Mr. President, some leadership, please

„Maybe Obama will find that misplaced mojo during his trip to India and other points in Asia. But as Rep. John Boehner, the presumptive new speaker of the House, says, it's the president who »sets the agenda« in Washington. The day after George W. Bush got thumped in the 2006 midterms, he dismissed Donald Rumsfeld as defense secretary. A good old-fashioned Cabinet shuffle would be one way of letting voters know that the administration intends to move forward - rather than bemoan having to govern in lousy economic times.

And besides, the White House has caught an incredible break: In terms of positive, forward-looking leadership, the Republicans are offering even less. Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have set their sights much too low. They talk about controlling government spending and slashing the deficit, but they have no plan to accomplish these goals - none that they're willing to lay out in specific detail, at least. They won't say what they want to cut. They won't say how they intend to deal with entitlements.

Their intention seems to be to spend the next two years orchestrating largely symbolic votes on whether to undo what Obama has done. The public gave Obama a »blame Bush« honeymoon of just a few months; I'm betting that Boehner and McConnell will be cut even less »blame Obama« slack. The smaller, much more liberal Democratic caucus in Congress has a clear agenda: full speed ahead in a campaign of progressive reform. The newly elected Tea Party Republicans have a clear agenda: full speed astern, all the way to 1789. If nobody else wants to steer the boat, the people full of passion and ideas will be happy to fight over the wheel. Icebergs be damned.”