Clinton: Election Will Be ‘Action Forcing Event’ for Washington
Clinton: Election Will Be ‘Action Forcing Event’ for Washington Political Ticker Blogs
During his presidency, it came in the form of government shutdowns, after which “we began to work together and we had five good years working together,” he said.
“We really haven’t had an action forcing event like that. I believe the election will be that event. I expect the president to win. And I think if he does, after this happens, then you will see the logjam begin to break.”
“I think it will strengthen the hand of, for example, Speaker (John) Boehner, who would make an agreement if the most right-wing of his caucus would let him. I think they will have to think about the consequences of not doing that. I think the same thing will happen in the Senate. I think you will see the gravitational forces of American politics pushing us toward an agreement on the budget and a number of other things.”
While he expects Obama to win, Clinton cautioned that getting some of the president’s key support constituencies to the polls could be a challenge.
In 2008, Obama “won an enormous victory among people under 30. But they are disproportionately likely now to be unemployed or stuck in part-time jobs, to be frustrated. I think for all kinds of reasons, they’re unlikely to vote in large numbers for Governor Romney, but will they vote?”