“Presuming he avoids over-reaching on assault weapons or immigration reform — or unless the president makes a major push on climate change, as he hinted in his inaugural address Monday — Mr. Obama’s second-term success or failure will be largely defined by how he handles these fiscal battles with Capitol Hill Republicans,” writes political science professor Thomas Schaller in his latest Baltimore Sun column.
And what can we expect those fiscal battles look like? Schaller suggests, “no matter how ugly the squabbling gets on Capitol Hill during the next two years, there’s almost no incentive for Republicans…to work with Mr. Obama during his second term.” But aside from “fiscal fighting interrupted by the occasional international episode,” Schaller anticipates the U.S. will see a “no drama Obama” in the next four years and a fairly uneventful second term.
Tags: CAHSS, PoliticalScience
