Obama: Year One
To the best of my knowledge, I have not really posted about politics in the last 365 days. I was not enthusiastic about Obama, but willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and see how things went. A year later, I still feel pretty much the same.
First things first, Obama is Not Bush, and I do consider that a good thing. I think he's done a decent job of dismantling the more objectionable policies of the Bush years, without the whole babies and bathwater thing. And I think that, in regard to the anti-terrorism efforts, reflects how he's governed in other areas as well - I think my opinion of him has held up better than that of a lot of his true believers.
In retrospect, Obama is a cautious politician much more like Bill Clinton than either his supporters or Hillary's would have admited during the campaign. As I'm not really seeking radical change, I'm okay with him being more like Clinton than FDR, but I think that the movement that elected him wanted otherwise. And in the particular issue of healthcare, where I do favor change, I think he's been much too deferential to Congress, squandering precious time and political capital.
In foreign policy, he's lucked into not having to make painful choices about Iraq, and hopefully that will continue and we'll be out before long. In Afghanistan, I think the surge of troops is worth trying, but if it's not working in six months we are into the land of bad choices, and Obama will have to pick one.
I don't think Obama has a clue what to do about the economy. Then again, I don't think America has ever had a President who did. He supported the unpopular bailouts, as did Bush, but they seem to have worked. So I'm not sure what the message of that is.
All in all, I am in favor of the demystification of Obama. When he stops being a messiah to the left and an anti-christ to the right, and can be judged of the mundanity of interest rates and budget deficits and decisions about war, the country takes a step towards having a President who happens to be black, and not a "black President", which will be good for the country. And I hope he'll turn into someone who is that, and has also done a good job. I remain skeptical but open-minded.
First things first, Obama is Not Bush, and I do consider that a good thing. I think he's done a decent job of dismantling the more objectionable policies of the Bush years, without the whole babies and bathwater thing. And I think that, in regard to the anti-terrorism efforts, reflects how he's governed in other areas as well - I think my opinion of him has held up better than that of a lot of his true believers.
In retrospect, Obama is a cautious politician much more like Bill Clinton than either his supporters or Hillary's would have admited during the campaign. As I'm not really seeking radical change, I'm okay with him being more like Clinton than FDR, but I think that the movement that elected him wanted otherwise. And in the particular issue of healthcare, where I do favor change, I think he's been much too deferential to Congress, squandering precious time and political capital.
In foreign policy, he's lucked into not having to make painful choices about Iraq, and hopefully that will continue and we'll be out before long. In Afghanistan, I think the surge of troops is worth trying, but if it's not working in six months we are into the land of bad choices, and Obama will have to pick one.
I don't think Obama has a clue what to do about the economy. Then again, I don't think America has ever had a President who did. He supported the unpopular bailouts, as did Bush, but they seem to have worked. So I'm not sure what the message of that is.
All in all, I am in favor of the demystification of Obama. When he stops being a messiah to the left and an anti-christ to the right, and can be judged of the mundanity of interest rates and budget deficits and decisions about war, the country takes a step towards having a President who happens to be black, and not a "black President", which will be good for the country. And I hope he'll turn into someone who is that, and has also done a good job. I remain skeptical but open-minded.