On Monday night, both President Barack Obama and the Speaker of the House John Boehner, addressed the American nation on the debt crisis. The Democrats and the Republicans are undoubtedly tracking public reaction to the two presentations.
Obama on Friday night was apparently trying out a "Give them hell, Barry" approach reminiscent of the famous 1948 "Give them hell, Harry" campaign of Harry S. Truman against the "do-nothing Republican Congress". That campaign was responsible for Truman's surprise reelection victory in the 1948 election.
Indeed, many Liberals were pining for the president to shed his Olympian demeanor and display some anger. The press conference on Friday did that and drew the following comment from Jonathan Chait in the New Republic "Perhaps what's more interesting is the tone of Obama's press conference. It was the most heated I'd ever seen him. And it was also the first time I can recall that he fully abandoned his stance as above the fray and spoke as the leader of the Democratic Party."
At that press conference Obama tried to lay down the law . "I told Speaker Boehner, I’ve told Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, I’ve told Harry Reid, and I’ve told Mitch McConnell I want them here at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. We have run out of time. And they are going to have to explain to me how it is that we are going to avoid default. "
If Obama expected the truants to show up at principal Obama's office he got a picture of the House and Senate leaderships meeting together instead. Obama was effectively frozen out. As previous presidents have learned, political partisanship does exist in the Congress but there is also a feeling of camaraderie that presidents ignore at their peril.
Jimmy Carter, although he commanded a Democratic majority in both houses, failed to move his legislation because he adopted a hectoring tone that displayed disdain for the legislative branch. Ronald Reagan, despite his vast popularity, understood the needs of the legislators, particularly in terms of their relationship with constituents. Although he faced a Democratic-controlled Congress, Reagan was more adept in passing his legislation.
Obama realized this when he resumed a more conciliatory tone in making political points in his Monday night speech.
Another thing that was wrong about the Friday performance was that the American public expects two different types of behavior from its presidents. Before the election campaign becomes public, he is expected to be 'presidential' and only in the window of the campaign can he function overtly as a party leader.
The Speaker of the House John Boehner will not be Obama's opponent in the presidential elections, but by engaging in an overt match with him, some of the dirt naturally clings to President Obama. This is why parties generally have political attack dogs who savage political opponents, allowing the party leader to keep a clean profile. Obama waded into the dirt and it did him no good.