In Transition

Memories of former President Bill Clinton's rough-going in his first two years of office, despite the fact his party had control of Congress, are still fresh in the minds of many Democrats - particularly House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

Asked today at the National Press Club whether he was confident that Obama and the Democrats had learned the lessons of those first Clinton years, Hoyer said, "There is a difference in '09 and '10 than '93 and '94. And the difference was 12 years in the wilderness" after the Republicans took back the House in 1994.

Said Hoyer: "We had been in the majority for 38 years in '93 and '94. And there was a sense that we would perhaps always be in the majority. And, therefore, I think we did not focus enough on reaching consensus, not only within the Congress, but also between the president and the Congress."

Hoyer said that there were enough Clintonites working for Obama and enough Democrats who were in Congress way back then not to forget that.