When President Obama announced he would not force a government shutdown over the automatic spending cuts that took place on Friday, he lost significant leverage in his dealings with Congressional Republicans. The sequester will now almost certainly remain in place for months, if not even longer.
White House officials had predicted for months that Republicans would cave by agreeing to new revenue from closing tax loopholes. But they never did.
The president's strategy is now down to this: He'll crisscross the country highlighting how Americans are hurt by the spending cuts forced by the sequester and hope resulting pressure will force Republicans back to the negotiating table.
But as John Avlon notes, it's a dangerous game.
While polls show Americans more likely to blame Republicans for the obstructive gridlock than the president, if the economy turns south and chaos continues to reign supreme, ultimately people will blame the president. There are no doubt some conservative strategists counseling a hard-line betting on this outcome with an eye toward the 2014 and 2016 elections.
Republicans have forced the president into a corner. GOP aides tell Roll Call that they think the sequester will affect Democratic constituencies more deeply than Republicans' and they feel they can pacify their own side longer than Democrats can keep their members in line.
The only thing President Obama can do now is wait.
Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political websites. He also runs Wonk Wire and the Political Dictionary. Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and COO of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. senator and governor. Goddard is also co-author of You Won — Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including The Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor. Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
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