Let's Grade Obama

Hi Everyone,

Well, I meant to write this post more than a week ago, but I had to devote more of my time to schoolwork. The good news is that I'm on Spring Break now, so hopefully I can do more posts this week. So, Barack Obama is now 69 days into his presidency. It may still be early for this, but I want to take this opportunity to assess, as best I can, how President Obama is doing.

(For another progress report on President Obama, the inspiration for this segment, click here.)

In my composition class this year, my professor has been issuing progress reports once every few weeks. I decided to do the same for the new commander-in-chief. Now, I may not be the best person for this job. I must admit I am excited about Obama being president and I do hope he can do what he set out to do. But his platform was accountability, and he asked that we hold him accountable. So now it is my turn. I will now grade how Obama is doing in his new role as President of the United States.

To simplify the process, I will break down the grades into these categories: economy, foreign policy, security, health care, environment, leadership, ethics, and vision. At the end, I will take all of the grades and then combine them into one overall grade.

Economy: C+. 78%. The economic plan so far, in the form of the stimulus and the President's upcoming budget, is a step in the right direction. Some glimmers of recovery are starting to appear in some places. Some people have been able to keep their jobs, and last week, the stock market went up again. However, the final product of the stimulus was more watered down. Some of the things that may have had the most stimulating effect were removed. As Obama noted, though, the economic recovery does not end with this stimulus. I suspect more effort will be exerted in the recovery effort. Hopefully, some of the things that could have a stimulative effect, that would help people recover, that were taken out this time will find their way in somehow.

Foreign Policy: B. 84%. Obama's attitude about foreign policy seems different from Bush's, even though some beg to differ. His move to end the Iraq War as soon as possible is a welcome shift, since it has gone on for so long. His redirection of attention to Afghanistan has raised alarms from some on the left side, but I don't think we can just give up on Afghanistan. The idea of not using solely military force, but getting diplomacy into foreign policy is a good one. The challenge in Afghanistan will be nothing small. Next, we have Pakistan. Taliban and some al-qaeda operatives have crept in and established bases in the rugged, often lawless terrain on the Afghan-Pakistani border. A spot called the Swat Valley, formerly a tourist haven in the north, is now under Taliban control. By the way, Pakistan has nuclear weapons. Iran is in a similar place, so is North Korea, with its rocket being tested. There will be many proving grounds for Obama's foreign policy prowess.

Security: B+. 87%. Using the "Bush Barometer" (the abscence of a major terrorist attack since September 11, 2001) Obama is doing fine. I feel more secure with the task of my security in the calm hands of Barack Obama than I would have in the hands of, say, John McCain. The central challenges of security for Obama will be in Iraq, Guantanamo, and in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Boy, all the sudden, we're starting to hear a lot about Pakistan. In Iraq, the challenge will be to ensure that the country is stable enough for the Iraqis to take over as quickly as possible. For Guantanamo, the challenge will be to decide who is a threat, who needs to be dealt with, and who does not need to be dealt with. The challenge in Afghanistan, similar to the objective in Iraq, now involves Pakistan, as I mentioned. Since Pakistan, like us, has a large military and nuclear weapons, so Pakistan is a must in the security department. Think of Pakistan being for security what Ohio is for every election. It is the must win place. Let's hope the President has as much luck here as he did in Ohio.

Health Care: B-. 82%. President Obama seems like he's serious about getting health care to as amny of us as possible. Health care is central to his paln of economic recovery, since the current system is run so inefficiently that it costs a lot, but does little for us. Obama has continually convened with experts in the department and seems to be in the process of getting ready to put out the ultimate plan. So far, this plan is in its early stages. Already we are beginning to hear talk of the plan heating up. The health care plan is sure to be the next big battleground for the president's plan. This grade will be made in the ability to shape this vision and bring it to pass.

Environment: B+. 88%. So far, Obama has been working hard for the environment and on the issue of energy. His skepticism on offshore drilling during the campaign was an example. Just today, he signed an act to help protect lots of public land. It's great to have the government finally getting serious about confronting environmental challenges, and rethinking our energy strategy. I like the idea of "green jobs". Joe Biden explained how the administration intends to use these green jobs not only to tackle environmental issues, but also to create jobs, and help to rejuvenate the middle class, as is Vice President Biden's priority. These ideas, and investing in new, cleaner energy sources, are all good ones. Let's hope we can do enough, in time.

Leadership: C+. 76%. For someone with as little executive experience as he, Obama is handling the toughest job, at the toughest time, very well. His amazingly calm demeanor has given him an edge here. As everyone else in this crisis seems to be trying to blame someone, Obama is coming up with a plan, and doing what he can to carry it out. It's a theme emerging, everyone going crazy, fuming, blaming, and Obama continues to do his thing. Like when the revelations of the disgraceful AIG bonuses surfaced, everyone was going ballistic, and he calmly took responsibility. However, the failure to secure nominees for several cabinet-level positions brought this grade down.

Ethics: A-. 90%. There have been some hiccups in the ethical aspirations of this presidency. For instance, some of the nominees and Administration members have made mistakes on their taxes to the tune of 1,000s of dollars. Also, the high number of white house councils and overseers on certain matters, like urban affairs, has raised red flags in some people's minds. I understand these concerns. However, compared to his predecessor, Obama's record is like a breath of fresh air. For one thing, when the revelations of the taxes issues came up, Obama admitted, in no uncertain terms "I made a mistake". A big step forward. According to politifact, Obama has gone back on 3 promises, kept 20, is currently working on fulfilling 48, and has yet to act on the majority of them. Since his first term has only just begun, it is to be expected that most of his promises have yet to be fulfilled. Pressure will need to be applied from us to keep him going in this right direction, and thus ensure that we all benefit.

Vision: B. 84%. This category has to do with the ability to bring one's vision to pass, to make dreams into realities. Obama, of course, has a hugely ambitious vision. He has set a high bar for himself, so executing the vision will be no easy task. So far, his vision has been watered down slightly, in the form of the stimulus, and the fact that Obama's high hopes for a bipartisan attitude has been a lot harder than he had hoped. He continues, though, to go out and work toward these goals with no less energy or determination. The best thing, in this observer's opinion, to do, would be to think about the vision, listen to some criticisms and weak points of it, and refine it if need be, but continue with this principle, because this is a great principle to start from. Thakfully, Obama's approach is not that different from the one I described.

Overall: B. 84%. Overall, Obama faces a monumental challenge rarely presented to a leader. These challenges confront us all. We are in this together, whether we like it or not. At this time, we need a person in charge who puts people before ideology, who can put aside his own gain for the good of everyone, but who can still act definitively. Barack Obama has a narrow tightrope to walk in this balancing act that is this method of leadership. However, if the campaign was any indication, Obama has the ability to tap into this yearning for something better, something we know is why America stands out. This is why I came to support him. The extraordinary weight of our challenges now is matched by the extraordinary nature of this man, Barack Obama, and how he got to where he is. Hopefully this will translate to the kind of way forward we need for this country.

This is the Daily Reeder, Over&out.