Where's the leadership, Barry?

Kennedy's passing has provoked much commentary of eras coming to an end -- of the Kennedy dynasty, of the proud, full-throated liberal voices, and of the outsized political dealmakers that have long made Washington run.

But there was a political era that President Obama vowed to end that's going strong as ever. Warm remembrances don't change partisan math.

Look who wants more presidential leadership . . . Former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., offers a way forward: "If I were a White House adviser, I would suggest that the day Congress reconvenes, President Obama's version of reform should be introduced by Democratic leaders in the House and Senate," Dole writes in a Washington Post op-ed. 

"Barack Obama is our president, not a commentator. . . . Obama's approval numbers would jump 10 points if Americans knew he was fully in charge," Dole writes. "Once the president has staked out his position, which will provide room for amendments, the debate will narrow, and bipartisan bargaining and other political maneuvering can begin."

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., actually agrees: "I think the president's got to decide, to step up and really frame this again for us." 

E.J. Dionne Jr.: "The road to compromise is not paved by offering premature concessions and vagueness. Having held back, the administration now needs to lay out clear and understandable goals, so it can bargain from a position of strength. Dare one say it? That was Ted Kennedy's way."