It was guaranteed before he stepped foot in the Oval Office that Obama wouldn’t be able to satisfy Republicans. But a year after his election, even many Democrats express dissatisfaction with his performance as president. Obama is hearing it from all sides these days.
DEM LOYALISTS: WHAT LEADER?
Quoted
Democrats sound off on what has made them unhappy about Obama.
1 “I wish [Obama] would push back on Republicans and push his policies through! I don’t know why the Democrats do not understand why we voted them into the majority. There is way too much back-pedaling going on, in general.”
Laurie Shafer, New Jersey
2 “He tried to apply an ivory-tower perspective to difficult issues — assuming the Republicans would or could be swayed by rational arguments — and has been forced to enter the trenches once he encountered their irrational opposition. It’s time to use his muscle and ram through his legislation.”
Steven Spencer, Seattle, Wash.
3 “Obama has not figured out that there’s more public support for significant change than for a lot of the wimpy stuff he’s doing. There’s support for big steps, and Obama’s taking little ones.”
Shel Horowitz
Shel Horowitz wanted vindication from the last eight years of former President George W. Bush on the night of the 2008 presidential election. When it was announced that Barack Obama would be the next president, he thought his wishes had been granted.
Today — one year since that historic night — he wonders what happened.
The tough talk then-presidential candidate Obama delivered against Republican policies has given way to the current commander-in-chief’s toned-down approach to consensus-building.
Many Democrats who wanted Republicans out of power now wonder what happened to the leader who promised drastic change.
“I’d like him to be much, much bolder and to recognize that he has nothing to lose [when battling Republicans],” Horowitz said. “Failing to do so leaves a disappointed, frustrated mass who thought they were going to see big changes fast and who are rapidly losing confidence in him.”
Horowitz, who describes himself as a “George Will of the left” started a blog to proclaim his disappointment with Obama’s soft approach to negotiating with Republicans, among other things.
In it, he wrote a speech he said he wishes Obama would make on the wars abroad, denouncing the use of military action and immediately withdrawing troops — and giving up the Nobel Peace Prize.
Obama’s biggest victories
1 $787 billion stimulus
He may not have gotten the vote of a single Republican in Congress in favor of the huge “public bailout,” but one of Obama’s biggest and most reiterated promises on the presidential campaign trail in 2008 was a stimulus that would eventually lead to economic stimulation. It passed, and now look where we are. Things are looking up.
2 Currying Mideast favor
Sure, it was more about talk than action, but Obama’s groundbreaking speech to the Muslim world in Cairo over the summer was the first real extension of diplomacy on behalf of the U.S. to Muslim countries since the start of the American war in Afghanistan eight years ago.
3 Fourth U.S. president to win the Nobel
OK, so the award wasn’t based on any tangible achievement. But the honor is one of the highest in the world and shows just how powerful an effect Obama has had on the world. Plus, becoming only the fourth president (and the first in his first term) to win is something to write home about.
Obama’s biggest failures
1 Not the best judge of character
Three of Obama’s most-watched nominees to his Cabinet were found to have owed back taxes or skirted tax laws. For all his talk that former rival Hillary Clinton showed poor judgment by voting for authorization to initially occupy Iraq, choosing people with shady backgrounds to join his White House team didn’t bode well for his message that he was the better judge of character.
2 Iraq and Afghanistan
It’s yet to be seen whether the military strategies in war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan will work, but so far the situations on the ground in both countries only seem to be getting worse. Since the drawdown of troops in Iraq began, a resurgence in insurgency has taken hold. And in Afghanistan, military officials say the current quagmire is far worse than expected.
3 Health care
No other policy proposal has made it more clear that President Obama has no control or influence over Congress. This one issue has proven more than any other that Obama’s campaign promise to end partisanship and usher in a new time of unity is nothing but a pipe dream.
CLICK ON CHART TO ENLARGE
CLICK ON CHART TO ENLARGE
Republicans: We’re getting back on track
Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Just a year ago, the Republican party was dubbed “irrelevant” as the favor in the 2008 presidential election was clearly slanted to Barack Obama. But if you ask party faithfuls where they stand now, they’d tell you things are looking up.
Over the last year, the party has had to strip itself bare and begin building from the ground up. And this is where party members see the light: a return to grassroots organizing.
Amara Birman, a Republican in New York City, recalls the tea parties held around the country in April to protest Obama’s stimulus package.
“I am happy the party is seeing the value in grassroots-style, movement politics,” she said. “Yes, we are still struggling to find our spokesperson, but out policy stances are a bit more united than before. ... I think right now we have to sit back and let the other guys mess up a bit. Only then will the mood be right for us to propose ideas to make things better.”
Todd Schoenberger is just relying on the self-destruction of the Democratic party.
“If anything, Dems seem to be hurting themselves. The feeling of goodwill and optimism seem to have disappeared.”
Why is America so angry?
The dividing line between Democrats and Republicans has only gotten wider since Obama took office. The man who promised unity has only seen more separation in his first year.
“I think that people are angry for probably one main reason,” said Ryan Teten, political professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. “Even though a candidate promises to work with the other side of the aisle in getting things done, the real story is actually quite different. With a near super-majority in both of the chambers of Congress, Democrats have effectively ignored the Republicans almost completely.”
That doesn’t bode well for those coveted independent voters who picked Obama for change, but not complete change, Teten said.
“[The winning party’s] aim is not to increase debate and encourage discussion, but to be able to dictate policies that are aligned with their own partisan positions.”
