Sunday’s print edition of the Washington Post featured the following image and article about Senator Mitch McConnell. WP reporter Chris Cillizza writes, Senator McConnell “is a plotter and strategist of the highest order, a man who always has a plan and executes it relentlessly… McConnell has the chance not only to lead and (try to) unite his party, but also to redefine for the broader public what it means to be a Republican.”
Mitch McConnell, for getting the job of his dreams
When Sen. Mitch McConnell took the stage in Louisville on Nov. 5, the notoriously stern and partisan Kentucky Republican was a smiling statesman.
"When the American people choose divided government, I don't think it means they don't want us to do anything," McConnell said. "I think it means they want us to look for areas of agreement."
It was easy for McConnell to be gracious. He was less than 24 hours removed from not only a massive 15-point reelection victory — in a race Democrats had insisted would be his toughest challenge ever — but also sweeping GOP victories across the country that ensured he would be the Senate majority leader in January.
For McConnell, it was the realization of a lifelong dream, a not-insignificant accomplishment for a man who has been around politics since the 1960s. McConnell — like Harry Reid, whom he will replace in the Senate's top job — is not a flashy politician who surged through the ranks in record time. He is a plotter and strategist of the highest order, a man who always has a plan and executes it relentlessly.
Now he will be the leading GOP voice in Washington — at least until the party picks a 2016 presidential nominee. His task will be to unite a fractious Republican Party in the capital and demonstrate to the nation that the GOP can be much more than the party of "no" or the party of "not Obama."
McConnell may have failed in his famous goal to make Obama a "one-term president." But now, with Obama's days in office counting down, McConnell has the chance not only to lead and (try to) unite his party, but also to redefine for the broader public what it means to be a Republican.
Click on the following link to view the full story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/opinions/2014/12/12/worst-year-in-washington-2014/?hpid=z2#best
