Populist Pop: Sharp words, and a sharper turn for Obama agenda

By Rick Klein Maybe this was the week where it all had to break down. Not just the health care bill — or the campaign-finance system — or the ability to actually move anything in Congress. Maybe what had to happen here, one year into the president’s term and nine months out from a bigger judgment day, was for the old frame to get broken beyond recognition. If you need a fresh start, it helps to clear away the old foundation. This is a White House that brags about being able to walk and chew gum at the same time. But as we walk away from health care and back toward the economy, there’s some intriguing items to chew on in Scott Brown’s considerable wake. The agenda looks slimmer even as the rhetoric looks bolder. If you’re looking for a populist restart, this may be where it begins — and it sure looks like somebody’s going to be out of a job before it’s through: “Amidst the voter anger at Wall Street and Washington, D.C., ABC News has learned that the Senate Democratic leadership isn't sure there are enough votes to re-confirm Ben Bernanke for another term as chairman of the Federal Reserve,” ABC’s Jake Tapper reports. “Voter anger is of heightened concern to members of Congress given the surprise victory of Sen.-elect Scott Brown, R-Mass., who rode a tide of voter discontent and economic anxiety to an upset victory in a special election earlier this week.”  “It’s just the latest bad news for the president, who is struggling to regain momentum,” Tapper reported on “Good Morning America” Friday. “It’s been one of the roughest week of the Obama presidency.” A full embrace of economic populism, with all that means for policy and politics, isn’t happening any time soon. But a pivot like this — even if it’s driven by Congress, as opposed to the White House — almost requires casualties. Messages get delivered better that way; by the way, Bernanke’s term expires Jan. 31. (And he isn’t the only TARP architect still working in high places in government.) “The Massachusetts election storm is sending a few cold waves over the bow of the White House economic team — not to mention Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke,” David Rogers reports for Politico. “In a matter of hours Thursday, 13 Democrats broke ranks with the Treasury over extending its financial bailout authority, and after a face-to-face meeting. Majority Leader Harry Reid was conspicuously silent on whether he will back Bernanke for a second term next week.”  If Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is right… “You're beginning to see, maybe this vote is kind of symbolic of one's attitude toward Wall Street, and whether or not we're going to stand up to them and move it in a new direction with new leadership, or whether we keep up the same old same old,” Sanders told The Wall Street Journal’s Sudeep Reddy and Damian Paletta. “Reading too much into the delay could overstate its immediate significance — the Senate has a lot on its mind, after all — but the populist rage against Wall Street now casts a once-secure confirmation in some doubt,” writes Huffington Post’s Ryan Grim, who tried polling senators on Bernanke. And while you’re looking for fissures: “Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has reservations about President Obama's new proposal to limit the size and scope of the nation's banks, sources tell ABC News,” ABC’s Jake Tapper and Matthew Jaffe report. “Specifically, the sources say, Geithner is worried that the proposed limits could damage the competitiveness of US firms with their global competitors.”  Reuters: “President Barack Obama's newest Wall Street crackdown was met with hesitation from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who is concerned that politics could be sacrificing good economic policy, according to financial industry sources.”  Tim Geithner falling, Paul Volcker rising: “It was Obama's most visible break yet from the reform philosophy that Geithner and his allies had been promoting earlier,” The Washington Post’s David Cho and Binyamin Appelbaum report. “The proposals, which require congressional approval, are the most explicit restrictions the administration has tried to impose on the banking industry.”  “Obama suddenly reversed course and embraced the populist critique, demanding that commercial banks give up their risky investment activities,” Steven Pearlstein writes in his Washington Post column. “The president's motives seemed less substantive than they were political, allowing him to shift from defense to offense and put Republicans in the uncomfortable position of having to defend the Wall Street status quo.” And Geithner wasn’t the only one with concerns: “President Barack Obama proposed new limits on the size and activities of the nation's largest banks, pushing a more muscular approach toward regulation that yanked down bank stocks and raised the stakes in his campaign to show he's tough on Wall Street,” The Wall Street Journal’s Jonathan Weisman, Damian Paletta, and Robin Sidel report. “Mr. Obama was throwing a public punch at Wall Street for the third time in a week, underscoring the imperative for him and his party to strike a more populist tone,” Jackie Calmes writes in The New York Times.  