How Obama Shifted on Bypassing Congress

The New York Times looks at President Obama’s shift from a senator who criticized George W. Bush’s use of executive power to a president who increasingly uses those same powers.

“Branding its unilateral efforts ‘We Can’t Wait,’ a slogan that aides said Mr. Obama coined at that strategy meeting, the White House has rolled out dozens of new policies — on creating jobs for veterans, preventing drug shortages, raising fuel economy standards, curbing domestic violence and more. Each time, Mr. Obama has emphasized the fact that he is bypassing lawmakers… Aides say many more such moves are coming.”

“Mr. Obama’s increasingly assertive use of executive action could foreshadow pitched battles over the separation of powers in his second term, should he win and Republicans consolidate their power in Congress.”