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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Can Barack Obama Go It Alone in His Second Term?

    In his fifth State of the Union address last night, President Obama asked a divided Congress to increase the federal minimum wage. But he also conceded that a divided Congress is not likely to embrace his agenda.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    In his fifth State of the Union address last night, President Obama asked a divided Congress to increase the federal minimum wage. But he also conceded that a divided Congress is not likely to embrace his agenda. This morning, Congress stayed in Washington long enough to pass a Farm Bill, before House Republicans headed for a working retreat to talk about immigration reform behind closed doors. The President got into campaign mode — at a Costco in Maryland -- repeating last night's promise that if Congress doesn't make this "a year of action," he will. Get ready for more from the Bully Pulpit, as the President tries to achieve familiar objectives before he becomes a "lame duck." We hear what he can do with executive orders — and what requires Congressional action, including immigration reform.

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Barack Obama Goes It Alone in His Second Term
    1. 0:00Winter Weather Chaos, in Atlanta and Beyond
    2. 7:55Can Barack Obama Go It Alone in His Second Term?You’re reading this
    3. 43:38Dot-com Domain Names Now Have a Lot of Company
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Katie Cooper

      Producer, 'One year Later'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Evan George

      Director of Content, News

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Gideon Brower

      Independent Producer

    • KCRW placeholder

      Jim Tankersley

      New York Times

    • KCRW placeholder

      Julian Zelizer

      professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University

    • KCRW placeholder

      Norman Ornstein

      American Enterprise Institute / Atlantic

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Barack Obama Goes It Alone in His Second Term
    1. 0:00Winter Weather Chaos, in Atlanta and Beyond
    2. 7:55Can Barack Obama Go It Alone in His Second Term?You’re reading this
    3. 43:38Dot-com Domain Names Now Have a Lot of Company
    Back to To the Point