Barack Obama isn't the first President in conflict with a Congress run by the opposing party. However, being in that position doesn't mean nothing gets accomplished. Take it from Historian of the U.S. Senate Donald Richie.
Monday on Up to Date, Richie, editor of Congress and Harry S. Truman: A Conflicted Legacy, discusses with Steve Kraske how the constitutional principle of checks and balances coupled with partisanship is a recipe for heated conflict in Washington. They examine the failures and successes of Truman and other Presidents facing a resistant Congress to learn why some achieved their legislative goals while others fell short.
COMING UP: Historian of the U.S. Senate Donald A. Richie presents A Conflicted Legacy: Presidents and Congress from Truman to Obama on Monday, February 20 at the Truman Forum of the Plaza Branch Library. There is a reception at 6 p.m. followed by the program at 6:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP to kclibrary.org or to 816-701-3407.
Donald A. Richie, Ph.D. was appointed Historian of the U.S. Senate in 2009 after working at the Senate Historical Office since 1976. Prior to that he was a member of the Adjunct Faculty at several universities including the Cornell in Washington Program, George Mason University and the University of Maryland. Richie obtained his doctorate from the University of Maryland and his M.A. and B.A. from City College of New York.
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