President Obama No Lame Duck President

The AP summed up Obama’s good summer:

After a string of sunny seasons gripped by controversy, crises and plummeting popularity, the summer of 2015 has been among the most productive stretches of Obama’s presidency. Late June victories in the Supreme Court on health care and gay marriage, along with a win for his trade agenda on Capitol Hill, were followed by the landmark Iran nuclear deal in July and the raising of the U.S. flag over a new embassy in Cuba in August.

Instead of being overshadowed by the 2016 presidential campaign, Obama’s agenda has often been driving the debate among the candidates running to replace him.

President Obama has had a fantastic summer. The President has been driving the agenda, and Republicans have been forced to react to his actions and initiatives.

President Obama has been setting the stage for a showdown in September. House and Senate conservatives are demanding a government shutdown. They want to defund Planned Parenthood and are threatening to push the nation towards default.

For months, Obama has been threatening to veto Republican-passed spending bills. The President upped the ante last week by reminding Republicans that he expects them to pass a budget and do their jobs.

President Obama has had a great summer, and he is preparing for an even bigger fall. This president is no lame duck. Instead of going quietly into political retirement, Obama is setting the agenda, and dominating American politics. The Republican victory in 2014 has triggered an Obama resurgence that will be studied by future presidents to understand how to flourish in a second term.