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Is Obama still relevant?

“Today I had a chance to speak with John Boehner and congratulated Mitch McConnell on becoming the next Senate majority leader,” President Obama said in the opening of his White House press conference following the Democrats’ Tuesday massacre. “And I told them both that I look forward to finishing up this Congress’s business and then working together for the next two years to advance America’s business.”

Obama struck an optimistic, cooperative tone. Of course, he better. If he wants to have any relevance going forward, what choice does he have but to play nice with Republicans, or at least talk nice?

This begs the trillion-dollar question: Is Obama still relevant? Given the truly historic proportion of this Republican victory, is Obama about to become the lamest of ?lame-ducks?

Before Republicans get too excited, I would caution that a president is never irrelevant, simply due to the sheer power of the office. We don’t call it the Bully Pulpit for nothing. There are plenty of muscles for the commander-in-chief to flex, even if the opposing party runs the fitness center.

I would point conservatives to a notable example from their presidential icon, Ronald Reagan. Six years into his presidency, in 1986, Reagan’s party likewise lost the Senate and again lost the House. And yet, Reagan’s final two years were rich with success, seeing a number of summits, the signing of the INF treaty and benefits of the 1986 Tax Reform Act.

Alas, there was one key negative in Reagan’s final two years: the Iran-Contra hearings, which Democrats tried to turn into the second Watergate, seeking Reagan’s demise.

Could Republicans seek the same against Obama? I doubt it. Any attempt to do so, no matter the validity, would be met with the loudest wails of “racism” and everything and anything else from the ?progressive corner.

For Obama to implement much of anything from his agenda, what will it take? His main source of impact will not come in bipartisan achievements but in unilateral overtures. We may see him attempt to further rely on executive orders, which would be unfortunate and even more divisive. He will also hammer out a long-term liberal legacy with the courts, where he can help shape law and culture.

So, is President Obama still relevant?

Yes, but much less so.

His own radicalism in attempting to fundamentally transform America has prompted Americans to fundamentally ?transform his plans.

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