“Washington, D.C. – Initiatives from the incoming Republican majority could soon be countered by President Obama and his veto pen; although the new Congress hasn’t yet been sworn in, the President is already warning about his plans.
““There are definitely going to be some areas where we disagree and, you know, I haven’t used the veto pen very often since I’ve been in office”, the President said, and added: “now I suspect there are going to be some times where I’ve got to pull that pen out.”
“Although Obama has experienced near-constant friction with congressional Republicans over the last few years, he has rarely used the presidential veto. One of the many reasons for that has to do with the fact that legislation he didn’t like typically died in the Democrat-controlled Senate before reaching his desk.
“However, the situation is about to change, considering the fact that the Republicans are taking charge of the Senate next month and building their majority in the House.
“Since taking office in 2009, Obama has only vetoed legislation twice, both in fairly minor circumstances. The current situation in the Senate, on the other hand, is bound to make him break out the pen a couple more times. “I’m going to defend gains that we’ve made in health care; I’m going to defend gains we’ve made on environment and clean air and clean water,” he stated.
When asked to convey his personal views on why the pen had been used so scarcely in the past, Obama said: “I don’t know really, I’ve never actually given it much thought. I guess I was just happy with the way things were.”
Interestingly, he added: “but then, I might have to take a page from Michelle’s book on the matter. She tends to break it out whenever I get some funny ideas. I have to admit the pen is very useful, on occasion. After all, who knows what this country would look like if I didn’t have Michelle to talk some sense into me with it every now and then.”
