The State of Obama’s First Term at Halftime
Two years ago I was just getting off of a plane from New York in the wee hours of the morning. I was exhausted, physically and emotionally after having spent the past week saying goodbye to my Grandmother for the last time, and helping my mom sort through Grandma's stuff, pack up her home and invite people to come say their goodbyes as well. I got home to L.A. exhausted, but determined to get back up and out to witness a day that I wished that my Grandmother had lived to see. A Black man was being inaugurated on this day to be President of the United States! If not for the circumstances surrounding my early January, I might have found my way to be one of the frozen hordes in DC to "see it" live. I instead had to hunt for L.A.'s version of the next best thing the newly finished L.A. Live courtyard, with a huge big screen and thousands of other excited Americans that couldn't settle for seeing this moment in history by themselves. We cheered every glimpse of the soon to be President and his family, really cheered when George Bush exited the scene, and left the scene as excited and energized as any crowd that left that spot celebrating another Lakers championship (without the car burning). It was a moment full of pride, togetherness and of course, hope. It was also a moment of crisis for the country. We weren't sure that we would get through this near financial collapse, and we weren't sure that our new President (or any President) could guide us through it. In the two years since that day, we've gone from deep economic crisis to deep economic trouble, from being loathed in much of the world to being loathed in much less of the world. We've brought a lot of troops home from Iraq, while sending lots more troops to Afghanistan, and we've gone from being largely united by hope and pride in America's latest social accomplishment to divided, even within our usual factions, and within our halls of government. The last two years saw something else as well…accomplishment. A long list of legislative triumphs that have made very real the "Change" that was promised. Starting with the Stimulus, which pulled the economy out of crisis, if not yet to a position of strength. Contraction of the economy has become sustained growth and catastrophic job losses have become slow but consistent job gains. The Stimulus was also, if separated out, three of the most Progressive pieces of legislation to come in decades: Infrastructure investment not seen since the days of Eisenhower, education funding on levels not seen since President Johnson and Clean Energy investment not seen, well, ever. But that was just the Stimulus. Beyond that Obama has re-established America's standing in the rest of the world so that less of it hates us. After getting flack for not getting it done right off the bat he got Congress to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Women finally got equal pay protection under the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Add The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and a Justice Department that actually pursues Civil Rights violations to the list of this Administration's accomplishments. The centerpiece of Obama's successes however, lies in the work done to shore up a Middle Class that has been under assault for the last three decades (yes, even under Clinton). Wall Street and Credit Card Reform, the New GI Bill, Student Loan Reform and unprecedented funding for Historically Black Colleges, Middle Class Tax Cuts; they're all meant to give the "Little Guy" a break and start to close the gap between "Have's" and "Have Not's" that has steadily widened to truly obscene levels over the last decade. The central accomplishment in this area was of course Healthcare Reform. Young people can take that entry level job doing what they actually want to do instead of going straight to Wall Street because they can stay on their parent's insurance. Their parents can explore what's beyond their cubicle without being enslaved to their jobs by the idea of losing their insurance. You know that, if you have insurance, you actually have it when you get sick too. Now, not having that extra money to get a check-up isn't an excuse because check-up's, and most preventative care, is completely free. Healthcare Reform is a major piece of economic legislation, since healthcare is such a huge part of our economy, but it's even bigger piece of social legislation because, imperfect as it is, it establishes the idea that Healthcare is a right and not a privilege. With that established, even more progress can be made in the years to come towards truly Universal Healthcare. Of course getting all of this done; actually, "making the sausage" is ugly and partisan and can turn people off, especially those that haven't paid attention to politics before and those that aren't too keen on compromise. The Obama that inspired people got lost within the give and take that is necessary to master the "art of the possible" that is governing. Since the realm of the "possible" has shrunken considerably now that the House of Representatives is under Republican control and the Senate is more Republican as well there won't be as much "sausage making" to do these next two years. The President gets to look Presidential and above the Congressional fray. When he does conflict with Congress, the Republicans being in some power makes the contrast between their vision for the country and Obama's that much clearer. He gets to be the "Explainer in Chief" now, defending what he's done and showing why what he wants to do next is better for the country than what the Republicans are trying to do. President Obama will have a more centrist agenda these next two years, because the circumstances dictate that it is the path to get things done with the Congress that he has. His focus and message will be more inspirational than that though. There will be more "Yes We Can"-like speeches that will remind those first time voters and independents of the guy that they voted for. He'll have a real opportunity to try to unite all Americans behind some common causes that are less partisan than the ones that came before(many Republicans may want to dismantle Social Security and Medicare but not many that are actually elected will ever admit it). That will rehabilitate his image in time for 2012. The things that he actually did in his first two years though, will be what inspires and improves the lives of generations to come…
posted by GBREY @ 9:58 AM
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