- Aug 4, 2009
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Obama once again shows his mastery over Republican opponents
The Iran nuclear deal, and how Obama finally learned to win the summer
But after enduring several politically brutal summers in years past, Obama won this one.
And he did it by beating back a rare congressional speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, vocal and united opposition from Republicans, and a $20 million campaign to sink the deal.
So, how did Obama pull this off?
Partly because the public outrage never really materialized. But it was also because Democrats learned from past mistakes.
The White House had a war room, too, and a secret weapon: Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. Moniz, a nuclear physicist, made several presentations to lawmakers over the summer. "Not only did he know the science," explain Carl Hulse and David M. Herszenhorn at The New York Times, "he could explain it clearly, persuasively, and without the condescension some heard in Secretary of State John Kerry's presentations."
Several Democrats have said they were also persuaded to back the deal after senior diplomats from the other five world powers — Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China — spoke with a dozen or so lawmakers right before the August break, assuring them that nobody else was going to return to the negotiating table if this deal fell through. That sank the argument from opponents that a better deal was possible.
The Iran nuclear deal, and how Obama finally learned to win the summer
But after enduring several politically brutal summers in years past, Obama won this one.
And he did it by beating back a rare congressional speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, vocal and united opposition from Republicans, and a $20 million campaign to sink the deal.
So, how did Obama pull this off?
Partly because the public outrage never really materialized. But it was also because Democrats learned from past mistakes.
The White House had a war room, too, and a secret weapon: Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. Moniz, a nuclear physicist, made several presentations to lawmakers over the summer. "Not only did he know the science," explain Carl Hulse and David M. Herszenhorn at The New York Times, "he could explain it clearly, persuasively, and without the condescension some heard in Secretary of State John Kerry's presentations."
Several Democrats have said they were also persuaded to back the deal after senior diplomats from the other five world powers — Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China — spoke with a dozen or so lawmakers right before the August break, assuring them that nobody else was going to return to the negotiating table if this deal fell through. That sank the argument from opponents that a better deal was possible.
