So someone informed me that President Obama won a second term. I read it on the Internet so it must be true.
The question now is what is the key to a successful second term? In the president's first term he promised bi-partisanship and a new tone in Washington.
The result? A big fat zero. He promised transparency. What happened? Nada. No public hearings on healthcare like he promised. And now comes the big fiscal cliff negotiations. The president has the upper hand and could try and cash that in to forward his liberal agenda.
All bets are that he will do exactly that. But if he wants to cement a positive legacy, then he'd be wise to give more than he gets. Be the compromiser in chief with the GOP, not the bully in chief or the dictator in chief.
Settling for less liberalism in the fiscal cliff grand bargain would end up doing him and the country a world of good. But don’t count on it.