… Mr. Obama has long since concluded that pursuing dreams of reconciliation in his final two years in office is a fool’s chase. So he is offering an alternative model for 21st-century presidential success. …
George C. Edwards III, a Texas A&M professor who edits Presidential Studies Quarterly, wrote last year that critics of Washington dysfunction “take their frustrations out on the president, declaring that he should more effectively move the public and Congress to support his initiatives. There is little prospect for success in these endeavors, however.”
Presidents, Mr. Edwards noted, “cannot create opportunities for change. Instead, effective presidents recognize and exploit opportunities that exist in their environments.”
Mr. Edwards’s view rests on his conclusion, after poring over data since the advent of political polling, that the persuasive power of the bully pulpit has always been “a myth.” Public approval tends to drift away from any president’s views over time. CONT.
John Harwood, New York Times