Grade Obama

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:18:32 Have you seen old TV clips of JFK? He comes off as more mature and less full of himself, much more statesmanlike. I cannot decipher his arrogance level but he does not appear full of himself the way Barack is. Barack is really, really out there with his high self-esteem. He and Michelle should pull back from all their treacly TV interviews. It was fine when we were getting to know them but it's been over a year since he elected and all this cutesy bootsy stuff (Oprah was the latest) is getting old.

That interview with Oprah was a big ick.

[Anonymous]

I think it's impossible to give him a grade when we don't yet know how things will turn out. True for any president, but especially Obama, because he plays the long game and doesn't try to win every news cycle like most pols do. We saw this in the campaign as well, with great success. I felt then-- and still do-- that he is often several moves ahead of everyone else.

I like what I see so far. Although I'm skeptical about Afghanistan, wish he would end DADT already, and regret the loss of the public option in health care, I trust his political skills, his judgement, and his moral core, so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Like a PP, Bush always seemed deeply insecure to me. I remember that for the first several months of his presidency, every time he appeared in public in some ceremonial capacity-- i.e. returning a salute while walking by a military honor guard-- he was biting the inside of his mouth. It seemed like such a juvenile and telling gesture. (I remember biting the inside of my mouth while trying out for the pom pom squad in high school and knowing that I couldn't perform the routine!) And on Bush's first trip to Europe during a press conference in Paris with the French president, an American reporter asked a question in French and Bush scoffingly made fun of him. I used to teach high school French and that's what the kids who didn't know the material would do. Obama seemed so much more presidential from the get-go. Personally, I don't see the arrogance. I'm just relieved that our president is a grown-up.

And those who think Obama is not bipartisan are delusional. He's more than made every reasonable effort he can. He simply can't find any willing partners on the other side. Disappointingly, John McCain has been AWOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:18:32 Have you seen old TV clips of JFK? He comes off as more mature and less full of himself, much more statesmanlike. I cannot decipher his arrogance level but he does not appear full of himself the way Barack is. Barack is really, really out there with his high self-esteem. He and Michelle should pull back from all their treacly TV interviews. It was fine when we were getting to know them but it's been over a year since he elected and all this cutesy bootsy stuff (Oprah was the latest) is getting old.

But I'm not really clear what JFK actually did for us as a president besides get us into Vietnam. I vaguely remember the President's physical fitness program. Did he start the space race or was that Eisenhower? Once you take a close look at the admiration for Kennedy, it's not really clear what it's all about other than that he was young and handsome and died young.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

And those who think Obama is not bipartisan are delusional. He's more than made every reasonable effort he can. He simply can't find any willing partners on the other side. Disappointingly, John McCain has been AWOL.

I think reasonable people (pun intended) can disagree with this. What is reasonable to one may not sound so attractive to the other. For example, the pro-life crowd is never going to agree that reasonable access should be available to abortions via govt. funding. The pro-choice crowd thinks this is reasonable, the pro-lifers not so much.

I think Obama's biggest failure this year is on leadership in the health care reform debate. Sure he has been a vocal and visible cheerleader, but never got his hands dirty with the details. As a result, we have legislation that may go through without a single vote from the opposing party, where Reid literally had to buy the final votes to get it through. Obama made no effort to temper Democrat wish lists in order to get some bi-partisan support.

[Anonymous]

B+

[Anonymous]

JFK handled the Cuban Missile Crisis very well. However
I was not comparing presidencies. I was contrasting Kennedy's style with Obama's. Kennedy does not come off as arrogant or full of himself the way Obama does in some interviews.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:18:32 Have you seen old TV clips of JFK? He comes off as more mature and less full of himself, much more statesmanlike. I cannot decipher his arrogance level but he does not appear full of himself the way Barack is. Barack is really, really out there with his high self-esteem. He and Michelle should pull back from all their treacly TV interviews. It was fine when we were getting to know them but it's been over a year since he elected and all this cutesy bootsy stuff (Oprah was the latest) is getting old.

Maybe that's how he appeared on television, but I'm talking about the person.

[Anonymous]

C-

[Anonymous]

B+

[Anonymous]

Incomplete

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Incomplete

Yep, that makes sense, pp.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Incomplete

Yep, that makes sense, pp.

But gives absolutely no insight or information, unfortunately.

Of course, the same could be said of this comment. However, restricting conversation to statements that impart useful information would greatly stunt communication, so please regard this not as criticism, but as continuation of the dialog (in which context I would give myself a C+).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Incomplete

Yep, that makes sense, pp.

But gives absolutely no insight or information, unfortunately.

Of course, the same could be said of this comment. However, restricting conversation to statements that impart useful information would greatly stunt communication, so please regard this not as criticism, but as continuation of the dialog (in which context I would give myself a C+).

11:14 here. All due respect, pp, but you're waaaay overthinking this (and tying yourself into knots in the process).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Incomplete

Yep, that makes sense, pp.

But gives absolutely no insight or information, unfortunately.

Of course, the same could be said of this comment. However, restricting conversation to statements that impart useful information would greatly stunt communication, so please regard this not as criticism, but as continuation of the dialog (in which context I would give myself a C+).

I think it is a very appropriate comment. In school, you get an incomplete when a key assignment isn't turned in. This is exactly where we are. A lot of work is in progress, but most of it hasn't come to conclusion. For that reason it is perfectly sensible to say we don't have enough data to provide the grade. We could try to grade his policy on Iraq, but the proof is in what happens when the troops come out. The same could be said of the economy, health care plan (although this is pretty close to baked), Afghanistan, etc.

[Anonymous]

21:33 I know - that's been clear!