President Obama travels to the Democratic stronghold of La Crosse, Wis., to tout a new proposal that he says will give 5 million middle-class workers a raise, a move that has cheered progressive allies who bitterly opposed him over trade in recent weeks.
The administration said the timing of the announcement had nothing to do with the recent intraparty standoff over the president’s quest for a major new Pacific Rim trade deal. But it has served as a useful signal to Obama’s fellow Democrats that for all the harsh words and bruised egos, they’re in agreement more often than not.