3 deals Obama and the GOP should make in the post-midterm world

C'mon, guys. Do something!

Obama deal
(Image credit: (Alex Wong, Justin Sullivan, Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images))

How well will President Obama and the new GOP-controlled Congress get along?

The smart bet, of course, is to have low expectations. After all, past dismal performance is likely indicative of future disheartening results. A Pew Research survey finds that 60 percent of each party's hardcore base thinks "compromise" means getting more of what it wants. Hardly a recipe for bipartisan action. Don't expect an Obama pivot to the center. Don't plan on a Republican détente with the president. Rather, expect an unsatisfying mishmash of executive orders, legislative vetoes, and congressional investigations with little substantive progress on the big challenges facing America.

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James Pethokoukis

James Pethokoukis is the DeWitt Wallace Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute where he runs the AEIdeas blog. He has also written for The New York Times, National Review, Commentary, The Weekly Standard, and other places.