In Copenhagen and U.S. Congress, Obama Plays a 'Cunning' Game
"Wedged
between the disillusioned and the skeptical, the position of the American
president seems increasingly difficult to maintain. Yet Obama continues to play
his part with cunning and determination."
First lady Michelle Obama removes dust from the jacket of her husband, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, President Barack Obama, before a banquet in his honor at the Royal Castle in Oslo, December 10.
Wedged between the
disillusioned and the skeptical, the position of the American president seems increasingly
difficult to maintain.
Seen from Europe, many already
portray Barack Obama as an entangled Gulliver, ready to
abandon his campaign promises on climate change due to war in Afghanistan and
the daily hand-to-hand combat with Congress. “Too little, too late,” protest
those who feel disillusioned with the American president's commitment to reduce
CO2 emissions by 17 percent between now and 2020 (an amount that corresponds to
5 percent compared to 1990, the year of reference for Europeans). In stark
contrast, within the corridors of the Senate or the depressed industrial heartland
of America, some depict Obama as a dangerous “ayatollah of the green economy,”
ready to sell off the productive capacity of the country in the name of the
environment. “Too much, and much too quickly” replies this camp, demonstrating
the difficult position the U.S. chief executive is in. All the more so since
skepticism is growing among the population about the causes of the planet's
warming.
Yet Barack Obama continues to
play his part with cunning and determination. After having obtained from his Chinese
and Indian partners a promise of a more precise commitment on carbon emissions,
a condition judged indispensable by the U.S. Congress for holding a vote on a
climate bill in 2010. And instead of settling for a brief appearance while on
his way to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday for the beginning
of the Copenhagen Conference, he recently announced that he would participate at
the close of the summit along with his foreigncounterparts. “He's
showing that he really wants to get personally involved,” notes analyst Thomas
Kleine-Brockoff, a researcher with the German Marshall Fund who refers to Obama
as, “the most green president America has ever had.”
“He can't accomplish in eight
months what Bush didn't do in eight years,” he insists. Thomas Kleine-Brockoff
is annoyed to see the how Europeans have underestimated the U.S. Congress'
power to block - with which the president must contend at every step. The
climate legislation that the House of Representatives voted on in June is still
blocked by the Senate, where it could be buried because of Senators in fear of
the short term economic cost of a long-term project. “Barack Obama is neither a
king nor a dictator, but the president of a democracy in which there are checks
on power.” said Thomas Kleine-Brockoff.
Conscious of the political
limits that the power of Congress poses to his “green” ambitions, Barack Obama pulled
an important card from his sleeve on Thursday. The federal Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) announced that in accordance with a 2007 decision from
the Supreme Court, it would now consider emissions of carbon “dangerous” to
public health.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
“The 2007 law gives us not
only the right, but an obligation to legislate to remove this danger,” explained
EPA Director Lisa
Jackson. An obligation to act that could be exercised at the risk of circumventing
Congress if it's too slow to pronouncing themselves on climate legislation.
“The message to Congress is as clear as crystal - move,” commented Democratic
Senator John Kerry.
For team Obama, it's a matter
of putting pressure on these Senators while showing the participants at
Copenhagen the resolve of America. But the indignant reactions that continue to erupt along
Capital Hill suggest that the president isn't at the end of his
troubles. “The politics of the stick aren't going to work, and Congress could
shoot back,” warned an adviser to [Republican] Senator Richard Lugar. The White
House continues to believe that the, “best course of action is to obtain
legislation in Congress,” explained presidential press spokesman Robert Gibbs.
“A real battle for power is
underway,” notes Thomas Kleine-Brockoff. “The question is what role Copenhagen
will play. If the emerging nations commit themselves and a consensus emerges,
the U.S. Congress will be obliged to consider it.
