What Obama Wants Now

John Heilemann “This is a
president unusually focused in the present on what his legacy will be in
the future. With Obama’s reelection, one foundational element of that
legacy has been secured: the Affordable Care Act, which, had he been
defeated, would not only likely have been repealed but retrospectively
reduced to one of the causes of his loss. Now, with a second term ahead
of him, among Obama’s paramount goals, say his advisers, is to add
another glittering trophy to his mantle: at least one more
domestic-policy reform tantamount in importance to near-universal health
care.”

“The shiniest such prize would be the achievement of a grand bargain on
entitlements and tax reform: a bipartisan agreement that would put the
nation’s fiscal house in order for years, and maybe decades, to come.
The extent to which Obama pines for this was illustrated by his ardent
pursuit of such a megadeal in 2011, which ultimately fell apart when
House Speaker John Boehner proved unable to move the tea-party faction
in his caucus to accept new revenues.”