12 January 2016
Too Soon for Reforming the Political System
What is the likelihood of success for President Obama's call in his 2016 State of the Union address for reform of the country's political system? His appeal for easier voting processes (Internet voting?) and for elimination of state majority party control of voting district definition are going to be long, drawn-out affairs, if they are ever undertaken. The status quo is much too advantageous to the parties in power to be sacrificed to a crusading lame-duck White House occupant.
If President Obama wishes to insert his waning public infuence into the 2016 election in order to reform the political system, he'd better get started. It is not likely that Hilary Clinton would join forces with him and threaten her establishment support; so Senator Bernie Sanders would have to be the vehicle for pushing these reforms, unless Obama were to wait until the election is over. It's probably wisest not to confuse the Presidential Election campaign with such a transformative issue, anyway.
Therefore, if the 2016 State of the Union address signals any Presidential policy for Obama's last year in office, it only says that he will fight to maintain what he believes to have been his legacies up to now--like preserving ObamaCare, re-establishing Cuba diplomatic relations, implementing the Iranian nuclear deal, and closing Guantanamo (?).
What is the likelihood of success for President Obama's call in his 2016 State of the Union address for reform of the country's political system? His appeal for easier voting processes (Internet voting?) and for elimination of state majority party control of voting district definition are going to be long, drawn-out affairs, if they are ever undertaken. The status quo is much too advantageous to the parties in power to be sacrificed to a crusading lame-duck White House occupant.
If President Obama wishes to insert his waning public infuence into the 2016 election in order to reform the political system, he'd better get started. It is not likely that Hilary Clinton would join forces with him and threaten her establishment support; so Senator Bernie Sanders would have to be the vehicle for pushing these reforms, unless Obama were to wait until the election is over. It's probably wisest not to confuse the Presidential Election campaign with such a transformative issue, anyway.
Therefore, if the 2016 State of the Union address signals any Presidential policy for Obama's last year in office, it only says that he will fight to maintain what he believes to have been his legacies up to now--like preserving ObamaCare, re-establishing Cuba diplomatic relations, implementing the Iranian nuclear deal, and closing Guantanamo (?).
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