He credited him with helping pass his program of tax cuts last year, among other accomplishments.
While governor, Mr. Bush often allied himself with Democratic legislators, a move that not only helped him pass his program but also burnished his reputation for bipartisanship.
Obama generally believed the way to pass his program was to engage earnestly with the opposition, not take his case public.
Nonetheless, it was generally understood that the appointment of this consummate political insider was necessary for Obama to pass his program.
The defining characteristics of his presidency have been his appetite for leadership, the breadth of his ambitions and his determination to pass his programs in the face of united Republican opposition.
The Mississippi legislature passed his tort-reform program, which severely limited liability.
When he scolded Congress for not passing his Social Security program, Democrats leaped to their feet in cheers, drowning the president out for a long stretch.
WASHINGTON — After helping President Lyndon B. Johnson pass his Great Society programs in the 1960s, Larry O'Brien gave his memoir a humble, and prescient, title: "No Final Victories".
Treasury secretary Hank Paulson got down on his knees to persuade House leader Nancy Pelosi to pass his $700bn Troubled Assets Relief Program, and President Bush warned that, without the bail-out, "this sucker could go down!".
To their credit, they knew that if they stopped health care reform, they would cripple Obama's ability to pass anything in his program.
As always, Graves and his players passed the program's banners while exiting campus.