Coming Friday — the president is back on the road, on the economy. ABC’s Sunlen Miller: “As part of the ‘White House to Main Street’ tour, President Obama today will travel to Elyria, Ohio to hold a town hall at the Lorain County Community College.”  “President Barack Obama is telling voters in Ohio, already wracked by high unemployment, that investments in clean-energy technologies will help boost the nation's economy,” the AP’s Philip Elliott writes. “Obama planned to use his visit Friday to test-drive an aggressive populist push on jobs, a top concern for voters across the country as the White House begins a message shift heading into fall elections expected to be difficult for Democrats.”  That’s jobs — and very much not health care: “The White House deliberately avoided a stop at Invacare Corp., a high-tech wheelchair maker that employs 1,300 people in Lorain County, to avoid drawing attention to Democrats' foundering health-care bill, people familiar with the president's itinerary said,” Elizabeth Williamson writes in The Wall Street Journal. “After independents abandoned Democrats in Tuesday's vote in Massachusetts, Mr. Obama was expected to test drive a new message for disaffected swing voters.”  Bracketing Obama — House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, writing in the Cleveland Plain Dealer: “Ohioans shouldn't miss the chance to give President Obama an earful.” Writes Boehner: “Like the people of Massachusetts, Ohioans are waiting for a sign that the president understands their struggle and is listening to them as they continue to say ‘stop.’ A signal that he is ready to scrap Washington Democrats' job-killing policies and work with Republicans on common-sense solutions to get our economy back on track would be a great place to start.”  That’s right — there’s still health care reform. Or is there? Closing one door — that was already swinging closed: “I don't think it's possible to pass the Senate bill in the House,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.  Sounds like starting over: “The idea that seems to be gaining traction among both liberal and conservative Democrats in the House is to move forward with several smaller health care bills that break the package into smaller, easier-to-digest and easier-to-sell chunks that could attract Republican votes,” Roll Call’s Steven T. Dennis and Emily Pierce report.  “The consensus measure would be less ambitious than the bills approved last year. It would extend insurance coverage to perhaps 12 million to 15 million people — and provide political cover to Democrats, who said they could not simply drop the issue after spending so much time and effort on it,” The New York Times’ Robert Pear and David Herszenhorn report. Suddenly, a path becomes no path at all: “For the first time in the yearlong push, Democratic aides — and even some members — finally acknowledged privately that the fear of failure was real. And Congress recessed for the weekend without an obvious path forward as rank-and-file Democrats started splintering in different directions,” Politico’s Patrick O’Connor and Carrie Budoff Brown report.   Some frustration, perhaps? Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., to Politico: “I haven’t seen Rahm Emanuel except on television. We used to see him a lot; I’d like him to come out from behind his desk and meet with the common folk.” Still weighing the options, per The Plum Line’s Greg Sargent: “Reports that Rahm Emanuel is pushing for a scaled-down bill are false. Rahm is actively involved in sounding out Congressional leaders to determine what’s possible, but hasn’t stated a preference.” You don’t think? “I don't think we want to do healthcare the next three months,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., tells The Hill’s Jared Allen.  Fight, or flight? “The president can surrender and blame Republicans for killing health-care reform yet again, or he can fight tooth and nail on behalf of the 46 million Americans who remain uninsured. But he has to do one or the other. He can't do both,” Eugene Robinson writes in his Washington Post column.  Paul Krugman wants the House to man up and pass the Senate bill: “Part of Democrats’ problem since Tuesday’s special election has been that they have been waiting in vain for leadership from the White House, where Mr. Obama has conspicuously failed to rise to the occasion. But members of Congress, who were sent to Washington to serve the public, don’t have the right to hide behind the president’s passivity.”  The argument for continued passivity: “Obama's first year demonstrated once again that in this deeply polarized political era, big legislative crusades aimed at big national problems produce only big political headaches,” Ron Brownstein writes for National Journal. “President George W. Bush learned that when his failed drive to restructure Social Security helped trigger his precipitous second-term political collapse. And now, like President Clinton, Obama is at risk of cracking his presidency on the immovable rock of health care reform.”  