Obama to be the trade president?

THE current conventional wisdom in Washington goes something like this: Both the Senate and the House of Representatives will be under Republican control during the remaining two years of the Barack Obama presidency, thus making it quite likely that no major legislation will be enacted before the next president is sworn into office in 2017.

In theory, the Republicans could try to pass new laws; for example, revoking Mr Obama's most significant legislative achievement, the Affordable Care Act or "Obamacare". But Mr Obama could and would probably succeed in vetoing this and similar proposed GOP legislation.

More likely, he will continue using his executive power that allows him to decree rules without congressional consent. And, indeed, despite Republican opposition, Mr Obama has already advanced new rules that would allow illegal immigrants residing in the United States to get their status changed to that of legal residents. And he is also in the process of enacting new environmental regulations, such as the one that would reduce ozone, a smog-causing pollutant linked to asthma, heart disease and premature death.