How necessary is it for Obama to work with members of Congress in formulating his agenda?
Because of the current economic crisis, President Obama has an unusual degree of freedom to formulate his agenda. Where working with Congress becomes critical is in getting his agenda enacted into law. The measures President Obama identified as major in last week’s budget address — securing additional funds to shore up financial institutions, imposing a “cap and trade” system to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, reform of the health-care system, some of the tax provisions that will impose higher taxes on upper-income households — are going to be significantly more difficult to move through Congress than was the initial stimulus package. 3) Which presidents have had the most productive relationships with Congress? The modern presidents with the most productive relationships with Congress would have to include Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson. Both Roosevelt and Johnson worked very closely with Congress to produce enormous shifts in public policy. For a brief period in the early 1980
