By Sam Youngman,The Hill
As Summer heats up,so does the pressure on Obama
The Obama administration,which was flying high a month ago after pushing through a climate change bill in the House,has since been dealt a series of setbacks and is struggling to regain its footing.
After the climate bill passed 219-212 on the afternoon of June 26,there was a feeling that the White House could get much of its agenda through Congress in 2009.
A month later,there are doubts that President Obama will even achieve his number one priority of healthcare reform,much less cap-and-trade,immigration reform and a regulatory revamp of the financial sector.
Since late June – when Democrats defied convention wisdom and passed the climate bill by their self-imposed deadline —the stubborn realities of Washington have blunted and possibly even derailed the president’s signature domestic efforts.