Thon Hartmann, 2 days in a row now, has said if Obama did what

[napi21]

LBJ did to get his ideas passed in congress, he'd be impeached!

LBJ bribed his way to success, but today, most of what he did would be illegal.

I decided to post this because so many of us on DU have complained (me included) "Why can't Obama be more like LBJ and just ram his ideas through?" O didn't realize that HE COULDN'T!

[TheKentuckian]

1. Thom also was up for a deal on birthright citizenship the other day

I like Thom but much of his thinking depends on the fantasy that most people can be worked with and have decent intentions if only they are addressed in some magic perfect way.

Refusing to accept that many people suck ass and need to be rolled over is flawed thinking.

[EFerrari]

5. His premise that Washington is so much more transparent now

is not one I agree with. Or else, Bush would not have been crowned, NSA wouldn't be monitoring and torture wouldn't have been secret.

[TheKentuckian]

9. Yeah, clearly he has some wisdom but there is a desperate reaching urge in him

[damntexdem]

2. LBJ didn't just bribe -- he also cracked heads.

Some of the carrots may be illegal (although politicians' carrots tend to be somewhat buffered from being outlawed), but not the sticks.

[metapunditedgy]

3. Obama hasn't even taken a strong personal stance on his "ideas."

(I don't even know what Obama's ideas -- or ideals -- are anymore.)

Obama doesn't need anybody's permission to use the bully pulpit.

[DailyGrind51]

4. Thom is a smart guy, but that does not make him infallible!

[EFerrari]

6. He didn't say what I thought he would say, that the speed of the news cycle

is much faster now.

[DailyGrind51]

11. I believe you are closer to the truth than Thom!

[rucky]

7. Because today's congress is immune to bribery.

[Cleita]

8. I dunno. Bush did it and he's not indicted.

I would rather Obama channeled his inner FDR though rather than LBJ.

[Kweli4Real]

10. If President Obama used LBJ's tactics ...

It would be his follow democrats running to the media to get the story out.