Obama reminds GOP senator who won

Elections have consequences, the new president tells a resistant Republican senator.

Published January 23, 2009 8:12PM (EST)

What did Barack Obama tell one complaining Republican senator who lodged complaints about the econonomic proposal during a visit to the White House with other congressional leaders to discuss the stimulus package?

"I won," Obama reminded Sen. John Kyl of Arizona.

Yes, he did won -- and by a popular vote margin twice that of either of George W. Bush's wins. After both victories, "43" and his cronies made clear that their second-place finish and, later, narrow re-election, deprived them of no political capital.

Sen. Kyl seems to have forgotten that.


By Thomas Schaller

Thomas F. Schaller is professor of political science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the author of "Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South." Follow him @schaller67.

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