Running Away From Washington
Both parties will find Obama isn’t really the problem
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The seventh year of a presidency is almost always difficult and unproductive. Ronald Reagan spent his mired in the Iran-Contra scandal. Bill Clinton was undone by the Monica Lewinsky affair and the impeachment that followed. George W. Bush was hamstrung by the unpopularity of the Iraq War and the Democratic Congress it helped usher in. Barack Obama probably won’t fare much better: By delivering Republicans control of Congress, voters have all but ensured that the next two years will be even less productive than the last two.