Obama Tactics Straight Out of Arm-Twist Chicago: Rove

President Obama's consolidation of power is looking more like old-fashioned Chicago politics than the "new politics" promised, Karl Rove writes in the Wall Street Journal. The president has mobilized outside groups and the remnants of the campaign machine to target lawmakers skeptical about his spending plans, initially going after Republicans but now taking aim at Democrats as well, Rove writes.

Every president faces a struggle to get Congress on his side, Rove writes, but the president's use of groups like MoveOn to push his agenda may infuriate Democrats being targeted by a president from their own party. Obama's reported warning to stimulus opponent Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio to "don't think we're not keeping score, brother" likely signals the hard-nosed approach to come, Rove concludes. 
(More Karl Rove stories.)