Being president won’t be easy Obama has to contend with economy, 2 wars, Congress

Obama will have the advantage of solid Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress.

McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama will face some of the most daunting challenges that any new president has confronted since at least 1981, when America tumbled into a severe recession with its prestige ebbing around the world.

He faces the immediate task of leading a nation that’s reeling from its most serious economic downturn in a generation, one whose government is saddled with a federal deficit that’s heading for $1 trillion this year.

He’ll take the reins of a country with more than 183,000 of its sons and daughters fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, conflicts that won’t end simply because a new president wants to end them.

He also inherits a global war on terrorism against shadowy enemies who remain intent on doing America harm, not to mention hostile foreign capitals from Tehran to Moscow.

Yet Obama may be able to claim a mandate from the American people. He appeared poised to win by more than any Democrat since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Like LBJ, Obama will take office with solid Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress.

Even so, he’ll face significant political challenges in Washington. His victory will release “a lot of pent-up demand” among Democrats eager to see long-sought policies adopted, said Robert Loevy, a professor of political science at Colorado College.

Satisfying that demand won’t be easy. For one thing, 50 to 60 moderate to conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats in the House of Representatives are expected to continue their push for strict limits on spending. Combined with Republican opposition and still-powerful lobbies on behalf of the status quo, some Obama initiatives could be stymied.

New crises, both foreign and domestic, are also likely to pop up in this rapidly changing world. Times have changed dramatically since Labor Day. The global financial crisis has greatly expanded Washington’s role in the economy, even under a conservative Republican president. That lame-duck president will host a gathering of world leaders Nov. 15 in Washington to discuss overhauling the architecture of global economic governance, another challenge that Obama will inherit.