Preener in Chief

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National Review:

Preener in Chief

By Yuval Levin

December 30, 2012 5:24 P.M.

The results of the 2010 elections raised the question of what the president’s role would be in the legislative process in a period when the two houses of Congress were run by two different parties. It could have turned out that such a situation would give the president more power—making the Democratic senate irrelevant and creating a dynamic of direct engagement between the Republican House and the chief executive. Or it could have turned out that such a situation would give the president less power—making it so difficult to get legislation through congress that on significant issues the president would basically have to sign anything that reached his desk, since not much would. The latter was always more likely, but perhaps a deft executive could have made the former happen.