This is how Johnson enacted the Great Society.

"President Kennedy had employed several task forces composed of scholars and experts to craft New Frontier legislation and to deal with foreign affairs. The reliance on experts appealed to Johnson, in part because the task forces would work in secret and outside of the existing governmental bureaucracy and directly for the White House staff. Almost immediately after the Ann Arbor speech, 14 separate task forces began studying nearly all major aspects of United States society under the guidance of presidential assistants Bill Moyers and Richard N. Goodwin.

The average task force had nine members and generally was composed of governmental experts and academicians. Only one of the task forces on the 1965 legislative program addressed foreign affairs (foreign economic policy); the rest were charged with domestic policy (agriculture, anti-recession policy, civil rights, education, efficiency and economy, health, income maintenance policy, intergovernmental fiscal cooperation, natural resources, pollution of the environment, preservation of natural beauty, transportation, and urban problems).

After task force reports were submitted to the White House, Moyers began a second round of review. The recommendations were circulated among the agencies concerned and were evaluated by new committees composed mostly of government officials. Experts on relations with Congress were also drawn into the deliberations to get the best advice on persuading the Congress to pass the legislation. In late 1964 Johnson reviewed these initial Great Society proposals at his ranch with Moyers and Budget Director Kermit Gordon. Many of them were included in Johnson’s State of the Union address delivered on January 4, 1965.

The task-force approach, combined with Johnson's electoral victory in 1964 and his talents in obtaining congressional approval, were widely credited with the success of the legislation agenda in 1965. Critics later cited the task forces as a factor in a perceived elitist approach to Great Society programs. Also, because many of the initiatives did not originate from outside lobbying, some programs had no political constituencies that would support their continued funding."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_society#Ann_Arbor_speech

Reconciliation, my ass.

and this:



Obama needs to get up close and personal using his 6'2" size to intimidate these weasel Republicans.

Not with all the sex scandals with guys that refuse to resign (Sanford, Vitter,etc.)

might someday send him something to sign?

Blah, blah, blah.

that comparison might be meaningful.

In 1965, LBJ (a) LBJ had just won election over an opponent who only received 38.5 percent of the vote and lost the electoral vote by a crushing 486/52 margin; (b) the Democrats had a 68/32 majority in the senate (and while there were conservative southern Democrats to contend with, there also were a lot more moderate northeastern repubs -- a nearly extinct species today); and (c) in the House, Democrats enjoyed a 295/140 majority (and, again, there were moderate repubs to offset the conservatives from the south). By comparison, Obama's victory, while comfortable, still was considerably narrower than LBJ's and his Senate and House majorities are much smaller (and lack the repub moderates as additional possible support). Moreover, LBJ had the wind at his back in 1965 because of JFK's assassination. Of course, LBJ couldn't maintain his momentum, largely because of the Vietnam War.

But thanks for playing.

Maybe we should wait another 44 years.

and at a time when poverty really was malnourished kids in shacks who had never, ever seen a doctor.

I wish it was 'that easy'. It's not. For starters, the 24/7 news cycle doesn't help now.

The news cycle works both ways.

think it's doable.

And immediately slap down these assholes inside and outside of Congress with their ludicrous, distorted claims.

"Present the bill, written clearly and simply, redline the essentials..."

Seriously, did you miss the 1990s?

"and call for a partyline vote."

And if a handful of Democrats join the Repub filibuster and kill the bill, what next?

You seem to think a President is a dictator. No matter how you slice it, the legislation is going to be drafted in Congress.

But feel free to clip and paste 3,000 words in a grey box explaining why, after a $500,000,000 campaign and 8 years of Bush, it cannot be done and we should be happy with a shopping cart and a moonlighting, perky Progressive insurance agent giving us our options. After all, Flo is progressive.