Title: Obama and Legislative Power | Washington Examiner
Headings: Obama and Legislative Power
Obama and Legislative Power
Content: Presidential Leadership of Congress, “Presidential efforts at leading Congress do not occur in a vacuum. To understand presidential leadership one must also understand the context in which it takes place.” Edwards argues “despite the conventional wisdom that attributes substantial importance to a president’s legislative skills in determining support for the president on congressional votes, there is good reason to be cautious in accepting this conclusion at face value. Other factors are likely to exercise more influence on congressional voting.” Other scholars agree. Political scientists Jon R. Bond and Richard Fleisher in their book The President in the Legislative Arena conclude: “ [ T]here is little the president can do to move members of Congress very far from their basic political predisposition.” Congressional leaders, Bond and Fleisher argue, hold more sway than presidents over lawmakers. “ Congressional leaders are likely to have more influence on how Congress responds to presidential preferences than anything the president can do personally.” After all, Obama’s legislative victories were not based on bills crafted by the White House.