The confirmation on Wednesday of the New START Treaty with Russia concluded a staggering turnaround in the fortunes of the Obama Administration. Even the tax cuts of the previous week, initially presented as a victory for the Republicans holding the President hostage to their demands, have now become part of the triumphal story of Barack Obama as the Comeback Kid.
There will be partisan bickering in Congress, despite this season's message of peace and goodwill over tax cuts; however, the likelihood is that some kind of measure will be cobbled together to keep the government funded by the deadline of 1 January.
The real casualty of the discussions over a continuing resolution and the contentious floor battle over tax cuts will be three other issues that the Democrats wanted to address: the DREAM Act, the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" restriction on gays and lesbians in the military, and the "New START" nuclear treaty with Russia.
Friday, December 24, 2010 at 7:07