In a timely article relevant to our class discussion, CBS reports that if the financial reform bill doesn't regulate derivative markets, the President will veto it. Obama is also pushing Senate Democrats to eliminate a proposed $50 billion bank liquidation fund from the bill:
"In remarks at the start of his meeting with his Economic Recovery team, the president said he wants financial regulatory reform legislation because "we can't allow history to repeat itself." He said Americans should not have to step in and pay the price for the irresponsibility of speculators on Wall Street."
The event exemplifies a salient theme of the The Federalist: ambition being made to counteract ambition. Checks and balances such as the veto - and Congress's power to override them - pit the different branches of government against each other. This encourages confrontation. The system requires leveraging, bargaining, and ultimately, cutting a deal. Obama knows this, and he has positioned himself to take advantage.
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