Leadership Tempered?

So both houses of Congress have retained their leadership.  Wow.  I'm not surprised about the Republicans but I am with the Democrats.

It is good to know Harry Reid wasn't re-elected unanimously. Some actually wanted some fresher, younger faces.  As a paean they promoted Elizabeth Warren to a minor leadership role.  Ms. Warren is 65.  Some youth movement. Actually, it has nothing to do with youth but rather her current popularity, especially with the far left who feel shortchanged by Obama.

Actually I don't think age is the problem.  It's attitude and we all know what both Pelosi and Reid have been when they were the majority leaders. For the most part nasty. And in Ms. Pelosi's case sometimes appearing to be from a different reality.

On the Republican side Mr. Boehner has often seemed ineffectual but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that there was good reason.  After all, he had the Tea Party group to hold in line.  As for McConnell, who knows.  Perhaps he was so  low key because he knew that as long as the Democrats had the upper hand there was no use being belligerent and in turn appear to be whining.  Nor would he go along with the shutting down of the government a la Ted Cruz.  It gained nothing but anger, angst and ridicule.

So now we go forward. Same leadership, reversed roles. I'm going to be cautiously optimistic that both houses will function better. At least until we get about three months into 2015 when a new assessment of that function will be more appropriate.

What worries me most is the President. I fear he will continue to run amok and make good Congressional intentions, if there are any, more difficult to achieve.  The problem is you never know what he's going to do or when.  So many things are hanging fire it's disturbing.

On the foreign policy side we're looking at decisions that could prove disastrous.  Consider Russia's emboldened pursuit of Ukraine and it's increased harassment of the west with it's air power.  Consider the now combined efforts of the Nursa Front and IS against the Kurds and the suggestion of the not dead Baghdadi to extend efforts into Saudi.  Consider climate control that will effect us immediately and the Chinese probably never.

Domestically there is still the Keystone pipeline which Obama desperately does not want. The immigration amnesty issue.  Ferguson. Tweaks to Obamacare and the largest worry to those not touched by the others, the economy.

Did I say I was cautiously optimistic?  Don't ask me why!