Disappointment and disillusion with President Obama are at an all-time high, not just among the general population but among his liberal base as well. His recent decision to prevent the EPA from issuing new Clean Air regulations was seen as another indication of his capitulation to business and his unwillingness to take a stand for the public interest. Many Democrats now view him as overly conciliatory, weak and ineffectual. Regular VoR readers know that I’ve often been critical of his economic policies and rhetoric, along with his lack of leadership on the environment.
But it’s important not to get carried away with criticizing the President. There’s something about the office, and the unrealistic expectations that come with it, which invariably lead to disappointment.
Ronald Reagan, who holds almost god-like status in the GOP, wouldn’t even make it through a Republican primary today. He raised taxes multiple times, sold weapons to our sworn enemies the Iranians, retreated from a terrorist threat in Lebanon, and granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who enjoys almost equal veneration by the Left, signed off on a number of policies that are anathema to today’s progressives. The internment of the Japanese during WW II is probably the blackest mark on his record. He also signed legislation that deprived many blacks of Social Security, and many of the New Deal’s work programs discriminated against women.
Bill Clinton? His Administration created “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the Defense of Marriage Act. He did almost nothing for the environment during his eight-year tenure, and his signature welfare reform has been a mixed success. When I ask Clinton fans to name one lasting accomplishment, they often come up empty (I think the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit is his greatest domestic achievement).
George Bush II went against the GOP base by working with uber-liberal Ted Kennedy to pass “No Child Left Behind”—and with Medicare Part D, he signed into law the biggest expansion of an entitlement program in over a generation. He also sharply increased federal funding for global AIDS initiatives, and he tried to pass an immigration reform that would have granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.
The obvious take-away is that presidents never fully satisfy their base. The country is so diverse, and the demands of the office pull in so many different directions, that all presidents find themselves forced to make decisions that upset some of their core constituencies.
The question is how to judge President Obama in this context. It is too early to make lasting judgments; he has a year left in his current term, and could enjoy another four years after that. But I think it is fair to make a preliminary assessment based on his 2008 campaign, and on the constraints he’s faced as President.
By these criteria, I still give Obama high marks. He’s followed through on a number of his signature campaign promises—healthcare reform, financial regulatory reform, student loan reform, repealing DADT, ending the Iraq War and focusing on Afghanistan, and passing a massive (albeit too small) stimulus bill. He has also accomplished many things under the radar—rebuilding the Justice Department after its decimation by the Bush Administration, rebuilding FEMA and making it effective again, increasing transparency in government, and greatly improving automobile fuel efficiency standards.
He took over after the worst recession in 70 years, and he’s faced a unified and ruthless Republican opposition determined to deny him at every turn. Has Obama done everything he promised? No. Has he made huge mistakes? Yes. Would someone else have done better? This is impossible to know for sure, but my guess is probably not.
None of this is to suggest that there aren’t legitimate reasons to be angry with Obama, or that we should stop criticizing him. But progressives should put their frustrations in context. Compared to Rick Perry or Mitt Romney or Michelle Bachmann (or any other declared or undeclared Republican candidate), President Obama is so clearly superior that his supporters need to cut him some slack. It’s the right thing to do.
Jason Scorse