Grading Mr O

Now that a year has gone by since we went out and elected Barack Obama, how about an early report card?

Appointees: Obama has elevated some excellent people, usually to the second- and third-tier jobs like his pick for Surgeon-General. Hillary was a potentially good choice for Secretary of State as she’s suited to brokering deals and may do well if she recognizes her own limits. But the economic team is a disaster and saddles his presidency with the sins of the Bush years in turning the government into a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs. Even with the same policy, he could have had other guys doing it (and a few more women). The technocrats in places like energy, education and housing are mostly invisible, so it’s hard to know how they’re doing. Grade: B-

Foreign affairs: The Nobel Peace Prize is a good symbol of what Obama has achieved by radically shifting the discourse and acting like a reasonable collaborator rather than a big bully. This makes the jingo supremacists go mad; when that happens, you know you’re on the right track. The Cairo speech was a marvel, and his handling of the Iran situation almost flawless. On the other hand, Obama criticized things like bombing runs on Afghan villages during the campaign, then escalated them as president. He tried to get tough with Israel but seems to have no stomach for sticking to it as the Zionist lobby within his own party undercuts him. He is said to be considering more troops in Afghanistan, which is nuts. Of course there’s a political price to pay by recognizing a setback, but an even larger one awaits him if he postpones the inevitable, LBJ-style, and the nutso opposition will pillory him in any case. It’s a good sign that he’s taking his time with a decision. Let’s hope it’s the right one. Grade: B

Civil liberties: Obama signed the order closing of Guantánamo with a flourish in the first hours but hasn’t followed through. His lawyers argue for all the worst abuses of the Bush years from rendition to illegal wiretapping, and the rule of habeas corpus and due process is breached day by day. If he has different instincts, he hasn’t shown them. Eventually, the courts will overrule him, and neither he nor the Democrats will get any credit for defending personal freedom or putting an end to torture. The guilty will crow, Those guys did it too! And they’ll be right. Grade: D

Economics: The stimulus package was the right thing to do but probably too timid. Some New Deal-style job projects would make more sense than the absurd housing credit, which is an expensive subsidy to the comfortably middle class. Banking re-regulation is being undermined on a daily basis as is the consumer protection initiative. Obama had a huge opportunity, and a mandate, to clean house and rewrite the rules after last year’s collapse, but he blew it. Grade: C

Health: Well, I guess we’ll know some time next week, eh? If the whole thing flops, he’ll get no credit from anyone, but I think the overall approach was technically sound if politically amateurish. His speech to Congress was terrific, but we needed a better narrative much earlier, before the teabagger parties. On the other hand, his intuition to zone in on one of the toughest issues right from the start was correct, even kind of obvious. Grade: B if we get a decent deal, C if we get a mediocre one, D if we don’t get any.

Spending: The more obscure budget issues don’t get much play, but Obama has been pretty good at eliminating wasteful arms projects. The stimulus money put cash into worthy activities—we’ll see what happens when the deficit has to be reduced and the belts tightened. His political advisors might make more hay out of his cost-cutting. Grade: A-

Gay issues: We’re waiting. Grade: Incomplete

Immigration: Given the toxicity of that topic, I suppose silence is the best approach for now. However, he didn’t have to promise that Those People would not get any health care from his reform (thus earning the famous Bronx cheer from Joe Wilson). If you’re going to keep mum, then shut the f*ck up instead of making the Mexicans whipping boys yet again. Grade: C

Politics: Obama speaks pretty well in public, but that’s no substitute for keeping a grassroots movement energized. He runs the risk of slipping into pretty-face mode and putting too much faith into his clever team of over-achievers. The Obama campaign had a chance to sustain the spirit of a movement with a parallel organizing structure and opted instead to fold it all into the Democratic Party. They may regret that. Grade: B-

Overall grade: B-