One Year Ago, One Year From Now

This is the one year anniversary of Barack Obama's historic and incredibly exciting election as President of the United States. I was proud of our country that day, that after slavery, Jim Crow, the terrible treatment of Native Americans, and the nasty anti-immigrant laws and rhetoric of our history, that we could elect an African-American son of an immigrant, a man with an African Muslim name, to be President of these United States. The fact that he was the first Democratic Presidential candidate elected with a clear majority of the vote since 1964 made it especially sweet.

I had been a financial contributor, an occasional advice giver, an endorser in the primary fight, a steady blogger about the race, and a frequent doorknocker for the campaign, so I felt like I had contributed in a variety of ways. And when I was asked to lend a hand helping out the transition team, I was honored to do so, and happily volunteered a great many hours to the effort. This combination of things made me feel fully excited and invested in the Obama Presidency, and greatly looking forward to his first term.

As fate would have it, I also had a book that came out in January (The Progressive Revolution: How The Best In America Came To Be) that told the story of what I called "Big Change Moments" in American history, and the progressive political and movement leaders who had brought them about. I went around the country on my book tour spreading the message that if progressives helped President Obama with the big change on his political agenda, that this would be another era of major, history making progressive change in this country.

A year after that incredible moment when people in America were literally dancing in the streets in elation, and one year from the crucial 2010 elections when the American people will register their first big judgment on what Obama has delivered them, I find myself genuinely torn about how this Presidency is going, conflicted in a number of ways. While I am more optimistic than pessimistic, I also find myself troubled about some important things a year after that momentous Election Day.

On the one hand, there are so many things I am happy about. It is such a wonderful thing to once again feel pride and confidence when the President leading the country that I love is representing us abroad. The values that the President brings to world affairs, the honest and respectful engagement with other leaders in the world, and the intelligence he brings to the discussions are such a relief in contrast to our last President. Even when I disagree with him on major international issues such as what to do about Afghanistan, I deeply respect the thoughtfulness and thoroughness with which he approaches the incredibly complex decision-making he has to engage in. And on his overall legislative agenda, I am deeply impressed that he is taking on the big important complicated fights like health care, climate change, immigration reform, and banking legislation, even while all the while paying constant attention to our incredibly damaged economy. He has kept us from sliding further into the economic abyss, and both his stimulus package and first year budget proposal make big and transformative long term investments in things that will build our economy for decades to come, including energy efficiency, universal broadband and other technology, infrastructure, and education.

He has also begun to change the terms of the debate in American politics, bringing a sense of community values and thoughtful intelligence to our national debate that we haven't seen for quite a while. It is wonderful to have a President with his kind of values be able to inspire and move so many of us to action.

Here's where I find myself deeply troubled and conflicted, though. When I look back on the towering Presidents of American history, the ones who faced and conquered the massive challenges of their eras that at least equal the big challenges of our time, I read about them taking on the entrenched powers that be, and forcing them to bend so that America could make a much needed course correction. I find myself wondering: did progressives in those eras feel the sense of frustration and slowness about the prospects of fundamental change that many of us feel today? They may well have, which makes me aware I should be patient. My problem is that change doesn't feel like its coming fast enough, that the President has not been bold enough in taking on the powers that be. When I see Tim Geithner seeming perfectly comfortable with the size, power, and risky behavior of the big banks, it makes my blood boil. When I see all those appointees to the administration who used to work at Goldman Sachs, it makes me really nervous. When I see a White House that seems too comfortable with cutting deals with big business lobbyists, and unwilling to challenge the pro-big business members of their own party, it bothers me.

I am looking for big, deep, transformative, history making change, and am looking for an administration eager to work with the progressive movement to help make that happen. My optimistic side sees the good things that have happened, and appreciates them. I remind myself that it took Lincoln almost two years to free the slaves, and it took FDR more than two years to pass Social Security- even in big change eras, it doesn't always happen immediately. But it's only a year until the next election, and if we don't start delivering real change and real results- tangible results- for the American people soon on jobs and health care and other big issues, we won't have a chance for bigger changes in 2011.

Barack Obama raised our expectations through the roof with his stirring campaign. He needs to deliver change we can believe in. He needs to convince us that "yes, we can" is more than a political slogan. He needs to take seriously the history of struggle he is always talking about, and create the same kind of big transformative change that Lincoln and TR and FDR and LBJ did.

So, one year after the election, what do you think Candidate Obama would think of President Obama? Tweet your response (our Twitter hashtag is #OneYearLater), or post it in the comments section.

 

Comments

[sposton]

I don't think we are willing to be honest with ourselves. Obama is a promise which will never deliver. We fell in love with the promise of the man but he is incapable of living up to those expectations. We cannot judge him by his accomplishments because bringing about change is indeed difficult. We can only judge him by how well he has tried to bring about meaningful change. By surrounding himself with people who clearly believe change is either not possible or undesirable, we are allowed to say he hasn't even tried! By this standard Obama has failed miserably and no amount of time is likely to change this. That is very sad because our country has never needed real change in direction more than it does today. Yes, in style and tone he is light years ahead of the worst president in history but for the situation facing us this is highly inadequate and insufficient.

