Weekly Standard

Maybe we’re just more used to changes in control of the House of Representatives than we were in 1994. Bill Clinton seemed to spend months knocked back on his heels after the Democratic defeat that November. But Barack Obama has not exactly been reeling.

If anything, he seems to have found his lost groove. He’s getting deals done (on taxes, arms control, gays in the military). He’s garnering praise from Republicans, of all people (for the tax deal, for dropping his 2011 withdrawal timetable for Afghanistan, for his repudiation of liberal attempts to pin the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on conservative hate speech). And he’s evidently winning some support back from the independents who deserted him and his party in November, with an uptick in his job approval ratings. Continue reading →