so we ll see how he gets through this. but, you know, presidents go through this at the beginning of their second terms. you saw it with bush, you saw it with clinton. so we ll see how he navigates this, really. 2014 is right around the corner. and that seems to be a deadline. alahai, organizing for action, the former obama campaign machine, it was going to use its clout to try to move the president s agenda forward. but according to politico, group failed at its first major effort, the senate s gun legislation. quote, the group didn t sway a single vote for the background check proposal and so far it has not been able to make any of those who voted against it feel any heat. what s happened to ofa? well, gun control is a very interesting first issue for them to try and tackle, because they re going against the gun lobby, like the nra, and their ground game has been perfected over the years. they re not just a well-funded lobby. they ve got a passionate base of supports and members
with senators, in small groups, really trying to court some of these leaders on issues like that and like the budget and, but, you know, republicans see an opportunity here, especially, you know, holding some of these things so they could get something else. they see these other bargaining chips. so, you know, this is how it goes in the second term. alahai, is republican obstructionism working? i think president obama and the administration has kind of figured out that the way to kind of go about it is to go through the senate and work with even senate republicans rather than the house. the house trying to, we ve seen through the last budget deals and trying to make something happen that it just didn t work. trying to go through it in the senate might be a better route. but at the end of the day, a political incentive for any of these republican lawmakers to compromise is very low, especially in the house. jackie kucinich from the washington post, the national journal s alaha