Lame duck: Democrats clip Obama's wings
Lame duck: Democrats clip Obama's wings Friday June 12 th , 2015 at 9:33 PM 1 Share Story highlights Trade deal is vital to the fruition of President Barack Obama's signature Asia rebalancing policy. White House engages in intensive lobbying that only yielded a strong rebuke from Democrats. Washington (CNN) It may go down as the day Barack Obama could no longer defy political gravity. The President went all in Friday, placing his personal prestige on the line in a last-ditch effort to convince globalization-weary House Democrats to give him the power to negotiate the world's biggest trade pact, a vital building block in his legacy. But he came up empty-handed when his own party mostly voted to repudiate the agreement -- a setback that could have profound implications for America's economy and its place in the world, as well as how Obama's two terms are seen by history. Until now, Obama has defied expectations th