President Obama's deference to Congress is getting annoying. Via the Wonk Room, the White House's domestic policy adviser, Melody Barnes kept telling Chuck Todd on MSNBC that while the White House wants to work with Congress, Majority Leader Harry Reid sets the agenda. All of this is in response to Reid's reported desire to move immigration reform to the floor before the energy bill, potentially losing the critical cooperation of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham if he does so.
TODD: I understand that there's this idea that everybody here wants to walk and chew gum at the same time but we will know Washington sort of can handle one big issue at a time. Financial reform at some point feels like it's going to wrap interrupt next couple weeks. It sounds like energy, immigration, can you really expect this town to handle both at the same time or is there going to have to be one over the other?
BARNES: When we walked in the door we inherited big problems. I think what this president has shown is he can handle a number of challenges at the same time.
TODD: Maybe he can but Congress is a different story. We know they have their priorities. I guess what I'm asking, would the White House accept immigration going before energy?
That's been part of the problem with health care and every other big agenda Obama tackles; he gives broad outlines and lets Congress take the lead in crafting legislation and determining how it should move. I understand what he's doing. Part of the public rejection of the Bush administration was how uncomfortable we were with such an aggressively powerful executive branch, one that sometimes seemed to skirt the process just for the sake of doing so. But surely there's a difference between that and a role that feels more like leadership than what Obama does. Also, has he met Congress?
-- Monica Potts
