By Odeisel
It’s been a year to the day since Barack Obama was elected to the office of the President of The United States. He ran on the mantra of change and his election would have seemed to represent a mandate of the people. During the past year he’s had his share of victories and failures. Let’s take a walk through the last year and see where he has succeeded and where he has failed in his office and look at a few factors in that motion.
It would seem that someone who is such a good speaker, and possessing of natural communicative gifts would have a better time in delivering a message to the people. In that effect Obama’s presidency and the perception of him has taken a tremendous hit. His primary mission, even in the midst of the domestic and global fiscal meltdown, has been pushing forward healthcare reform. While healthcare is a huge issue in terms of the financial drain that Medicaid/Medicare is rapidly becoming, Americans are more worried about jobs and keeping their homes.
Obama has done a horrible job of communicating the basics of healthcare reform and why people should care about whether it is reformed. One of the largest costs for businesses presently is the cost of health care. It is tied into compensation and factors heavily into who employers can afford. That connection has not been effectively drawn and as such the people have drawn a lie in the sand, believing that what they want, and what he has tried to accomplish is incongruous.
The same can be said for the seeming Wall Street “bailouts.” By casting Wall Street and greed as the main antagonist, Obama and his allies have created a widening schism between Wall Street and Main Street. The problem with that is that they are more closely related than you would believe. In the race to cast bankers as greedy, and the call for the end of the huge bonuses, one thing has been glaringly hushed: big bonuses are taxed, and at higher rates than normal income. Those taxes feed municipalities. When those taxes are eliminated, guess who has to make that up? Main Street. With that in mind, it’s clear that a Wall Street witch hunt is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. The only ones that pay for that are regular citizens, and the race to escape blame by Obama and the Democratic majority is a disservice to the American people.
In addition most of the TARP funds have been paid back with interest to the government. In my particular opinion, it’s a mistake not to make that abundantly clear. The term bailout itself carries the feel of handout, when in fact it was a business decision that has reaped the proper benefits for the most part. What is done with that interest and increase is perhaps another matter but the money itself has been returned in many instances. Whenever you can mark a victory, you should…unless of course you aren’t going to account for that money.
The most glaring failing of the Obama term so far is the idea of change itself. In colluding or falling behind Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, the Obama administration has failed to make any headway towards changing the way that glad-handing politics has been. Despite repeatedly calling for bipartisanship, President Obama has allowed Pelosi to not only push a decidedly one sided agenda, but to also rub it in the face of the minority, short-circuiting any hope of reconciliation. This inability to work across the aisle was exacerbated by the tragic departure of Ted Kennedy who was known as a communicator with the ability to work with Republicans in order to get things done.
Consequently, in what speaks to dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party, Kennedy’s Senate seat yesterday, which had been staunchly held by a Democrat for over half a century, was lost to Republican candidate Scott Brown. Similarly, Obama has taken a loss in New Jersey with the defeat of John Corzine as governor. Both races featured faulty campaigns in general which included last-ditch efforts by Obama to save sinking ships, and both failed due to an inability to connect with the voice of the people.
All was not lost however in the first year. What Obama has been able to accomplish in terms of rehabbing the image of America globally has been nothing short of incredible. Foreign invasions on multiple fronts as well as being the epicenter of the global economic crisis had done horrific damage to the idea of America as a good nation. Obama’s charisma and eloquence has done much to mute the boorish American cowboy aesthetic and has led to increased coalition building among nations. Some may choose to see this as furthering the momentum towards increased globalization and the drift towards one world government, but what it does not accomplish is leaving of America on the outside looking in.
The Obama administration has made strides towards curbing nuclear proliferation and has succeeded in opening up talk with North Korea, who has traditionally proven notoriously difficult to deal with. In addition, Obama has been able to at least on the surface convince other nations that terrorism is not an American problem but a global issue and has opened the door for additional aid in troops, peace keeping, and financial aid to many of the hot spots around the globe related to the “War on Terror.” Regardless of where you stand on the issue, having allies in such things is never something to frown upon as an exercise.
On the home front, Obama has called for improvements in education and for the responsibility of the American people to each other. He has managed to avoid the pitfalls of race concerning many matters, most recently the revelations of Harry Reid in reference to his supposed lack of “Negro dialect.” While not joining the fray (because of course, there are more glaring issues to deal with) Obama perhaps loses a bit of cultural credibility, as well as the chance to make teaching moments out of these instances.
In judging what someone has accomplished, you have to look at the surrounding conditions. While he is the captain of the ship, he took stewardship of a capsizing ship and is perhaps charged with bailing water. We are aware of that as a mitigating circumstance. We are aware of the damage done by previous practices and administrations. However, this is the role he chose, and he is responsible now, so the communication and execution of his office is his and his alone.
This has been year one of four, and miles to go to both repair damage, build infrastructure, and forge ahead towards creating the America of the 21st century. His place in history is assured, but what will be remembered is still being written. It is our hope that he learns from defeats and does not adopt the prevailing arrogance of the Democratic Party, lest he lose the advantage of majority, and loses the goodwill of the people who voted for him. One down, three to go. Planet Ill gives the President a C+/B-.
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