If Only Obama Were Like Coolidge…

David Brooks makes a number of excellent points in his latest column. No surprise there. There’s plenty to dislike, from a policy point of view, about the bills the Democratic Congress in Washington is passing. No surprise there. Then again, there was plenty to dislike about much of the legislation that came out of the Republican-controlled Congress too. Brooks ends his piece with this cute summary:

The great paradox of the age is that Barack Obama, the most riveting of recent presidents, is leading us into an era of Congressional dominance. And Congressional governance is a haven for special interest pleading and venal logrolling. When the executive branch is dominant you often get coherent proposals that may not pass. When Congress is dominant, as now, you get politically viable mishmashes that don’t necessarily make sense.