Obama's First Year

It should be noted right up front that I voted for Barack Obama. I did not believe as did so many that he would become a great President. In fact I did not even think he had a good chance of succeeding. I have a very good friend named Andy who at the time of his election was leading the Obama choir. Both Andy and I are Democrats but then again so are Olympia Snowe and Dick Cheney. The point being that there are degrees of everything.

As Obama was elected with my support I still cautioned Andy that his chances of success were limited. The argument held no water with Andy. " We have both houses of Congress, he cannot help but get his programs thru, we are going to reverse years of Bush errors." It was no point talking to him and to any of the Keith Olberman believers. I am no sage but I am old enough to remember Jimmy Carter who was the last Democrat to win in a way easier than many thought he would, have so little experience, and have a majority that would work with him. I told my friends that Obama's biggest danger would be the Democrats who would not be that willing to give away their power to make him successful. At the time I was not even considering what an SOB his independent friend Joe Lieberman would be.

Obama's first year has been called a failure. Others say it has been successful in ways we cannot fully comprehend as we have to think of the what ifs. What could have happened IF the stimulus had not saved the jobs it did.

for me it is simple. What part of his agenda has he put through. If you cannot do it in the first year what real chance do you have. Obama is a good man . He seems to be a caring father. He has been to me the most disappointing President in my lifetime. I do not know if his lack of success has been due to an overconfidence that things would fall into line, a lack of passion that makes it hard for him to get others to believe in him or just a stunning arrogance. He has been by any measure I can think of a failure of colossal proportion.

Obama campaigned and won on health care and then gave his cause to Congress to fiddle and diddle with sucking any of the positives America could see, not investing himself in the plan until it was in emergency mode. Now a majority of Americans who believed in health care overhaul have been convinced by the Republicans that it will not be a good thing. Worse yet Obama seemed to have no compass in the matter. He gave up on the public option, let Joe Lieberman abuse him, and evidently bought some ocean front property from Ben Nelson in Nebraska. And now it is all for naught because somehow he took his eye off the ball long enough to let the Democrats give away Ted Kennedy's seat.

He has embraced Wall Street to a nauseating degree with Tim Geithner, Lawrence Summers and the Fed Chair Ben B. No changes have been made on Wall Street. He has not made them change their ways, he will not have the gumption to make the banks split ala T R in his trustbuster phase. TBTF should never happen again but it will on Obama;s watch. The modest credit card reform bill he put thru allowed a six month window to allow credit card companies to add any fees and rates they want up to the start date of the plan.

When running for President he promised that principal would be reduced on underwater house loans to help people. He has not even approached this. In failing to do this banks have not been willing to work with these customers and after all why should they as they are TBTF.

Obama's stimulus plan was too small to get the job done and has been slow in dispering.

Republicans smell blood . They should. Clinton shut down the government to let the public see what Gingrich was doing and won the battle. Not Obama. He now seems to be moving to the center on every issue including health care in an effort to be bipartisan. The Republicans are moving off the cliff on the right however. Charlie Crist is losing in the polls in Florida because he had a picture taken with Obama that is being used against him in his opponents campaign literature. Pre Obama Crist was on a short list of Presidential candidates, now he is losing in the primary for a Senate seat. No Republican will work with Obama., not unless Obama caves completely which he is dangerously close to doing.

The Democrats are in such bad shape. Only 59 Senators and they cannot get anything passed. Let them filibuster is what Obama should say. Force the votes and let them explain. Confrontation is not his style however. Now, in the last few days, the final insult is Obama's plan for a spending freeze.

I am for a balanced budget but this is just foolish. It fools no one, Republicans still will not work with him and as before Obama has the left feeling betrayed. I do not even consider myself left wing and I feel betrayed. Education is part of that freeze, cuts need to be made but not across the board.

I think his failure is not being too far too the left it is being too far to the center. Someone needs to remind him he won, he won with a majority in both houses. Yes he said government would be transparent but he did not do that either. I did not see the health care negotiations on C Span. However he has now has Republicans sensing weakness, his own Senators making him look weak and he has outraged the people om the left who believed in him.

It may turn around. As to being reelected his best chance of that is the truth that the Republicans are headed for thier own Civil War. Obama energizes them however, so do not consider it a given. He could even see a challenge from his own party from the left. They would not win but certainly could drain energy from him and his if those who support a challenger from the left still feel forgotten they may sit the next election out.

The worse thing a politician can do to his future is to have people tune out and not care. I am close to not caring about Obama. Biden would be a better President.

Obama's grade for Year 1 is a D.