Blake wrote:
aice, You can probably ask 100 people and get 100 different answers on that question. There are many who are going to be disappointed in what he had done or failed to do.
However, from my point of view...and I emphasize that I am only speaking for myself... I think that he has done well. I am nearing 70 years of age and have lived under 12 presidents, but I can't recall any of them having to deal with the issues that Obama has had to. Though the opposition scream to high-heaven at the suggestion, I think that Obama's color has been a problem for some, but that isn't the biggest issue he has had to deal with. As I see it, a disfunctional congress has hurt him the most. The partisan politics that we have now has crippled congress to the point of them being like an anchor... just dragging everything along, but going nowhere. No matter how good an idea might be floated, you can bet that the other party will fight it tooth & nail. If it were their idea, the would shout from the mountains how good an idea it is.
Obama gets criticized for how he has gone outside of congress to get some things done (Obamacare for example), but I don't see him as having had much choice, as waiting for congress to come up with something that they can agree with was never going to work. Last I knew, he still had appointments (courts primarily) being held up... leaving the position vacant for years! It is everything for the party, to hell with what might be best for the country. This kind of partisanship (both parties) has poisoned the congress and crippled this country (another reason that I am an independent)
Of course, the national debt has risen dramatically (a massive understatement) and he has his share of blame in that, however, he inherited a might mess with massive costs attached to them... such as two unfunded wars. Our international relationships were terrible, but I think that Obama has helped that, at least a little bit.
So, as I see it, he has done a decent job given the circumstances and I can't think of any candiate that I would have expected to do more. Can you imagine Sarah Palin and/or the Tea Party running this country? That scares the hell out of me.
I suspect that his legacy will be much better as in time we look back on Obama than it will be over the next few years. Don't know if I will be around to see it, but I hope so.
From an outsider’s point of view we definitely do get the impression he has not lived up to the hype and has not been able to deliver what was hoped he would or could.
But (and a BIG BUT) I think it is also a widely held view across Europe that any apparent failure is less to do with Obama himself and more down to the shackles of congress.
Which, again from an outsider’s point of view, is a real real shame as we genuinely had very high expectations (especially following you know who).
(incidentally, compared to what we have in the UK, congress and it’s two houses look like something quite progressive and modern, what a fu##ing thought!)