Obama No Longer the Boogeyman

President Obama has a lot to smile about on the day of his sixth State of the Union Address. His approval ratings have hit 50% for the first time in two years. Unemployment is at it's lowest level since he took office, and is continuing to drop. But most surprising of all is the bipartisan praise the President's nominees for Attorney General and Defense Secretary have received in the Senate, making it almost certain that both of them will be confirmed.

Just a few short months ago this would have been a fictional reality what with the GOP obstructionism the President encountered ever since he took office. But the midterms changed all that. Now that the GOP has control of both houses of Congress they can no longer be the party of no. Instead they have no choice but to govern with the President in order to have any chance of winning in 2016, which is why you see Republican Senators such as Jeff Flake of Arizona publicly supporting the administrations move towards normalizing diplomatic relations with Cuba and other Republican Senators like Bob Corker of Tennessee supporting an increase in the gas tax to help with infrastructure improvements. 

The obstruction and attacks made by the Republicans in Congress over the past six years mostly had to do with them not wanting this particular President to have a legacy. But very soon the party of Reagan will face an electorate that is much more unfavorable to them, with more minorities and young people and other democratic constituents expected to vote in higher numbers in 2016 than in 2014. So therefore they must do everything they can to show that they can govern if they want to still be a major presidential party rather than just a congressional party in Washington. 

But there is more than just the GOP's desire to occupy the White House again that is creating an atmosphere of cooperation on Capitol Hill. It is also the reality that, with only two more years left in office starting today, President Obama is no longer the political threat to the GOP he once was. 

The 2014 midterms were the last in which the GOP would "run against" President Obama. Now moving forward, with the next Presidential Election on the horizon, the Republican Party is now setting it's sights on running against the next Democratic nominee for President, presumably Hillary Clinton. Therefore the GOP will focus more on attacking the future leader of the Democratic Party rather than the current occupant of the White House. 

This current dynamic of cooperation makes it possible for Washington to actually get things done. Let us hope the GOP finally works with the President and help get done as much as possible over the next two years.