Political Hostility Quotes
Twenty years earlier (see related quote) Mugabe invited the whites to stay in the country promising a non discriminatory government of racial equality. However, when he lost favor and grew unpopular and was about to be voted out of office, he started a race conflict, and destroyed what had been one of the strongest economies of Africa in the process. Mugabe sanctioned the murder of a number of whites as well as Blacks who did not share his racist views.
The ride was the 1933 inaugural where the outgoing President rode down Pennsylvania Avenue with his successor. Roosevelt had tried to engage Hoover in conversation and Hoover refused. For years after that FDR used to tell the story and would imitate Hoover with grunts and facial contortions.
President Obama was a true Constitutionalist who, unlike other modern presidents, truly believed that members of Congress had a right to express their views and act on them and the President should not retaliate against them for opposing him on major issues. Unfortunately, this was interpreted by most people as weakness. It also hurt his legislative initiative, as no one feared his retaliation or was intimidated when he asked for their vote.
The historian was comparing Obama to other historical presidents who either had a majority of both Houses of Congress or had an opposition party that was generally quite cooperative and willing to compromise for the sake of running the country smoothly. At this point in time there was a Tea Party wing of the Republican that was particularly negative and obstructionist. They tended to threaten and intimidate the main stream Republicans who used the filibuster to block legislation the majority of Senators had voted for more times than all the other Congresses in American history. And that was only in Obamas first 6 years.
