Obama so far
March 21, 2009
If we don’t count inauguration day, which is just a party day anyway, President Obama has had two working months to start moving on his agenda. He has had some successes, some setbacks, some scandals, and then there is always the economy and some politics. His first 100 days are more than half over, and it is a good time to check in and see how things are coming along (by the way, PolitiFact has really good resource for keeping track of Obama’s campaign promises and their status). I’m sure I won’t cover everything, and not everyone will see the “successes” that I see as positive things. That is fine.
Successes
- The Ledbetter Act – Obama signed this legislation that eliminates a procedural barrier for women and minorities who have been discriminated against and want to sue their employers.
- Stem Cells – Obama signed an executive order reversing some of Bush’s restrictions on stem cell research.
- SCHIP – Obama expanded eligibility for the State Health Insurance Fund (SCHIP), reversing Bush’s veto of the same bill, which was one of the most unpopular of his decisions.
- Payroll Tax Cut – Obama’s payroll tax cut will reduce the payroll taxes paid by every worker by about $400 per year. It isn’t an astoundingly high number, but it is the first time that a tax cut has been targeted to help the people who need it most, which includes those who pay little or no in actual income tax. It is also the first tax cut that I will really benefit from.
Setbacks
- Comprehensive health care – The current economic crisis has unfortunately diverted attention away from our desperate need to overhaul the health care system. Obama has not been able to advance any significant comprehensive reform yet, and if he does not do so soon, it will be even more difficult to raise the issue later. Obama should introduce massive health care reform as a necessary part of the overall response to the economic crisis. Medical bills are still the number one cause of individuals declaring bankruptcy, which ripples through the economy. We still pay far more than we need to for an outdated and inefficient private health care system.
Scandals
- Appointment Scandals – Bill Richardson is being investigated and had to withdraw as Commerce Secretary nominee; Timothy Geithner didn’t pay taxes; Tom Daschle didn’t pay taxes and had to withdraw as HHS Secretary nominee; and Judd Gregg realized he was a Republican and couldn’t agree with the Democratic economic approach, so he withdrew as Commerce Secretary nominee as well.
- Rod Blagojeich – Obama’s administration managed to almost completely escape scrutiny on this scandal, even though there were some potentially worrying things in the indictment that could have (and still could) draw the administration into the Illinois governor’s scandal. This issue got even more complex with Blagojeich’s appointment of Senator Burris.
The Economy
- Foreclosure Prevention Fund – Obama enacted a plan to provide up to $75 billion for homeowners with subprime mortgages to help them refinance their mortgages or sell their homes. Since subprime mortgages are at the very core of the economic crisis, this is a very good step.
- Time – Obama’s biggest problem is that the economy is not turning on a dime. Most rational people realize the basics: the recession is not Obama’s fault, he inherited it; the economy will turn around eventually; the government should do what it can to mitigate the effects of the recession rather than just preside over it. Still, until things do get better, the economy will drown out a lot of the other issues that Obama campaigned on and needs to enact.
- Distractions – Obama hasn’t done a good enough job labeling the so-called opposition from Republicans for what it almost invariably is: mere distractions. With hundreds of billions hanging in the balance, almost all of the Republican dissent (and media criticism) has focused on ridiculously minor elements, such as earmarks and executive bonuses. Republicans have not found a real way of opposing any of Obama’s economic choices aside from the tired lines about budget deficits (which nobody really cares about). The only alternative Republicans seem to have is to do nothing, and that may explain why Obama’s approval rating is still so high and Republicans can’t even figure out who is running their party.
- Executive Bonuses – Although I labeled this as a distraction (because it is, compared with the overall recession and recovery), this is a very negative thing for the administration. Vast amounts of media attention have propelled the AIG bonuses to become the dominant metaphor of the recovery package. Obama didn’t do a good enough job preventing or preempting AIG’s announcement of these bonuses, and now a lot of outrage directed at AIG could sabotage the administration’s future efforts at recovery. There were a lot of possible ways that the government could have prevented this from happening, and they should have, even if only for the symbolic nature of it.
Politics
- The best thing to happen for Obama politically has been all the attention on Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh is too powerful for most Republicans to oppose, but he is too radical and offensive for most Republicans to embrace. Anthony Palmer wrote a very insightful article on Obama vs. Limbaugh at the very beginning of the whole issue and was one of the first I saw to suggest that Obama intentionally baited Limbaugh to drive a wedge into the Republican party. If that is true, then that political decision has turned out to be an incredible success.
Of course, more things have happened in the past two months than these. These represent some of the more significant elements of President Obama’s first two months in office, though. The economy dominates most of the news, but given the circumstances, Obama is navigating the tough times rather well.
