After a hard fought win on health care, a battle-tested Obama administration moves on to its next legislative battle: energy and climate legislation. Both the White House and Congress are awaiting the release of the long anticipated Sens. Kerry-Graham-Lieberman bill, which Sen. Graham has recently indicated will be released on April 12th, right after the Easter recess. With some Republicans promising no cooperation on future legislation the rest of this year, and the midterm elections fast approaching, the administration will face a challenge from both sides of the aisle, but may have found a replicable strategy for passing its biggest initiatives.

Due to technical difficulties, this brief which was prepared for publication yesterday was unable to be circulated until this morning. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Perhaps it is due to the fact that Washington is a town built on the speechmaking and overpromising of politicians. Perhaps it is due to the fact that big headlines sell newspapers and big drama draws television audiences. But the reality is that the main product produced in Washington, DC is hyperbole.

As what is certainly the best week of Barack Obamas presidency draws to a close, there are two prevailing views in Americas capital about what his health care victory, his reaching an arms reduction deal with the Russians and his publicly popular tough stance with the Israelis mean. For those in the opposition, everything they fear has been confirmed. In fact, according to a recent study, one out of four Republicans consider Obama to be the anti-Christ. Literally. As in living manifestation of the sulfurous nether regions that are the home to those doomed to eternal punishment for their sins. And on the Presidents side of the aisle there is jubilation and a sense that their man, considered on the ropes only two weeks ago, has hit his stride and is one or two legislative victories away from his own monument on the Mall.

And as is almost invariably also the case in Washington, the hyperthyroid pundits and the steroidal partisans have it wrong. What has happened is not a permanent sea-change. Obama is neither anti-Christ nor messiah. He is just a president learning how to do his job. He started out inexperienced and his first years errors and missteps almost always related to this factas they do with most new presidents. He came fresh from a campaign that was the greatest success of his life and in which he was the primary product and tried to transfer what worked on the stump to governing. Naturally, the approach fell short. He offered great speeches in year onein his inaugural, in Cairo, in Prague, on energy and climate, on health care, on engagementbut he had little to show in many of these areas (although helping to stave off global economic catastrophe is no small accomplishment.)

But in the case of health carewith the Russianswith the Middle East peace processjust to pick the three stories that dominated this week, there is a telltale pattern of development that can tell us much about the kind of president Obama will be and how he is likely to tackle issues especially relevant to readers of the GR Energy & Climate Brief.

In each case, grand ambitions were established very early on in the Obama term. In each case, Obama was tested by the other side. The Republicans dug in the heels in opposition to virtually everything on health care. Even in some in Obamas own party erected roadblocks. The Presidents first trip to Russia was a mess, Putin felt snubbed by a breakfast meeting and Obamas decision to have dinner one night alone in his hotel with his family, and Russia was obstreperous on issues from Iran to the missile shield. In the Middle East, both the Israelis and the Palestinians made progress on negotiations difficult, with Obama hitting popularity poll lows of 4 percent mid-year last year in Israel, theoretically one of Americas closest allies in the world.

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