Obama is Blazing a New Trail With His Bold Moves on the Economy

On foreign policy, Obama aims to pull all U.S. combat troops out of Iraq next year, although at a slower pace than he promised during the campaign. He is beefing up U.S. forces in Afghanistan, which he considers the central front in the war on terrorism. And he is systematically reaching out to America's allies and adversaries to forge more international partnerships. This make-nice approach was on display during his trip to Port of Spain, Trinidad, in mid-April for a meeting with leaders of 33 other nations in the hemisphere. He sparked intense criticism from opponents at home when he shook hands in a chummy moment with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, a virulent critic of the United States. Conservatives said the move showed timidity or a lack of backbone. Many Americans, however, liked his show of humility and outreach.

All the while, Obama's popularity has remained high. Polls show that more than 60 percent of Americans approve of his job performance so far, with overwhelming support from Democrats and strong support from independents. Republicans are solidly opposed to him, but the percentage of self-identified GOP voters is declining. And for the first time in years, more Americans (50 percent) say the country is headed in the right direction than those (48 percent) who say the country is on the wrong track, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll from late April.

It's too early to make sweeping judgments, says Rutgers political scientist Ross Baker, but he adds: "It's an auspicious debut." Baker calls the Obama presidency "ambitious" but not overreaching. "He is directing his energy discriminately. Bismarck once said he who attacks everywhere attacks nowhere. He clearly is following that dictum."

Matthew Dowd, former strategist and pollster for President George W. Bush, says Obama has shown decisiveness and competence but may be sowing the seeds of serious problems later on, such as the massive yearly deficits and the trillion-dollar debt that Obama is generating. In addition, Obama's social outreach to Republicans has not worked, and GOP leaders are turning more and more against him and what they call his "tax and spend" policies, Dowd says. The administration's economic stimulus bill gained only three Republican votes in the entire Congress.

Despite the problems, Obama will push ever more aggressively for his agenda, his aides say, because he believes that a president is most effective in his first year, when the aura of his electoral victory remains strong.

Good listener. What his fans like is his pragmatism, his willingness to listen to criticism and learn from experience, his team approach to governing, and his flexibility, in contrast to what was perceived as George W. Bush's unilateralism and intransigence, according to pollsters and political analysts of both major parties. Obama is "totally practical, nonideological," says a White House adviser. "He is an extremely disciplined thinker—very intelligent, very efficient." But Obama admits that if the economy isn't much better in 2012, he expects that the voters will be looking to replace him. "He feels he should be judged by the success or failure of the economy," says a senior White House adviser.

One thing that has been learned about Obama is his coolness under pressure and his methodical, disciplined approach to decision making. His confidence seems preternatural. "This is why we thought he'd be good at the job," says White House spokesman Gibbs. "Calm, steady leadership is what the country is looking for at a time of crisis." Obama's authorization of a strike by Navy SEALs on pirates who had taken the captain of an American freighter hostage off the coast of Somalia in mid-April showed some of Obama's best qualities, especially his composure under fire and his decisiveness when it counts.