Obama's m.o.

"For all their differences of style and speech, Obama and Daley shared a basic approach to politics as a constant negotiation of interests and ideals - Chicago's brand of Realpolitik. Both had advanced by capitalizing on the prevailing power structure, not by dismantling it." - Evan Osnos

This quote is from a profile of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in The New Yorker (8 March 2010, pages 38-51). It sheds light on Obama's m.o. His problem has been that Congress lacks a Daley - the people in charge are pygmies on stilts (to quote Einstein). So Obama has to fill the gap. Either he'll learn to lead, in his own fashion, or he'll be gone. This is a bit like JFK, who sidelined Lyndon Johnson by making him VP, then had to compensate (or try to compensate) for his absence. That must have been painful for Johnson. I wonder if Obama's first year has been equally so for Daley?