WASHINGTON (AP) – An encouraging vote on trade and a tragedy in South Carolina are showcasing the promise and peril of Barack Obama’s presidential end game.
Obama’s setback on trade in Congress last week gave way to sighs of relief at the White House on Thursday when the House put the legislation back on track.
And the president showed he still can command the national pulpit when he spoke compellingly about the shooting that left nine dead at a church in South Carolina.
But Obama also acknowledged there was no way he could prod Congress to take action on gun violence, an issue of enormous importance to him.
It turns out the politics of Washington limit the president’s options on all sorts of issues at this stage in his presidency.