Obama's Helpful Attitude Towards Banks

During the attempt at health care reform, President Obama and the Democrats found themselves on the wrong side of the public's attitude; the people were disappointed. As the administration's agenda is shifting from health care reform to financial reform, they are hoping to not make the same mistake again. What is the key to not making this mistake again? Some say that the key is having a confrontational attitude about politics from the President, just as he did when addressing the wrongdoings of Wall Street and the banks. President Obama really let the banks have the full attack of people, as translated through himself. With financial reform, he needs to do this same thing. Obama needs to shift from a passive leader of a party that is somewhat divided on many issues, to a agitated aggressor of change in policy. If he adopts an attitude like that of Lyndon B. Johnson, it is quite possible that he could agitate the policymakers into actually making policy. This in-your-face style could make Congress choose sides quickly, creating change in a more effective manner. However, this effort could also ruin the President's hope of creating a bipartisan relationship between members of the government. If Obama pushes for decisive policymaking, it is likely that many congressman will just take the side of their entire party. This will allows for little discussion between members of the separate parties, leading to many disagreements and likely many filibusters now that the Democrats do not have a filibuster-proof majority. In my opinion, if President Obama treats issues with assertiveness and decisiveness, asking for a decision quickly, his popularity will rise because of the fact that something is happening. However, an effort such as this will for sure create even more tension between political parties than there already is. Honestly, however, he can't try to take a between route of moderation. Moderation is what he has tried, and it has really gotten him nowhere. Taking one, decisive action at a time is probably the only thing that will make the American people support him. The public does not like indecision. The link to the article is here.