Obama's Honeymoon is Over
One year after Obama won the presidency, many are questioning him on the economy and Afghanistan
GOP strategist Donatelli sees the choice in dire terms. "If Afghanistan fails on his watch, after he proclaimed it the central front in the war on terror, he will be another Jimmy Carter," a failed president with an image of weakness, Donatelli says.
But Obama advocates say he will get all the big decisions right in the end, and he tells friends that he won't be deterred from pushing for ways to transform the country in a fundamental sense, with government activism as a principal tool. Obama still feels the same way he did on election night a year ago, according to his press secretary. "He didn't want to wake up four or eight years later looking at the television with the country facing the same old problems," Gibbs says, "so I think [he is] transformational in the sense that we were finally going to address things like our economy, that we were going to address things like healthcare and energy that we had put off dealing with because of the size of the problems."
Obama's ambitions and perseverance were on display this week when he signed the $680 billion National Defense Authorization Act, even though it didn't contain all the reforms he asked for. Obama said it was the best he could do for the moment but promised not to give up. "I'm pleased to say that we have proved that change is possible," he declared. "It may not come quickly or all at once, but if you push hard enough, it does come eventually." He will have plenty of other opportunities to alter procurement practices and reduce military waste and inefficiency. But aides say this message applies to his agenda across the board. "What people have learned about Barack Obama as president is that he was serious when he said he would bring change to Washington and address the big challenges facing the nation," says White House Communications Director Anita Dunn. And he has only just begun.
- See a slideshow of Obama's inner circle.
- See photos of the Obama family behind the scenes.
Reader Comments
The honeymoon is way over.
Barack OBama, Did we ever think we would have a president who's name doesn't even suggest "Americanism" His name sounds like a foreigner from Pakistan.
Seriously, Mr. Obama has created a huge deficit,the financial world, the auto indurstry and in his mind healthcare will be under government ruling. When we look back at history we see that great countries like Rome and Pompeii were infiltrated by the government and eventually they lost their place in the world. I ask is this what Obama really wants. It certainly seems like it.
Obama's honeymoon!
It takes a while for water to seek it's own level!
If the American people studied their situations prior to going headlong into an unknown abyss, we would be a far greater country! Emotion over common sense can only lead to chaos!
Obama is proving that!!!
My problem is, what took the people, and especially the press, so long to realize this man's lack of experience and common sense???
Not only will he bury himself, he will drag the country down with him!
Who Put Us Where We Are Today?
How do some folks forget about the lackluster presidency of "W"? He and his cronies put us in this mess with undisciplined economic efforts. Give President Obama the time to correct the malpractice of the Bush administration. Don't fall for the Conservative ploy of "croc tears" about everything. Did they seek to help you before this recession? NO!! Now the Republicans, on the conclusion of health bills want to stop everything and present a new proposal of the same old stale health tenets-health accounts,etc..Stick with Obama and get the reforms we need!
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