It takes one a long time to come to a conclusive decision on the success of a presidency. Many people, however, jump right in and have no problem protesting the president even on day one despite the president’s lack of time to accomplish the administration’s goals. That’s OK, but it doesn’t mean it’s intuitive, well-mannered or well-analyzed.
President Barack Obama is a bad president. Now every Democrat can punch a hole through the computer and every Republican start doing cartwheels. I’m looking at this man through a perspective that includes education, ability to deal with others, oratory ability and how he conducts himself. Why is it that we have such an educated president who can seemingly get very few things done? Why is it that it’s been six years and we still feel none of his “changes”? And finally, what makes President Obama ineffective? This degree of unpreparedness can be simply read through the words of Obama’s former chief of staff and current Chicago mayor, Rahm Emanuel. Rahm avails: “There was no blueprint or how-to manual for fixing a global financial meltdown, an auto crisis, two wars and a great recession, all at the same time.” I’m sorry; the blueprint must have been placed on the other desk. Those things tend to get lost around the office.
President Obama clearly has the education that the people wish for their president, despite the fact that it seems as if this characteristic is mattering less and less. It doesn’t matter if you can read a mechanical engineering book forward and backward, what matters is if you can take those thoughts and new ideas to other places. President Obama does not do this well. As far as I can tell, the only sector to recover from 2008 is Wall Street.
He claims to have saved the auto industry and is putting more emphasis on manufacturing while dually emphasizing training programs for the same people. He hasn’t chosen a clear direction for our nation, which has clearly progressed beyond manufacturing. That’s for the peripheral and developing countries now. The rust- and- dust jobs are moving out of country for a good reason. We’ve developed to the point where poorer nations will handle those responsibilities and all we have to do is trade. The only positive thing I’ve seen come from my hometown of Detroit is that of the chief emergency manager, who has been appointed to finally deal with the problems that have been decaying the city for so long.
Obama’s personal problems are also what make his job even more difficult ,even if unintended. Being the sharpest knife in the drawer has consequences, especially when you act as such. This “I’ll take care of it” attitude has essentially made him the loneliest man in Washington, sitting atop his ivory tower. The stories of arrogance and political games have circulated to the point where his staff and he seem like two separate entities.
For those of you who thought his State of the Union address meant anything, wait three weeks and see if you can tell me what his talking points were. It’s the same every year. As students and voters, we should have seen this coming, right? A 2008 video shows the president explaining his weaknesses as candidate and politician, with those being “I ask my staff never to give me a paper until two seconds before I need it, because I’ll lose it.” As well as this gem: “My desk in my office doesn’t look good, I need someone around me keeping track of that stuff.” For a graduate of Columbia University, can he not hold onto paper for five seconds or possibly, I don’t know, organize his desk? I saw these as early warning signs for someone who intends to deal with a massive health care overhaul.
He has failed to understand the power distribution and the best way to obtain more. The clock is ticking and, unfortunately, if he were to leave office today, he would be considered one of the poorer presidents in history.
There is another side to this paradigm that many liberals love to tack onto the argument. The idea that it is Congress’ fault for all of President Obama’s failures and inabilities to pass worthwhile legislation while in office. Blaiming Congress is simply not fair, as Obama can take matters into his own hands whenever he feels ready. The executive order, to me, shows the capstone of ineffective government. Why would we need such actions if everyone were able to cooperate?
To flood your final two years with executive orders is asking for a legacy consisting almost entirely of overreaching authority. His lack of a cohesive office and cabinet led to a terrible health care rollout that was frighteningly underfunded and understaffed. At least if you’re going to do it, do it big. Of course this article will fall along partisan lines, but that’s not my intention. My intention is to wake up some of our peers to the idea that Obama is far from being the president we hoped he could have been and that his administration’s time is quickly coming to an end.
Is Jeff correct in his criticism of the Obama administration, or is it still too early to judge his presidency? Can President Obama improve in the remaining time he has left in his second term? Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
