Obama's first-year report card
After winning one of the most memorable elections in U.S. history, is Obama delivering as president?
Barack Obama: meeting expectations? (Corbis/Pool/Gary Fabiano)
As a candidate who promised "hope" and convinced many supporters that he could remake the face American politics, Obama has faced unusually high expectations since winning the presidency a year ago. Though he’s actually been in office less than ten months, pundits are taking the opportunity of this anniversary to offer thoughts on the trajectory of his administration. Is the presidency living up to the hype?
Obama’s strengths as a candidate haven’t translated: It’s been a grim year, says Simon Heffer in Britain's Telegraph. Obama's "expertise in managing image" helped him get elected, but has proved "useless" in governing the country. Perhaps its just immaturity, but if the president doesn’t get on track next year’s election will be ugly.
"It's Barack Obama's first anniversary -- but there's precious little to celebrate"
Given the hurdles, he’s accomplished a lot: Barack Obama is "a president, not a Hollywood action hero," says Eugene Robinson in The Washington Post. He can't just leap over the inherent limitations of Washington process and an oppositionist GOP. But Obama has accomplished a world of change in just 287 days in office, including recasting the country’s foreign policy and bringing us to the brink of "truly meaningful" health care reform.
"A world of change in 287 days"
The first year doesn’t mean much: "What history really teaches about presidential first years is not to take them too seriously," says Larry Sabato at The Daily Beast. "Johnson, Reagan, and Dubya had wildly successful starts [...] but only Reagan ended up popular." The defining events of a presidency tend to come "midtenure."
"Dangers come after Year 1"
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19 Comments
Posted by Gbeckham, Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 2:47 pm What anniversary? Every other month someone or other wants to give him a report card on his first year. You people can't even wait until he's been in office a year. He's had 3 report cards in 10 months. This is ridiculous, wrong and completely unfair since you stuck your heads in the sand for 8 yrs. It's as bad as the GOP with their healthcare reform proposal it's laughable, since they had 8 yrs to get their ideas through and didn't so much as make a comment about it. Now they are full of ideas. It's a joke.
Posted by larry, Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 3:07 pm What a year! Obama won a Nobel Peace Prize! They don't even give those to people who sacrificed all to save Jews from the Nazi death camps during WWII. Enough said.
Posted by Mike, Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 3:09 pm A yearend report card on Obama is appropriate, since it was Obama himself who set the schedule for health care and cap and trade. He promised an open discourse on new legislation, and congress has produced the opposite, and the result has been no real progress. So far, the report card must show an incomplete at best however, an F is appropriate for the congressional process he has so far condoned and a large majority of the voters now reject his premise of a public option for health care.
Posted by Tony, Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 3:11 pm NO. The only thing he 'delivered' is flying around, acting important. He hasn't accomplished anything he promised us he would. He needs to LEAD. He still has not come out with specifics to any of his 'plans,' and he makes the idiot Congress guess what he wants. Get out there and take a stand. Plus, he has polarized the country between them and us. All of us are Americans and he needs to be president to all people in this country. AND, stop campaigning and start working. Make some decisions, right or wrong, but make some.
Posted by No he can't, Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 3:28 pm 'He can't just leap over the inherent limitations of Washington process and an oppositionist GOP.' But he said he could! Will he ever stop campaining? Will he ever stop kissing up America's enemies and kicking America's friends? Will he ever stop blowing taxpayers' money on pig perks for his dim, socialist, facist friends? Will he ever stop getting entitlements and credit for things he didn't do? Will he ever stand up to the pelosi? Will he ever stop blaming everyone else for his own failures and inadequate abilities?... NO, he is the messiah!!
Posted by Regular report cards, Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 3:44 pm Every president gets a 100 day report card. Every president gets a 6 mos report card. This president gets a 10 mo report card because he asked for it on 2008 election night by yelling out that the day began the change of America. He said to watch him and we did with amazed and horrified eyes that anyone could be as juvenile and selfindulgent as he is. Flying in pizza chefs for lunch, Wed night parties, Kobe beef, date nights with the gorilla, more golf and basketball than any other pres, and parties, parties, parties. Bo's grade is F minus.
Posted by Too many report cards, Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 3:58 pm Gbeckham, obama has been given more space and leeway than any other president. Even today, he had to fly AF1 to give a speech about education to school teachers. He can't talk... read his teleprompter, until he flies somewhere. All he does is read and talk and read and talk. Why doesn't he just shut up and do something besides spend other peoples' money? The libs or progs hang on every word he utters. It is the koolaid of their spiritual existence. mmm mmm mmm Barack Hussein Obama mmm mmm mmm......
Posted by Mike, Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 4:02 pm Of course when I say ..a large majority now reject a public option.. I mean 58 percent support it. And who can blame him for not achieving an open discourse on new legislation. Its hard to have discourse when one side has their hands over their ears yelling ..la la la I cant hear you.. It takes 2 cooperating parties to have discourse. Once he stops trying to accommodate the obstructionist GOP he should be able to make even more progress than he has. Lets not forget that he has already passed the point at which Bush let us be attacked ..911..
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