Like Reagan, he'll be remembered as a controversial but nevertheless consequential President. In spite of a largely hostile legislature he still managed to accomplish a lot.
I could see him having a legacy similar to that of Lyndon Johnson. With Johnson on one side you have the Vietnam War which he inhereted from Kennedy and Eisenhower, but on other side you have the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and the appointment of Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court. With Obama on one side you have the War on Terror and the consequential domestic surveillance policies which he inherited from Bush, but on the other side you have the Affordable Care Act, his response to the financial crisis, and the legalization of gay marriage which passed largely as a result of his Supreme Court appointments.
Unfortunately I think history is not going to be too kind to him on that one. He listened to the people who said it shouldn't be too big rather than the people who warned him what he proposed was too small. Consequently, while the recession officially ended in two years 90% of the nation haven't yet experienced much recovery.
I think he was walking a tightrope on that one. There were too many Republicans and blue dog Democrats to pass a stimulus bill the size of Paul Krugman wanted.
The Republicans weren't going to cooperate whatever he wanted, even after he watered down the stimulus with their tax break demands with a proven return of cents on the dollar. But Nancy Pelosi was doing a really good job of getting very progressive legislation passed in the House at the time. The problem is that he didn't even try for the larger stimulus; he listened to the people who said it wasn't necessary. That's been characteristic of his negotiations with Republicans since the beginning: he's had a tendency to start from the middle and negotiate from there.
Agreed. It was very frustrating to watch this as it developed. On the other hand, Obama negotiating from the middle forced the Republicans to move further and further to the right and into fringe territory. I also think frustration with his presidency has alienated and energized the left wing liberal side of the Democratic party. It will be interesting to see what the long term impacts of this shift will be.
I cannot imagine that the Republican Party, in its current incarnation, would ever elect the likes of Eisenhower, Nixon, or even Bush Sr. Hell, I think even Barry Goldwater would be a stretch these days.
On the other hand, Obama negotiating from the middle forced the Republicans to move further and further to the right and into fringe territory.
"Forced?" I think they gleefully took advantage of the opportunity to move farther to the right.
It will be interesting to see what the long term impacts of this shift will be.
I'm reminded of the so-called "Chinese Curse:" May you live in interesting times.
I cannot imagine that the Republican Party, in its current incarnation, would ever elect the likes of Eisenhower, Nixon, or even Bush Sr. Hell, I think even Barry Goldwater would be a stretch these days.
Not even Saint Ronald Reagan could get elected in the modern GOP climate. He'd be too much of a socialist.
He'll be remembered as the guy that got blamed for everything, if you ask half the people on my Facebook feed. Sometimes I just want to get rid of Facebook all together but it's often entertaining to watch people pretend to know what they are talking about when it comes to politics.
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Like Reagan, he'll be remembered as a controversial but nevertheless consequential President. In spite of a largely hostile legislature he still managed to accomplish a lot.
I could see him having a legacy similar to that of Lyndon Johnson. With Johnson on one side you have the Vietnam War which he inhereted from Kennedy and Eisenhower, but on other side you have the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and the appointment of Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court. With Obama on one side you have the War on Terror and the consequential domestic surveillance policies which he inherited from Bush, but on the other side you have the Affordable Care Act, his response to the financial crisis, and the legalization of gay marriage which passed largely as a result of his Supreme Court appointments.
Unfortunately I think history is not going to be too kind to him on that one. He listened to the people who said it shouldn't be too big rather than the people who warned him what he proposed was too small. Consequently, while the recession officially ended in two years 90% of the nation haven't yet experienced much recovery.
I think he was walking a tightrope on that one. There were too many Republicans and blue dog Democrats to pass a stimulus bill the size of Paul Krugman wanted.
The Republicans weren't going to cooperate whatever he wanted, even after he watered down the stimulus with their tax break demands with a proven return of cents on the dollar. But Nancy Pelosi was doing a really good job of getting very progressive legislation passed in the House at the time. The problem is that he didn't even try for the larger stimulus; he listened to the people who said it wasn't necessary. That's been characteristic of his negotiations with Republicans since the beginning: he's had a tendency to start from the middle and negotiate from there.
Agreed. It was very frustrating to watch this as it developed. On the other hand, Obama negotiating from the middle forced the Republicans to move further and further to the right and into fringe territory. I also think frustration with his presidency has alienated and energized the left wing liberal side of the Democratic party. It will be interesting to see what the long term impacts of this shift will be.
I cannot imagine that the Republican Party, in its current incarnation, would ever elect the likes of Eisenhower, Nixon, or even Bush Sr. Hell, I think even Barry Goldwater would be a stretch these days.
"Forced?" I think they gleefully took advantage of the opportunity to move farther to the right.
I'm reminded of the so-called "Chinese Curse:" May you live in interesting times.
Not even Saint Ronald Reagan could get elected in the modern GOP climate. He'd be too much of a socialist.
He'll be remembered as the guy that got blamed for everything, if you ask half the people on my Facebook feed. Sometimes I just want to get rid of Facebook all together but it's often entertaining to watch people pretend to know what they are talking about when it comes to politics.
In the same vein as Carter.