NBC’s “Meet the Press” anchor Chuck Todd reported that President Obama “almost wants to take a victory lap” at his year-in-review press conference on Friday’s “The Rundown with Jose Diaz-Balart” on MSNBC.
“This is a White House that feels as if that they’ve never been in a better position. The president almost wants to take a victory lap with this press conference. As you note, when you look at the things he has done since the election shellacking, immigration and Cuba in particular, but also getting his spending bill without having immigration gum that up. There was a lot of thought that, politically, his announcement would make it impossible to work with Congress and get a spending bill through. I think he feels as relevant as ever. It’s beyond just saying ‘I’m not a lame duck.’ It’s saying ‘I still can dictate the agenda,’ and I think he’s made clear, at least these last six weeks, he can.”
Although, Todd added, “the question is, how does he do it going forward, what does he hint at today at how he plans on working with the Republican Congress? Which he has no choice but to do at some point next year in 2015.”
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