The Lame Congress

When looking at President Barack Obama's tanglings with the Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill, one can start to see some virtue in Obama's predecessor's desire to consolidate executive branch power, even when he had a Congressional majority for much of his 8 years in office.

Congress just gets in the way.

The so-called "genius" of American democracy is the so-called well-functioning legislative branch. Unlike many traditional Parliamentary systems such as that of the Brits, however, the United States has a powerful lower house AND upper house. In time of political and economic struggle, this body of legislators has proven itself increasingly beholden to special interests.

Two of the most significant legislative breakthroughs in the current generation - health care reform and a commitment to greenhouse gas emissions reductions - are on the horizon. The Copenhagen meetings are moving ahead this week and health reform is in the United States Senate will a more-than-50-percent chance of passage.

On both accounts, however, President Obama is dramatically weakened by a gridlocked, polarized Congress. Right-wing Republicans, fearful of losing their party base in midterms next year, are holding ground on their "conservative" values of small government ($700 billion bank bailouts) and personal responsibility ($700 billion bank bailouts). Meanwhile, Democrats are doing more to hurt their own chances with a weak leadership at the helm (Pelosi and Reid).

The result is depressing. The Democrats have dropped the public option - the primary innovation in health reform - from the negotiations, and Obama will arrive in Copenhagen empty-handed and with only an argument that his Congress won't change the status quo no matter how much the United States is to blame for climate change.

President Obama has barely been in an office for about 11 months. While his potential for achievement is great, his Congress will likely have more to say about that.