Pulling a Bill: “Clinton learned a lesson along the way that surely applies equally to Obama: The only thing other politicians really respect is popularity and power,” Politico’s John F. Harris writes. “When Clinton’s approval ratings were high, his own party got in line. When they were low, Democrats were happy to pile on.” Peggy Noonan’slessons: “We are in a postromantic political era. They hire you and fire you, nothing personal.”  We’re also in a really expensive political era — and the floodgates got thrown open by the third branch on Thursday. The decision that surprises no one but shocks the system: “In a significant reversal of court precedent, the Supreme Court today invalidated decades-old federal legislation restricting corporate spending in political campaigns,” ABC’s Ariane de Vogue, Terry Moran, and Devin Dwyer report. “There'll be a lot more special-interest money in political campaigns. And maybe even more confusion for voters trying to sort out who is behind the increasing clamor of TV messages,” the AP’s Liz Sidoti writes. “The Supreme Court's 5-4 decision Thursday to allow corporations and unions to spend freely on elections seems certain to boost the political power of big business and labor. And perhaps diminish the clout of the political parties.” (Anyone think labor can keep pace with business in this war?) Saturation point, anyone? “The 5-4 decision means that corporations and unions are now freer to run attack ads — or, for that matter, ads touting their positions — and to praise or criticize specific candidates, right up until Election Day,” McClatchy’s David Lightman, Margaret Talev, and Michael Doyle report.  Mark McKinnon and Steve Hildebrand team up to promote public funding of elections, in Citizens United’s wake: “The Supreme Court just sucker-punched hope and change and cozied up to the status quo on money and politics,” they write for The Daily Beast. “The overall cost of the system, to literally wrest the control of elections away from special interests, is roughly $800 million a year, less than half what we spent in promoting democracy around the world in the last fiscal year. If promoting democracy is a good thing, shouldn’t we promote it here, too?”  Open arms for Sen.-elect Scott Brown, R-Mass.: “Henceforth, I will always think of him as 41,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., per The Boston Globe.  Ready for more “Scott Brown Republicans”? “The victory is starting to have an impact on candidate recruitment. At the National Republican Congressional Committee, the win has galvanized Chairman Pete Sessions’ attempt to get a GOP candidate on the ballot in all 435 House races, according to party officials.” Next up for the veep: “Alarmed that the disqualification of hundreds of candidates from upcoming parliamentary elections threatens to derail Iraq's fledgling democracy, the Obama administration is dispatching Vice President Biden in hopes of defusing the looming political crisis,” Leila Fadel reports in The Washington Post.  Big day in the Texas governor’s race — with a rare campaign appearance (or maybe not so rare, after all) by former President George H.W. Bush: “Former President George H.W. Bush is expected to endorse Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison for governor today in Houston, but his face was all over television statewide about 12 years ago stumping for the man Hutchison is challenging: incumbent Rick Perry,” Aman Batheja writes for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  The gang’s all there: “The news of the senior Bush’s endorsement comes the same week that former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker officially backed Hutchison. The senator also has endorsements from former White House counselor Karen Hughes and former Vice President Dick Cheney,” Batheja writes. And a media blow: “Air America Radio, which launched in 2004 as a liberal alternative to right-wing talk radio and never quite found its legs, is coming to an end,” Crain’s New York Business reports. “According to a memo that went out to the staff Thursday afternoon from Air America Chairman Charlie Kireker, the radio network will cease its live programming operations at 6 p.m. Thursday and file for for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.” 
The Kicker:  ”He's doing a great job with North Korea, a nice job with Afghanistan.” — Sen.-elect Scott Brown, finding nice things to say about President Obama.  “I'll treat you like a lady. So act like one.” — Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., to Rep. Michelle Bachmann, R-Minn., on a Philadelphia radio station, in a debate we’re kicking ourselves for not setting up sooner. 
For up-to-the-minute political updates check out The Note’s blog . . . all day every day:

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/