2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Let Down By Obama, Some Black Voters Ask: Is It Even Worth Backing Clinton? [View all]potone
(1,701 posts)I think what some people forget is just what a mess on all fronts he had to confront when he became President. If that weren't bad enough, what seems to be left out of this discussion is the relentlessly negative role that the Congress played. There was no good faith whatsoever in the Republican Senators or Congressmen, and the Democratic leadership--especially in the Senate--was spineless. In addition, because he is the first African-American President, he carried the additional burden on his shoulders of needing to be seen to have made every possible effort to reach out to both parties in Congress. I think he spent far too much time trying to work with Republicans in his first two years in Congress, but nevertheless, the fact that he got health care reform passed is a tremendous achievement, and one against terrible odds. What I fault him for is his disappointing lack of respect for civil liberties when it comes to government spying, and his reliance on an economic team whose members were among those responsible for the deregulation of the banks and, ultimately, for the crash of 2008.
Despite my disappointment in him in some respects, I think that he is one of the most intelligent Presidents that we have ever had, and also one of the most honest. In addition, he and his family have done us proud when they have traveled abroad.