Obama's Houdini Month

Who would have thought? After declaring a "shellacking" in the November election, Obama has resurrected his political hopes and his party's momentum in a whirlwind two weeks. I have not seen such a swift turn of fortunes since the Red Sox's recovery against the Yankees and the 19-8 "shellacking" in 2004. But somehow Obama defied the odds and critics who labelled him soft and incapable of pushing through key legislation. He did it the old-fashioned way: using personal will and political compromise. Adopting some of Clinton's tactics, Obama has thrown the gauntlet to the Republicans and revitalized support among the liberals and Democrat base.

I think the three major pieces of legislation are all wise and practical. First, extending  the Bush tax cuts, despite liberals' cries against cuts for the wealthy, will help to keep money in consumers' pockets and foster investment and consumer spending in 2011. The net gains from the tax cuts for the middle class, unemployment benefits and reduced payroll tax makes this a desirable compromise. Second, Obama rallied his liberal and youth base by fulfilling his campaign promise to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'. Let's hope this makes the beginning of extending equal protection to gays and other still-marginalized groups. Finally, the START treaty ratification is a huge foreign policy success and instrumental to promoting nuclear peace and better relations with Russia. Biden and Kerry were instrumental in passing the treaty, which leaves America in a better position to tackle problems such as Iran and North Korea in the upcoming year.

Obama is not out of the woods yet. He and the incoming Congress will have many challenges in the upcoming term, most notably appropriations and the budget/deficit and other measures to stimulate the economy and job growth. How well the economy fares in 2012 will determine whether Obama wins reelection. But his December success has paved the way for that possibility and raised the spirits of his supporters and independents alike.