The Anti-BushAs much as I think Dubya is the worst president of all time and can’t wait to be rid of him, he was damn good at getting shit done.  Sure, almost everything he got done was stupid and destructive and unpopular, but that just makes his "achievement" even more perversely impressive.

Remember after the 2004 election, when Bush declared that he had political capital and intended to spend it?  That was not exactly a landslide victory, and his approval rating dipped below 50% immediately afterwards and stayed there.  Republicans did not have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.  And yet, Dubya was still able to bully and bluster Congress into giving him almost everything he wanted… even after the Democrats were in the majority!

Now compare that with Obama.  As the Democratic nominee, he caved on telecom immunity, and was perfectly happy to push for the financial bailout without insisting on oversight.  Now that he’s the landslide president-elect chock full o’ political capital, I don’t see any evidence that he wants to spend it – at least not on the auto industry.  Here’s what Obama said before the bridge loan failed in the Senate:

The legislation in Congress right now is an important step in that direction and I’m hopeful that a final agreement will be reached this week.

And here’s his statement after:

I am disappointed that the Senate could not reach agreement on a short-term plan for the auto industry. I share the frustration of so many about the decades of mismanagement in this industry that has helped deliver the current crisis. Those bad practices cannot be rewarded or continued. But I also know that millions of American jobs rely directly or indirectly on a viable auto industry, and that the beginnings of reform are at hand. The revival of our economy as a whole should not be a partisan issue. So I commend those in Congress as well as the Administration who tried valiantly to forge a compromise. My hope is that the Administration and the Congress will still find a way to give the industry the temporary assistance it needs while demanding the long-term restructuring that is absolutely required.

He sounds like an innocent bystander with no ability to influence the outcome, either as a senator or a president-elect.  No cajoling, no arm-twisting, no deal-making, not even any of that if-we-don’t-pass-this-immediately-America-will-be-destroyed rhetoric that Dubya deployed so effectively.  He couldn’t even persuade everyone in his own party to show up and vote the right way. (Okay, I’ll give him a pass on Teddy, and Harry voted Nay for procedural reasons.)

As Ian points out, there are still ways that Obama can make this happen, and they don’t all depend on congressional approval or being president.  Let’s see if he’s willing to take action to avoid catastrophe, or if he’s content to just wring his hands on the sidelines and hope that Dubya can make something good happen for once.