Making Change: A Six-Month Review

Abstract

This article surveys President Obama's policy agenda-setting for the first six months of his term. I consider whether the conditions ripe for an ambitious policy agenda and summarize the logic of Presidential agenda-setting. I use this framework to explain the Democrats' agenda for 2009, summarize their progress thus far, and discuss the implications for the Democratic Party in 2010 and after. Although the Democrats have made significant progress on their policy goals, they have not reaped the full political rewards from this success. Instead, the majority party will likely be judged on the pace of economic recovery and whether they pass significant health care reform, with climate change as a second major agenda item.

Recommended Citation

Koger, Gregory (2009) "Making Change: A Six-Month Review," The Forum: Vol. 7 : Iss. 3, Article 8.
DOI: 10.2202/1540-8884.1314
Available at: http://www.bepress.com/forum/vol7/iss3/art8