All Eyes on Obama--How's he doing?

The past month or two have marked a clear change in the groupthink of American Politics. We had spent this past Winter and into early Spring recovering from the Bush Administration, the cold winter, the free fall of the stock markets, and the sense of imminent doom and gloom. All issues, from Iraq to the Economy, to the bad weather, were pinned on George Bush, or his boss, Dick Cheney.

But that sense of the world's problems being laid at the feet of the Republican leaders is far into the rear view mirror at this point. And people are starting to see the issues of today squarely in the hands of Barack Obama. And his opinion polls have showed recently, that the bloom is somewhat off the rose.

So let's take a look at the Obama Presidency thus far, and grade the performance, shall we?

Economy: Green shoots not really blossoming...yet. Stimulus seems to be sputtering. But the economic picture was clear to everyone (seemingly) except the administration. Did Obama really think that passing a Stimulus Bill would stop 700,000 people a month from losing their jobs, at the drop of a hat? Anyone in business for more than 5 years knows these things take more time, and even recoveries take time to develop. At this point, his grade on the economy is hovering at around a D, but he should take some solace in the fact that if unemployment has turned the corner by the end of the year, that grade should move up in a hurry. That's a BIG IF right now. I was willing to let the Bush tax cuts work their magic, and I am willing to see if the Obama stimulus package can also work some magic. I'm not holding my breath, though. Current Grade--D

Organization: It took Obama a few tries to get the people he wanted into place. This isn't uncommon for administrations, but it does look disorganized, and reflects the fact that this is a man who is trying to put an administration in place faster than any of his predecessors ever had. Those points, however, don't change the facts on the ground. Obama has learned from this experience, and we'll see if he continues to improve in this space. Current Grade--C+

Diplomacy: The President can give a speech. That was clear in Cairo, in Chicago, in Washington, and almost anywhere in between. He's also enamored with the notion of an inclusive Cabinet, he's kept his word (er, for the most part) on pulling out of Iraq, and has done a lot to help calm world tensions with America. About the only thing he has struggled with is the idea that he's not quite the charmer on a personal level that Bill Clinton was. Bush 41 had a good handle on how to play the international game. So did Reagan, and so did Bill Clinton. Obama has shown good signs of improving on this front, but overall, this has been a surprising strength of his administration. Current Grade--A-

Courage: What I've been such a big fan of is the fact that Obama has taken on a lot of large topics. The TOUGH topics. Environment. Energy. Fiscal Spending. Defense. Health Care. Immigration is on the agenda. These are topics that are so big because they have been kicked down the road for so long. It's been since the 1960's that many of these issues were last truly debated. Reagan took on Social Security in the early 1980's, Clinton's Health Care initiative was over before it began in 1993, Bush 43 tried to take on Immigration somewhat a few years ago, but other than that, none of these issues has been seriously debated in this nation. I'm not sure Obama will win the legislation he wants on many, or perhaps even ANY of these debates, but he's certainly willing to fight for each of them. And that's a change from many of our recent government leaders. So on the Big Issues, I give him an A for Effort.

Ironically, he has NOT pushed some of the more liberal social agendas. Notably, Gay rights, Affirmative Action, even Abortion or Gun control--these all seem to be basically off the table. The upcoming Supreme Court nominations (and there WILL be more in the next 2-3 years) may change some or all of this, but for now, he's shown very little willingness to take on these topics. For that, he receives a C- for courage on the social agenda.

Achievement: I have never seen any President move more of his agenda in 6 months with a fewer bumps in the road. Grade to date--A-. But we'll see if he can move his biggest ticket items--Energy, Environment, Health Care. This grade is definitely incomplete.

Overall: I have to give President Obama a B- at this stage for all that he has done, and all that he has attempted to do. That being said, the biggest issues left to be determined (Health Care, Economy, Iran, North Korea) are STILL incomplete.

One thing that can't be mentioned here anymore, however, is the "mess" that some think he was saddled with. The time for blaming Bush's actions have come and gone. It's time to focus on President Obama's decisions, and start to figure out if we are headed in the right direction. So we'll keep an eye on how things are shaping up...