A Brief Window of Opportunity

Every generation or so, a brief window opens when it is possible to get something big done.

A large part of the outrage against the Republican 109th Congress was over irresponsible spending. Every American has now heard of “earmarks” and the infamous “bridge to nowhere”. That outrage has developed into a consensus that pork barrel spending is out of control.

The line item veto has been requested by every President in the last generation and has been accepted by both parties as an effective measure to control wasteful spending, yet a constitutional amendment to give the President the line item veto has never passed.

The problem is that members of Congress don’t want to give a President of the other party increased power over spending. That’s why the next few months are an unusual opportunity.

A line item veto amendment would not be ratified by the states before the next President takes office and right now, no one knows which party will have the White House in 2009. There is no incumbent President or Vice President on the ballot and opinion polls don’t show a significant advantage for either party.

Republicans have an incentive to pass the amendment to reclaim their image of fiscal responsibility. Democrats have an incentive to pass it to show that they are better stewards of the public’s money than Republicans were.

All that’s needed now is a nudge. That’s where Presidential primary politics comes into play.

Both parties have a front runner that needs to solidify their position. Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton could conspire …sorry, I meant rise above partisan politics, to jointly ask Congress to give the line item veto to the next President.

This would benefit them both. They would have more control over the budget if elected, they would be seen as rising above partisanship (which the public loves), and they would solidify themselves as presumptive nominees by showing that they are taking action to solve America’s problems even before they step foot into the oval office.

This window of opportunity opened when the two candidates became front runners and gained an incentive to work together to solidify their positions. It will close when they are assured of the nominations and start running against each other.

In politics, opportunities are everywhere. They lay on the ground like leaves in the fall. I will never cease to be amazed that millions are spent on consultants who can’t see them.