My must read of the day is "Obama to lay out go-it-alone approach in big speech," from Reuters:
White House officials said Obama would also announce new executive actions on retirement security and job training to help middle-class workers expand economic opportunity.
"In this year of action, the president will seek out as many opportunities as possible to work with Congress in a bipartisan way. But when American jobs and livelihoods depend on getting something done, he will not wait for Congress," Obama senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said in an email to supporters sketching out the themes of the speech.
President Obama is using administrative actions and executive orders to force through his agenda. Arguably this is an indictment of his leadership and of his ability to persuade. But it’s also worth remembering that passing a domestic agenda is also not really his job.
A president's job is to "faithfully execute" the laws, not make up the laws on his own. That's outlined in the same clause and section of the Constitution that calls for the president to "give to the Congress Information on the State of the Union" from "time to time." It's a friendly reminder, straight from the Founders, about what shouldn't be in tonight’s speech.
Executive orders aren't bad. President after president has used them. But when you use them to enact whatever Congress doesn't like, you risk fundamentally altering the role of a president.
Everyone should be weary of executive orders, and no one should feel comfortable with a speech that outlines a plan to extensively use them.