President Obama, This Isn't Chicago

Is President Obama really planning to treat the US Congress the way Mayor Daley treated the Chicago City Council?

So the Washington Post reports this morning.

The shortcut, known as "budget reconciliation," would allow Obama's health and energy proposals to be rolled into a bill that cannot be filibustered, meaning Democrats could push it through the Senate with 51 votes, instead of the usual 60. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton both used the tactic to win deficit-reduction packages, while George W. Bush used it to push through his signature tax cuts.

Administration officials say they have not made a final decision about whether to use the maneuver. But White House budget director Peter R. Orszag said yesterday that it is "premature to be taking it off the table." Meanwhile, key administration officials, including White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, are pushing for reconciliation instructions in the budget proposal that Democrats are scheduled to unveil next week, congressional sources said.

If they try this, they'll light Washington on fire. They'll discover - as so many arrogant administrations have discovered before them - that the need for consensus on major change is not just built into the rules of Congress. It's built into American political culture.

Proposals for major change that cannot command consensus (see President Bush, Social Security proposals of) usually fail. It's even worse however for the administration when they pass. Then the administration and the majority party find themselves exposed and alone. If their plans succeed flawlessly, they can claim all the credit. If anything goes wrong (and it always does)… find itself friendless and alone (see President Bush, Iraq war and).