You do realize the President has to sign this into law right? The whole point of this "wait 5 days for online comments before signing none emergency bills" thing was for this exactly. For people to say what they want about it. Will it change the POTUS's mind? Who knows, but this isn't law until he signs that paper.
I believe the point is to hear from the people BEFORE wasting time and political clout on an issue that did not need to be put into text for perusal. The question here was a simple one: delay the transition or not (yes, lots other things included, but essentially the one big question). This was not legislation that would have a list of road projects to fund, thereby allowing the people to see the "Bridge to Nowhere" listed among other dubious projects. In that case, one will have to wait until the bill passes with all the amendments and awaits only the signature of the President.
It was the White House (President Obama) who sought sponsors for the DTV delay, so it was the President who wasted his influence to get the bill passed, Now, he might not sign it after all that hard work (the original bill was rejected by the house) and the effort put in by members of congress and the White House that could have been better spent on either the stimulus or bailout bills? Mr. Rockefeller, et al., will NOT be happy about having delivered for the President only to have him change his mine--for WHATEVER reason. Those members of congress worked their colleagues and probably vote traded here and there only to have their future influence, on behalf of the President, considerably weakened.
In the future expect members of Congress to politely ask the White House, "If I work my butt off to get this bill passed, the President isn't going to pull the rug out from under me, is he? I need his support or others in Congress won't believe the President really supports anything until the wind blows in a safe direction for his approval rating or whatever and are less likely to jump on board."
What's the difference between the above and the often criticized "policy by polling" that Clinton (and even Bush) used (read the polls or see which way the wind is a blowin' before doing anything) to govern. Yet, a White House website
poll seems OK with the same critics.
So far, he has stumbled a bit too many times. He wasn't ready for day one after all, and he is looking more partisan by the minute, not getting other parties or points of view on board. Hillary would have been ready day one because of her EXPERIENCE and good relations she has built over years with the other parties. I suppose this will end up as one more of his self proclaimed "screw-ups." His vulgar term, not anyone else's.