[trigggur]

Yes, let's be honest about our history first, short as it is. But more to the thread, campaign promises are about getting elected. Then the real challenges begin. Obama could not even have been elected at this juncture without the utter disaster that was the Bush Admin. Those who were taken in by the all time most amusing slogan, "Compassionate Conservatives", should take some of the personal responsibility they're always touting (if only in their own minds), for how we got here. Obama got handed the worst steaming mess in our lifetimes & Bush-Cheney-GOP made sure of that. Our problems are far too large for us to be already on the mend, in one year, from a top down approach. We are facing soft core fascism (Ron Paul had that right). Obama is surely learning on the job, and our electorate has to become more knowledgeable as well, before our system can produce the changes our country needs. Yes, let's be honest with ourselves, by all means.

[sposton]

Let's be real - he is not even trying.

[afram1]

Let's not give up on the President, and let's not quit on the agenda.

If we want what we say we want, we are going to have to write, to represent, to stand up. Let's praise President O when he takes a forward step and let him know how we feel when we feel he's messing up.

It's easy to get caught up in politics like it's a sports event - up and downs, shifts in momentum, etc. The immediate moment is overplayed as the totality of a situation.

Let's keep struggling together to change this country for the better.

[fbacon2]

I wonder how passing health care in September as scheduled would have affected the tone of this post. I don't think historical analogies have been the best guide in a lot of the critical writing about Obama. It's not just about remembering that it took FDR two years to pass Social Security, it's recalling that he was dealing with different challenges, a different Congress, and a different country. I also remember people like Paul Krugman using 2nd-term FDR rhetoric to prescribe how 1st-term Obama should act. In other words, there's been a lot of conceptual dissonance from folks on the left about Obama that comes from trying to fit him into different historical times. Witness all this recent LBJ mythologizing, and you see my point.

My sense is that things are moving, and some agenda items will be dealt with in turn. We may also feel a lot better once the health bill passes. But if Obama is destined to be constantly judged by the enormity of the tasks in front of him, dwarfing the accomplishments behind him, we're in for a few years without much celebrating. The challenges are that great, which is why the analogies to other great presidencies are so easy to come by.

I doubt many people felt bullish during the depths of the Civil War or Great Depression. These histories seem more assuring when we already know the outcome.

[dogface]

One year from now -
we'll still be manning GITMO; we'll still have troops in Iraq (there are no non-combat troops, the State Department does not an Army); we'll still be chasing the Al Qeada phantoms in Afghanistan; we'll have a "new strategic assessment" and a "new strategy" for Afghanistan; the banksters will still own the Treasury Department, the Fed, and the Congress; we'll still be discussing how to repeal don't ask; we'll still be discussing health care reform and will not have done anything in health care reform to make the US more competitive (mandating insurance sure won't help competitiveness); we'll still have troops in 170 nations and will have expanded our troop presence in South America; functional unemployment will still be above 10%; we'll still be bailing out banks, auto companies and other big contributors deemed too big to fail; the democrats will have lost their majority in one house having done NOTHING with it; and one year from now the dog will be one year older.

[Carl Caroli]

Amen. When Obama brought on Emmanuel, Geithner and Summers and kept Bernanke I was naively hopeful he was using those insiders access and knowledge to execute sweeping changes as defined by him based on the promises made. What we've seen so far is that they are watering down his policies to give the appearance of accomplishment, rather than actually changing anything much. Most of us that supported him are disappointed, and rightfully so. Allowing TBTFs to get bigger is not progress. Forcing people to buy insurance while not containing costs or guaranteeing covering is not progress. Allowing lobbyists and big money people to run rampant in the halls of the senate and congress is not progress. Allowing McChrystal to box him in on troop escalation is not progress. He has a bully pulpit and is an eloquent speaker, yet all he's done is tried to "encourage" the banks, Wall St., the insurance companies, big pharma... to do the right thing. We're way beyond encouraging them. He needs to stand up to them and tell them he has the American people covering his back. He needs to name names and point fingers and demand what's right for the people. That's what we elected him to do. He may not always succeed, but he owes it to us to swing for the bleachers, not bunt.

[James Croteau]

have to agree. It also seems to me like he is just warming the bench.

[Saxton]

Watching Obama this past year I have to sometimes question, what is he about? I knew that change would not come over night, but I feel that he has compromised his campaign promises to accomodate Wall Street, Big Pharma, Republicans, the Bush Administration, and the lobbyists. I did not expect him to come into Washington DC blazing guns, but I thought he would take a stronger stand and forge a clear path to show Americans we are on a new course and will not be satisfied with the status quo. Yet, it seems the status quo is what Americans are being told to accept. Geitner and Summers are working for the Banks and have no intention of protecting the American people. Obama's position on health care reform has seemed luke warm.

Perhaps he under estimated the difficulty in trying to deal with Washington belt-way politics, the power of Wall Street, the media, and the Republicans. Yes the Republicans, even though they are not in the majority they are still controlling Washington and the media.

[LushLife72]

So many of us feel the same way (dissapointment) there must be something to this. Mike, I share your initial pride. After seeing how Obama has governed over the big issues, present and near future (Stimulus, Health Care Reform, Afghanistan), I don't share your optimism. Remember how Lincoln fired his generals until he found a winner (Grant)? Will Obama do the same with his worthless and corrupt economic team? McChrystal? Take on Big Health with a TR and FDR concentrated passion? Doubtful. He wants to be liked too much and has a curious passive/aggressive nature. He more and more to me seems to be someone whose same 'ol Beltway mindset stands before his soaring rhetoric. Meet the new boss...

[aramos]

How disappointing that after 10 months, NO MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS WHATSOEVER.

Quickly becoming apparent Obama is all talk and no action. