President Obama raised quite a few eyebrows this morning when the White House announced a recess appointment for Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It was an unusual display — congressional Republicans abused the rules and told the president to just accept it, and Obama effectively responded, “No.”
And more to come, according to Benen.
This is key:
The larger context is hard to miss: President Obama is starting 2012 on a surprisingly aggressive foot. Republicans are accustomed to using obstructionism to simply tell the president how it’s going to be, and Obama, for quite a while, has tried to be accommodating, cooperative, and bipartisan.
But as this election year gets underway, it appears the president is turning over a new leaf. Indeed, I hardly recognize this combative, confrontational Obama, who seems comfortable antagonizing Republicans when they deserve it.
Look, it's an election year, Obama's approval rating isn't all the great for an incumbent, and there's a lot of disappointment on the left. And can I mention the Occupy movement? The "you haven't performed, so we're taking it out of your hands" movement? I guess even Obama got the message.
Frankly, I'm for it. The more he can bend the Republicans out of shape, the better. Just make sure everyone knows who's doing what.
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