White House Ponders How to Get Back on the Fast Track
A stunning defeat is neither a glitch nor a harbinger of the end of Barack Obama's presidency.
President Barack Obama addresses a press conference at Elmau Castle near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, southern Germany, on June 8, 2015 at the end of a G7 summit.
Photographer: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Procedural snafu or the unofficial end of Barack Obama’s presidency? Those appear to be the two narratives to rally behind following the decision by the president’s own party to send a key component of a trade package down in flames, at least for now.
In truth, neither is fully correct, even though Friday's votes exposed a fundamental weakness in Obama's strategy to see his trade agenda enacted.