After Senate passed their version health-care reform on Christmas Eve, the prevailing wisdom was that Congressional Democrats would quickly resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions so that the President could sign the bill and use his State of the Union address to pivot to a new job-focused legislative agenda. Scott Brown’s victory on Tuesday in the Massachusetts Senate election now means the era of the Democratic Party’s senatorial “supermajority” is over and brings the fate of American healthcare reform into question.

An obvious solution would be for the House of Representatives to pass the Senate version of the bill, thereby avoiding any further vote on healthcare in the Senate. In a recent interview with George Stephanopoulos, President Obama said of this solution:

“I think it is very important for the House to make its determinations. I think, right now, they’re feeling obviously unsettled and there were a bunch of provisions in the Senate bill that they didn’t like, and so I can’t force them to do that …”

This reaction from the President reflects his respect for the autonomy of the various branches of government set out by the U.S. Constitution. In fact, Obama’s respect for the Constitution is one of the many things that separated him from his predecessor and likely helped him win the Presidency. When President George W. Bush was in office, he pushed the boundaries of the Constitution by instituting domestic warrantless wiretapping and suspending habeas corpus. Yet, with his background teaching Constitution Law, Obama has so-far illustrated a reverence for America’s founding documents.

But is it possible that the current occupant of the oval office has too much respect for the Constitution? The election of Scott Brown has jeopardized the fate of the President’s chief legislative accomplishment, and the most he has to say is that it’s out of his hands? While it may be admirable that he is leaving the job of legislating to legislators, the people who elected the President did so because they thought he could deliver change. Why isn’t he fighting for the forty-six million Americans without health coverage? Why isn’t he using the prestige of his office to get the elected officials of his party to fall in line? Why isn’t he leading?

Examining Obama’s hands-off approach to legislation during his first year in office reveals this President’s modus operandi: set the broad ideas he wants to see implemented and then let Congress hash it out, and then he’ll be happy to sign the bill into law should it come across his desk. This approach, at least from the outside, seems to stem from his respect for separation of powers. Clearly, Obama does not want the White House legislating.

Yet, this hands-off approach ignores the power inherent in the office he holds. The President can respect the Constitution and still influence legislative outcomes. The Presidency provides an enormous bully pulpit that Obama has yet to utilize. Obama needs to start calling members of Congress – from both parties – and start twisting their arms. He needs to criticize publicly the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid who after spending almost a year trying to come up with a healthcare reform package, now seem to be willing to give up.

After Scott Brown’s election, Nancy Pelosi claims that she does not have the votes in the House to pass the Senate version of the bill. The reaction from the White House? Press Secretary Robert Gibbs claims, “the President believes it is the exact right thing to do by giving this some time, by letting the dust settle, if you will, and looking for the best path forward”. While I appreciate the President’s even-handed temperament, after a year of Democratic dithering on healthcare reform, now is the time to get it done, not wait and see.

Obama’s respect for the Constitution and the American legislative process is undermining both his power as President and his chances of re-election in 2012. In his next three years, the President needs to lead his country and fight for his agenda. Outsourcing legislation to Pelosi and Reid, as he did in 2009, has been disastrous and if continued, will sink his Presidency.

In order to take back momentum from the Republican minority, Obama needs to start using the bully pulpit to unify Congressional Democrats so they can utilize the still impressive majority they hold. Furthermore, Obama needs to order his Press Office to be far more aggressive in selling the Democratic agenda to the American people. The unpopularity of healthcare reform that is so clearly in people’s own best interests is a clear failure of communication. Finally, Obama needs to use his many staffers to start producing legislation and giving it to Congressional Democrats. This gives Congress something to start working on and gives a clear indication to Congress on what the President wants.

After eight years of the Bush Administration, Obama may want to restore respect for the Constitution. Nevertheless, so long as he’s not torturing people or spying on citizens, I’m sure the American people are willing to accept a President that pushes the boundaries of the Constitution by stepping on the toes of the Congressional branch if doing so delivers the change he promised and they so desperately need.

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