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Nominating McHugh
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06/02/09 02:19 PM ET
If asked, President Obama might say that he regards bipartisanship as a process rather than a goal — something to be strived for consistently, rather than a fixed point that can be promptly forgotten about once attained.
His decision Tuesday to nominate Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) to be secretary of the Army could be seen in that light.
After Obama left President Bush’s Defense secretary, Robert Gates, in place at the Pentagon; after he brought former Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) into his Cabinet as Transportation secretary, nominated Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) to be Commerce secretary and chose Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) to be ambassador to China, the president’s bipartisan bona fides were thoroughly established. He could have chosen not to reach across the aisle ever again.
But if bipartisanship is a process rather than some fixed point on the political landscape, then the nomination of McHugh makes a great deal of sense.
The ninth-term Republican lawmaker and ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee is clearly qualified for the job, so that is not an issue. The president has chosen a candidate who is likely to prove a safe pair of hands.
So why choose another Republican? Well, because bipartisan picks can serve partisan purposes. First, the removal of a well-dug-in incumbent — McHugh won 65 percent of the vote last November — from a district Obama won by five percentage points creates another ripe GOP target for House Democrats to aim at.
And by picking yet another Republican to serve in his administration, Obama reinforces an image of bipartisanship that voters like. Gaining voter approval is what partisan electoral politics are about. The president and his party can show that they don’t just talk the bipartisan talk — they walk the walk. That makes Obama and his party more popular, and that political capital can be spent pressing forward with the Democratic agenda.
Obama promised to govern differently, and he is. But the difference does not extend to making decisions conscious that they may weaken his grip on power. Bipartisanship, properly understood, is not some warm and fuzzy, feel-good sharing of power. It is a technique that, looked at with clear eyes, drains the opposition of talent, wrong-foots it, and opens up electoral opportunities.
Obama has been in Washington only a relatively short time. But even if he is green in politics, he does not let the grass grow under his feet.
His decision Tuesday to nominate Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) to be secretary of the Army could be seen in that light.
But if bipartisanship is a process rather than some fixed point on the political landscape, then the nomination of McHugh makes a great deal of sense.
The ninth-term Republican lawmaker and ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee is clearly qualified for the job, so that is not an issue. The president has chosen a candidate who is likely to prove a safe pair of hands.
So why choose another Republican? Well, because bipartisan picks can serve partisan purposes. First, the removal of a well-dug-in incumbent — McHugh won 65 percent of the vote last November — from a district Obama won by five percentage points creates another ripe GOP target for House Democrats to aim at.
And by picking yet another Republican to serve in his administration, Obama reinforces an image of bipartisanship that voters like. Gaining voter approval is what partisan electoral politics are about. The president and his party can show that they don’t just talk the bipartisan talk — they walk the walk. That makes Obama and his party more popular, and that political capital can be spent pressing forward with the Democratic agenda.
Obama promised to govern differently, and he is. But the difference does not extend to making decisions conscious that they may weaken his grip on power. Bipartisanship, properly understood, is not some warm and fuzzy, feel-good sharing of power. It is a technique that, looked at with clear eyes, drains the opposition of talent, wrong-foots it, and opens up electoral opportunities.
Obama has been in Washington only a relatively short time. But even if he is green in politics, he does not let the grass grow under his feet.
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