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President Obama brought those “distractions” upon himself by campaigning for ‘change’ in politics. He said that we would not see any lobbyist in his administration- but it turns out that this rule only applies in cases where the individual isn’t really really needed. He also promised a tough stance on earmarks during the campaign- but finds himself powerless to stop them now that hes in office. These silly, rash promises were destined to be broken, so either Obama decided that the approval they brought him during the campaign outweighed the scandal later on, or he honestly thought that he was going to ride in on a magic pony and change the system. Whatever his thought-process was, Obama provided his opponents with ammunition before his term even began- and no one should be surprised that the Republicans are shooting everything they have at Obama and his ‘big government agenda’ right now.
I’ve got a question to throw out there- if the economic situation does not improve significantly in four years, is there any way Obama will be reelected? I’m looking at precedence- Carter, Hoover- and I’m thinking no.
I will add to your successes that Obama has dramatically altered the course of middle eastern diplomacy. He has also changed our misplaced approach to Russia. He could leave office not doing anything else with regard to those two regions and he would have improved things.
That said, the true economic test for Obama will be the bank bill that he will send to Congress, which I thought should have been his first priority, seeing that elimination of certain bank regulations were the root of the problem. I have already outlined some of my displeasures with the stimulus but he could remedy that by signing in a good banking regulation act.
I also think Obama is kidding himself with his budget proposal. There is a huge discrepancy between his and the CBO estimate (and for that matter, every independent analysis) of what the deficits in the next few years will be. I am very sympathetic to the goal of making healthcare more available to the poorest working Americans. But it appears that unless the costs of healthcare are not addressed, we will not be able to afford what Obama has in mind.
Thoughts?
Believe it or not, I really hope the Republicans remove their heads from their nether regions and get their act together. I just think this country works better when we have counterweights. We get into trouble when either party tries to completely eliminate the other one.
I think that’s true of government and corporations too though. We’ve been too favorable to the corporations for too long and they just can’t provide everything and should not be expected to.
Chris, I think that healthcare is the Thing. I don’t think we’re going to be able to remake our economy to be competitive in the global marketplace without it. Employer-provided healthcare and benefits is one of the main things that pulled GM down. We really can’t expect corporations to be the providers of healthcare without the excesses that are going on now–the government getting billed way over the cost of doing things (have you been in a breast center recently? I have been in luxury hotels that weren’t that nice.) People getting removed from plans the minute they get sick. Big Pharma running the show to the extent that drugs are widely misused. This is one place where companies are in the business of providing a public right and they aren’t doing it well at all. Healthcare is going to have to go back to the public sector.
Neffs: I certainly hope that a significant amount of healthcare goes to the private sector because I certainly see the benefits. I’m just skeptical of whether or not it can be done.
I disagree with most of this. Obama is starting to become far more vulnerable politically now that he has had so many screw-ups.
He all but ignored TARP until THIS WEEK. I thought that was the most important thing…ya know restroing credit and what not. Look, I disagree with almost all of his policies but from a strictly political perspective it seems obvious that the real problems have been ignored for the sake of creating panic and thus building political grounds to pass radical spending plans and health care reform. He has been run over by Pelosi when it comes to legislation and it shows his inability to lead.
I can put up with liberalism, but this guy is not a leader of people. His only response has been to go after a private citizen (Limbaugh) who, if you’ve ever heard him and have any idea what he is all about, is not offensive or radical…he’s a modern intellectual philosopher of political ideals.
One term President…write it down
One term President…write it down
Maybe so, but you also once expressed on this very blog, with total, condescending certainty, that McCain would win the election handily, if not in a landslide. Goofball.
Oh I remember that! It was also ridiculously close to the election, and you were the only one who still thought that. Even McCain’s advisers realized it was over. It’s one thing to have your own political opinions, but you seem unable to set them aside for any level of rational political analysis whatsoever.
“Limbaugh… is a modern intellectual philosopher of political ideals.” – Derek Glover, March 24, 2009.
…write that down.
Well I will say that had it not been for McCain’s support of TARP he would have won.
I am, however, proud of that quote you pulled. Thanks David.
By the way…I am actually thankful McCain didn’t win. Obama may do to this country what Carter did. We may see a rediscovery of conservatism and a swing to smaller government.
Your clouded political sense is coming out again…
What voting group, exactly, did McCain lose by supporting TARP? How many voters even know what that acronym means?
Dude can’t distinguish between partisan wish-fulfillment and political analysis. Conservatism can never fail, it can only be failed.
Hey, let’s talk about Obama’s telerprompterz! LOL can he even order a sandwich without one??11!!1