Obama's Defeat:
Two Years of America Turned Inward (Rzeczpospolita, Poland)
"This is
bad news for the world. Since Tuesday, America's enemies from Moscow to Pyongyang need no longer worry about threats from Washington. President Putin knows
that Obama's hands are tied, since Congress will not allow him any radical
moves. … Over the next two years the major U.S. political parties will set the
stage for the 2016 presidential race. Regardless of who
runs, Democrats and Republicans will only do things designed to help their
candidate and diminish the chances of their rivals. For the next 24 months
America will be, unfortunately, focused mostly on itself."
Republicans won
decisively in the midterm elections because they made them into a referendum on
Barack Obama.
They regained their majority in the Senate and increased
their advantage in the House of Representatives. According to the rules of
American politics, Republicans now take over the chairmanships of all
committees in both houses, which means they will decide what will be discusses
and when – and then what is accepted or rejected.
For Obama this is essentially the end of his presidency. The
White House, of course, will have plenty to say about foreign affairs. The
president will be able to send troops on missions and travel to summit
meetings, but on domestic matters, most of all those related to federal expenditures,
Obama will only be able to do what the budget allows - and the budget is
prepared by Congress.
This is bad news for the world. Since Tuesday, America's
enemies from Moscow to Pyongyang need no longer worry about threats from
Washington. President Vladimir Putin knows that Obama's hands are tied because
Congress won't allow him any radical action.
The Republican victory is a motion of censure against the
tenure of the White House' occupant. Republicans won decisively in the midterm
elections because they made them into a referendum on Barack Obama.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Correct are pundits who point out that for objective
reasons, the Republican Party had an easier time of it this year, since the elections
for a third of the Senate were mostly held in Republican-leaning states. Yet
that doesn't change the fact that on Tuesday Americans made clear: Barack Obama's
policies just aren't their cup of tea. The president's political capital is running
out. All his future interlocutors know it – including at the APEC summit in
Beijing, where Obama will reportedly meet Putin.
Over the next two years the major U.S. political parties
will set the stage for the 2016 presidential race. Regardless of who runs, Democrats and Republicans will only do things designed
to help their candidate and diminish the chances of their
rivals. For the next 24 months America will be, unfortunately, focused mostly
on itself.
