Those of you who read this blog, know who I endorse in the presidential race. Those of you who are undecided should only consider one thing.
Think of the most successful president in your lifetime. Most of the Republican leaning people will think of Ronald Reagan. Most of the Democratic people will think of Bill Clinton. Now think of what Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan had in common. Give up?
Ronald Reagan was a Republican who, for most of his presidency, had a Democratic majority in Congress. Bill Clinton was a Democrat who had a Republican majority in Congress. The relationship was not always smooth, but Clinton and Reagan had to reach across the isle in Congress to get things accomplished. This means that these successful presidents did not always get what they wanted, but were able to get things done.
If there was one great failing in the administration of both Bush administrations it was this. Both George W. Bush and his father had a difficult time reaching across the isle to work with the opposite party in Congress. Some say that Jimmy Carter, a Democrat with a Democratic majority did not have to reach across the isle, but that was his great failing.
Bill Clinton did not always get along with Congress, he was impeached, after all. But when push came to shove, Clinton and the Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich worked together to push legislation that both could support.
Ronald Reagan and Democratic Speaker Tip O'Neill did not see eye to eye. There were some budget battles that shut down the government. But in Reagan's second term, the relationship between Mr. Reagan and Congress was more smooth. Not perfect, not uncontentious, but better. America benefited from it.
Now, let's think about the current race. How has Barrack Obama been with the Republicans in Congress?
How well did Mitt Romney work with the Democrats in the Massachusetts Legislature?
You may think that the President and his party will gain a political mandate in this coming election. The truth is that 469 members of Congress will also arrive in Washington with their own political mandates. Every member of the House and every member of the Senate, when the next Congressional session begins, will have won his or her last election, just like the President. The president is going to get judged by history. Constitutionally, he can get very little done without collaboration from Congress. He will, no matter what you have been taught to believe, be judged on how well he worked with Congress. No matter what Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney have in their agenda, it will matter little without help from Congress.
In any presidential election, the one thing that matters is this: which candidate is more likely to get along with Congress. Without help from Congress, the president is little more than a figure head. When the President and the opposite party in Congress find common ground and work together, America prospers. When they do no, we all suffer. Yes, it's a two-way street, Congress is not exactly popular right now, either. But the one who should extend the olive branch of peace is the one in the Oval Office. This is the one thing that matters.
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