Questions on NBC News Article

Emily Agnew

AP U.S. Government & Politics

Ms. Gordon

February 19, 2016

NBC News Article Response

1. In political terms, a “consensus” is something that both parties can agree on or come to terms with. Both the democrats and republicans would prefer a moderate nominee, because they could potentially come to terms with both sides. The idea of “consensus” is important in this case because if Obama’s nomination is blocked by the Senate’s Republicans, Obama could be tempted to nominate someone even more liberal than himself. This would drastically hurt the Republican’s reelection chances, and the Democrats would end up overpowering the Senate.
2. Obama holds power in getting the next Supreme Court Justice confirmed because he can appoint any nominee he chooses. However, he needs the guidance and consent of the Senate. Right now, the Senate is majority Republican, so it will be difficult to implement himself or someone extremely liberal. The Democrats have a small window of time (approx. two weeks)  where they hold power over both branches of government. During this time, Obama can nominate a new Supreme Court Justice so that the Democrats can get in their majority vote.
3. A “lame duck president” is a president that is coming close to the end of their term, especially one in which the next president has already been elected, that is commonly seen as having a lot less influence at this time, because their term is almost over. Statistics have shown that Obama had one of the highest approval ratings in history. However, now he basically has no power. A political year is barely any time. Although Obama served two terms as a great leader and president, he will most likely leave office as a lame duck, because there will be a new president, and all of the attention will be focused on him/her. Obama being labeled a lame duck also depends on whether a Democrat or Republican takes office next. Obama will utilize his charisma to persuade and convince others to make decisions regardless of his current standings.