Yesterday was the one year anniversary of Obama’s election. Obama was selling change and the people were willing to buy it. So how do I grade Obama for his first quarter performance? Let’s take a look:
The economy: still eeking along. It hasn’t cratered as feared and it may even be on the upswing again but things don’t bounce back as quickly as they crash. He’s probably doing as best as can be expected: B-
Iraq: sovereignty has been restored. Violence has plummeted and blast walls have come down in major cities. However we’re still over there and people are still dying every day. He added 68,000 more troops and the end is nowhere in sight: D
Afghanistan: The Taliban is making inroads again. The government is wobbly, the recent elections rife with fraud. Poppy production is up. Devastating attacks have killed on American troops. We will likely leave Afghanistan worse than when we arrived, if we ever leave at all. There’s a leadership void here: F
Guantanamo: Obama ordered it shut down in January but it still operates, thanks to the Senate blocking funding for the shutdown. Obama changed course and says detainees will be prosecuted in court, which is more than Bush has done. Still, Guantanamo remains a cancerous sore on the face of liberty: C
Renditions: Secret CIA interrogations and prison camps have been shut down but Obama chose to keep on unlawfully kidnapping people whenever he chooses, albeit this time delivering them to a courtroom rather than a secret prison. Essentially business as usual: D
Foreign relations: Unlike his predecessor, Obama is willing to use diplomacy. He has met with world leaders and not come across as a drunken frat boy, so that’s a plus. Other leaders make note of his intellect. No major faux pas, like taunting “Bring ’em on” to terrorists or giving unwelcome back massages to other world leaders. Plus Hillary, his pick to run State, seems to be doing a good job: A
Executive privilege: Much was made of Bush’s imperial-like presidency. Obama has chosen not only to continue Bush’s abuse of the so-called State Secrets privilege but has actually expanded it. So much for the rule of law: D
Internet freedom: I’d like to say Obama has nurtured the Internet during the first year of his administration, protecting the electronic commons where free speech flourishes. Instead he has packed his Department of Justice staff with entertainment industry lawyers bent on wiping out the free speech on the Internet in favor of their own commercial variety. Obama’s harnessing of the Internet grassroots was truly historic because Obama himself may wind up finishing it off: F
Warrantless wiretapping: Like renditions, Obama found this criminal activity just too tempting to jettison. In fact, he thought it was so dandy that he made it even worse. Business as usual, again: F
Health care: I think most Americans agree that we need to clean up health care in this country. While I’m glad to see Obama recognize the need, he is quickly burning through whatever political capital his election bought him. It promises to be a rough ride: B-
As you can see I feel Obama shows room for improvement. Let’s see how he deals with these issues during his second year.