Yuval Levin

What are they going to do about renewing the expiring elements of the 2017 tax bill? It's entirely possible that ultimately the only way to do that will be through some bipartisan bill. But they're proceeding now as if that's not even a possibility. It gets back to the question we took up earlier about just what it means to be strong as a president.

What are they going to do about renewing the expiring elements of the 2017 tax bill? It's entirely possible that ultimately the only way to do that will be through some bipartisan bill. But they're proceeding now as if that's not even a possibility. It gets back to the question we took up earlier about just what it means to be strong as a president.

And this is actually a very longstanding problem for American presidents. In the very first presidential administration, when George Washington was president, Alexander Hamilton started out just writing legislation. And he wrote these big bills on how to arrange the American economy.

And this is actually a very longstanding problem for American presidents. In the very first presidential administration, when George Washington was president, Alexander Hamilton started out just writing legislation. And he wrote these big bills on how to arrange the American economy.

And the response that he got before things really broke down between him and James Madison was Madison saying, if you let us work this out, we're going to end up in a similar place, but we'll own it. And people aren't going to feel like they're voting on Alexander Hamilton's bill. Let Congress do this.

And the response that he got before things really broke down between him and James Madison was Madison saying, if you let us work this out, we're going to end up in a similar place, but we'll own it. And people aren't going to feel like they're voting on Alexander Hamilton's bill. Let Congress do this.

Hamilton didn't agree, and it created enormous problems for him and ultimately had a very bad effect on his own political future. And ever since then, there's been this irony that the president is often strongest when he sets the basic parameters and says, look, if the bill doesn't do this, then I'll veto it. But otherwise, Congress works it out.

Hamilton didn't agree, and it created enormous problems for him and ultimately had a very bad effect on his own political future. And ever since then, there's been this irony that the president is often strongest when he sets the basic parameters and says, look, if the bill doesn't do this, then I'll veto it. But otherwise, Congress works it out.

And I think our modern presidents in particular have so internalized this kind of deformed sense of their role that they don't see that ultimately their success depends on legislative action. They think they can be remembered for being great presidents for their administrative actions. And it's just not true. Who are the modern presidents we think highly of? It's FDR and the New Deal.

And I think our modern presidents in particular have so internalized this kind of deformed sense of their role that they don't see that ultimately their success depends on legislative action. They think they can be remembered for being great presidents for their administrative actions. And it's just not true. Who are the modern presidents we think highly of? It's FDR and the New Deal.

What was the New Deal? The New Deal was legislation, right? What was the Great Society? Great Society was not a set of administrative actions. It was big bills that the president shepherded through. He certainly gave them a lot of direction, but there was a lot of negotiation that was not about him in that process. Ronald Reagan's tax bill was not just Ronald Reagan's tax bill.

What was the New Deal? The New Deal was legislation, right? What was the Great Society? Great Society was not a set of administrative actions. It was big bills that the president shepherded through. He certainly gave them a lot of direction, but there was a lot of negotiation that was not about him in that process. Ronald Reagan's tax bill was not just Ronald Reagan's tax bill.

And a lot of Democrats voted for that bill because they were involved in negotiating it and they got some things they wanted in it. And at the end of the day, we call it Ronald Reagan's tax bill anyway because we remember our presidents for the legislative achievements that their leadership makes possible. And often that leadership is a kind of careful direction from a distance.

And a lot of Democrats voted for that bill because they were involved in negotiating it and they got some things they wanted in it. And at the end of the day, we call it Ronald Reagan's tax bill anyway because we remember our presidents for the legislative achievements that their leadership makes possible. And often that leadership is a kind of careful direction from a distance.

I think this gets at actually a very deep point about the lesson to be learned from Trump's first time around. I think the people around President Trump and Trump himself have come to the conclusion that what didn't work last time had to do with Trump being restrained. That where they failed was because they had kind of traditional Republicans in various places.

I think this gets at actually a very deep point about the lesson to be learned from Trump's first time around. I think the people around President Trump and Trump himself have come to the conclusion that what didn't work last time had to do with Trump being restrained. That where they failed was because they had kind of traditional Republicans in various places.

And their sense that they walked away with was when he was restrained, he didn't succeed. And if he could just be himself, he would do a lot better. I think that's exactly the wrong lesson to draw from the successes and failures of Trump's first time around. And that where he actually did well was where he pressed those traditional kind of Republicans and they pressed him.

And their sense that they walked away with was when he was restrained, he didn't succeed. And if he could just be himself, he would do a lot better. I think that's exactly the wrong lesson to draw from the successes and failures of Trump's first time around. And that where he actually did well was where he pressed those traditional kind of Republicans and they pressed him.

And you ended up in a place where some of his distinctly populist approach was able to influence their more traditional conservative approach, and the result landed in a place that worked. I think that's what the tax bill looks like. That's what some of his foreign policy moves look like. But their sense is we just have to have a purer Trumpism.

And you ended up in a place where some of his distinctly populist approach was able to influence their more traditional conservative approach, and the result landed in a place that worked. I think that's what the tax bill looks like. That's what some of his foreign policy moves look like. But their sense is we just have to have a purer Trumpism.