My new column at CJR challenges the bizarre mythology among some commentators that the President can somehow make Congress agree with him on a resolution to the impasse over sequestration. Here’s how it begins:

One of the recurring themes in commentary on national politics is the demand for the president to change politics as we know it to accomplish some otherwise unattainable political goal. If only President Obama tried a little harder, some critics claim, he could magically overcome legislative obstacles to gun control or clean energy legislation. I’ve dubbed this fantasy the Green Lantern Theory of the Presidency in honor of the comic book superheroes whose abilities to use their “power rings” depend on their willpower.

Tuesday’s New York Times column by David Brooks on the debate over the so-called budget sequester is a case in point.

For more, read the whole thing.