to roll out more in its series of “we can’t wait” small-scale economic initiatives that do not require congressional approval, but those might not be enough to convince voters that the president is doing everything he can to improve the economy.
“Perhaps the president is satisfied with the state of our economy, but Americans expect their elected leaders to work together to boost job creation — even in an election year,” Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said Friday when asked about the White House strategy. “Divided government can be challenging, but that’s no excuse for him to put his presidency on autopilot when so many Americans are looking for work.”
There are signs that the boost in the polls that Obama enjoyed coming out of the payroll tax debate has evaporated. A Gallup poll last week showed his job approval rating back in the low 40s — where his ratings have hovered most of the fall. At the same time, Congress’s approval rating is at an all-time low, suggesting that both parties have been dragged down by the constant bickering. Also, Obama’s assault on Congress could wind up tarring Democratic legislators who are facing tough reelection campaigns.
“It’s really disappointing to hear that the president has already given up on tax reform, strengthening our energy security, making it easier for employers to hire or the basic operations of government,” said Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.).
Obama’s relationship with Boehner soured this past summer after the president tried, unsuccessfully, to negotiate a “grand bargain” to reduce the nation’s deficit by $4 trillion while at the same time boosting spending in the short term to spur the economy. After Boehner halted the talks and a potential default loomed, Obama was forced to accept a deal that trimmed the debt by $1.2 trillion and offered no new revenue for his spending proposals.
In December, Obama and Senate leaders forged an agreement on the two-month extension to the payroll tax holiday, only to have the House reject the deal, with Boehner saying his caucus preferred a year-long extension. Boehner gave in after the White House and Senate applied extensive public pressure.
Even if Obama chooses to disengage from Congress, there are several potential political land mines littering his playing field. Republicans successfully added a provision to the two-month payroll tax cut extension mandating that Obama make a politically sensitive decision on the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline by the end of February. He had hoped to delay a decision on the project — which Republicans have said will create jobs but environmentalists have said would harm natural resources — until after a federal environmental review is completed in 2013. Also, the Supreme Court is scheduled to rule, before the November elections, on a key provision of Obama’s health-care overhaul package, approved in 2010.
As for the election, Earnest said the president remains focused on his job as chief executive and does not intend to fully launch his campaign in the near future, while Republicans are selecting a nominee. As he travels the country and speaks to the people over the coming weeks, Obama will ask them to make their voices heard in support of his broader vision for the country, Earnest added.
“In terms of the payroll tax cut and lessons learned, certainly the president talked at the end of that debate about the importance of people all across the country speaking up and speaking out, and talking about how the decisions that were being made in Congress were having — would have and were having — a direct impact on their lives,” Earnest said. “It’s the view of the White House that that was a very forceful, persuasive addition to the debate.”
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