Can Obama Work With His New Congress?

In President Obama’s second inaugural speech, he addressed issues ranging from LGBT rights to immigration. I think he summed it all up by stating, “Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time—but it does require us to act in our time.”

At the start of his first term, Obama was thrown into a recession, two wars, and a divided government. Now, at the start of his second term, the economy has slightly improved and we have ended one of the wars, but we still struggle with a divided government. In his past term, there was much controversy about whether Obama would be able to accomplish any type of legislation due to the bipartisan Congress. Recently, Congress was heavily publicized due to the amount of time it took to pass any type of Sandy relief funds (it took three months for them to decide). The inability to compromise has caused many unnecessary, drawn-out debates about what types of legislation should be passed. The past Congress had one of the lowest approval ratings and one of the least productive terms in history.

For the 113^th Congress, the Senate is controlled Democrats and the House of Representatives by Republicans. Many say that since immigration and energy reform are some of the big issues, Obama may gain some support from moderate Republicans. Others believe that Obama could use the Democratic Senate and pressure as the bully pulpit to push House Republicans towards more liberal policies. There has been some debate recently about whether Obama would lean slightly towards Republican policy in some effort to find a common ground. As he has no chance for re-election, Obama doesn’t need to worry as much about retaining constituents. If conceding to some Republican ideas would help move the U.S. towards progress, I think it would be worth it.

It seems like many choose a side based on what types of benefits it will bring. Shouldn’t the issue, like environmental protection, be more important than party affiliations? What would you do if you were in President Obama’s position? How would you help Congress to "act in our time?"