Obama needs to tell Blue Dogs to get with the program

Steven Hill of the centrist New America Foundation:

Mr. Obama needs to let the Blue Dog Democrats like Sens. Max Baucus, Ben Nelson and Kent Conrad know who is in charge. He needs to tear a page from the playbook of two other Southerners who knew how to put on the brass knuckles. Former GOP operatives Karl Rove and Tom Delay made it clear that any Republican representatives who crossed their agenda would face a well-funded conservative opponent in their next party primary.

Mr. Obama should let any Democratic foot-draggers know that if they don't get with the program, he will un-elect them and put in Democrats more in tune with his priorities. His threat would be credible, since Mr. Obama is one of the great campaigners of modern political history. He still enjoys popularity - though it is dwindling - among the broad coalition that mobilized to elect him. Mr. Obama could convincingly threaten to fund candidates to run against uncooperative senators in the Democratic primary and to campaign on behalf of his slate of candidates.

But to make that threat, Mr. Obama has to mean it. He has to show a quality that the nation has not seen in him since the presidential election ended last November.