Obama's Jacksonian Legacy

"This vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president" -- Mitch McConnell

Barack Obama's presidency most reminds me of Andrew Jackson.

While it may seem illogical to compare anything about America's first black president with an avowed racist who smashed any abolitionist acts, there are similarities.

Above all, Jackson was a supreme political tactician. Despite his lack of formal education, few leaders have ever handled political opponents more deftly than The General.

And Jackson did not lack for quality opposition. Sens. Henry Clay and John Calhoun, as well as the brilliant Nicholas Biddle, were just three of his formidable foes.

Sen. Thomas Hart Benton is the Hillary Clinton in this analogy, an early adversary who quickly learned the political value of not holding grudges.

The former trio never overcame their stubborn opposition, and Jackson made them pay at every turn. His proficiency in trouncing Clay and Calhoun forms much of Jackson's presidential legacy.

In battles over administration appointments, nullification and the national bank, Jackson bested opponents via a series of shrewd moves. Opponents were left to claim Jackson desired to be king of his kingdom.

For a nation just a generation or two removed from the abuses of King George III, the charge was a serious one.

These days, Obama's serially vanguished opponents claim he "wants to act as if he's a dictator," as Gov. Chris Christie said recently. Dictator is the new king, apparently.

The modern-day roles of Clay and Calhoun are filled by Sen. Mitch McConnell and former Speaker John Boehner. McConnell even hails from Kentucky, the state where Clay held sway. Like Calhoun, the first vice president to resign, Boehner also gave up a power post after losing several confrontations with the White House.

McConnell welcomed the Obama presidency thusly: "My number one priority is making sure President Obama's a one-term president."

That didn't work out so well. Through healthcare, gay marriage, government shutdowns and elections, Obama seemingly emerges stronger each time.

And that brings America to the final epic showdown over the Supreme Court. Republicans would do well to stop underestimating their opponent.

Or at least set their expectations low. The Washington Post has already theorized that even if Republicans succeed in batting the nomination forward, Obama wins anyway.

The Jackson years ended with one final battle to erase an early Senate censure from the record. In the ensuing debate, Clay, Calhoun and Benton gave fiery speeches for and against as all recognized the historical importance of a final fight that closed an era.

Even as Calhoun spoke in oratory fury, Jon Meacham writes in "American Lion," "like Clay ... he knew that his was a futile argument."

Will McConnell & Co. recognize the same?