Obama Feels a Pinch From Congressional Democrats

Resistance to Summers for Fed Role Suggests Softening Clout Ahead of Budget Talks.

The Democratic uproar that sank Lawrence Summers’ chances of taking charge of the Federal Reserve suggests that President Barack Obama’s clout on Capitol Hill is eroding ahead of crucial decisions about government spending and the debt ceiling.

Mr. Obama often singles out House Republicans for blocking his agenda in Congress. But as his second term plays out, he also is confronting restive factions within his own party that are uneasy with some of his policies. The liberal wing in particular has rallied against his proposed use of force in Syria, his openness to changing entitlement programs and his apparent interest in awarding the Fed chairmanship to Mr. Summers, who some associate with financial deregulation of the Clinton years.

Mr. Obama’s fellow Democrats are restricting his maneuvering room, giving him a taste of the frustrations that congressional Republican leaders are enduring at the hands of the tea party.

The rising danger for Mr. Obama, say some political observers, is that he is less able to keep his party together at a moment when lawmakers have only weeks to meet several deadlines.

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