5 ms·
Issuing a veto threat and then not following up on that veto is pretty much the biggest tactical mistake a President can make. The whole point of a veto threat
by yahelc 14y ago
Issuing a veto threat and then not following up on that veto is pretty much the biggest tactical mistake a President can make. The whole point of a veto threat is to make a credible threat to coerce Congress to change course.
If he didn't follow through, all his future veto threats would ring hollow and he'd have lost an important executive tool. Even if he didn't want to veto CISPA on principle, at this point he has too.
- baddox 14y agoWhy not just veto bills when you want to veto them, and signing them when you want to sign them?
- boling11 14y agoPerhaps he agrees with most of a bill but wants parts taken out. Threat of a veto allows him to have some influence over the specifics.
- laxatives 14y agoBecause its a waste of everyones time if they write up a bill thats just going to get killed
- maratd 14y agoThat waste of time is what keeps the nation vibrant. That's the entire premise behind the checks/balances system.
- yahelc 14y agoThat sounds nice in theory, but in practice the legislative process is so slow and backlogged that even just the threat of a veto (where Congress knows it doesn't have the votes to override the veto) is simply enough of a threat to get them to move.
- saraid216 14y agoBecause it risks having his veto overridden with none of the changes he would be able to demand otherwise.
- nikcub 14y agowe have the same thing with startups, you agree on a term sheet before going to the effort of drafting up all the deal docs. what Obama is saying is that he won't sign the term sheet, so you obviously don't bother with the deal docs.