Today, the New York Times published a sort of report card on his actions and accomplishments (or lack thereof, in some cases) so far. I wish the paper had waited until the anniversary of Obama's actually taking office, but in case they don't run it again, I thought I'd bring it to Toytown's attention for Serious Discussion (I'm an optimist.)
In a related article, Obama's senior adviser commented on the difference between Election Day and every day:
In the White House, the wistfulness for the simpler days is palpable. “The day was just suffused with emotion and hope and warmth,” David Axelrod, Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, recalled about Election Day last year. “But it is an emotional peak that you can’t maintain day to day as you do the business of government. The challenge is to maintain that degree of idealism and optimism as you work through the meat grinder.
“Everything about the politics of Washington works against hope and optimism and unity. So you have to push against that every day, understanding that it’s going to be an imperfect end result.” He added: “That night was sublime. And much of what goes on in Washington is prosaic. Or profane.”
I think it is fair to say that those (like myself) who were sceptical about the "yes, we can" campaign message, considering it simplistic and overly optimistic, were probably right. I was also concerned about Obama's lack of experience, which hasn't seemed to be as big an issue as I thought it would be. “Everything about the politics of Washington works against hope and optimism and unity. So you have to push against that every day, understanding that it’s going to be an imperfect end result.” He added: “That night was sublime. And much of what goes on in Washington is prosaic. Or profane.”
Looking over that "report card" article, I can say I still don't understand why anyone would want to be President of the United States at this point in time, and I'm glad I don't have Obama's To Do List.
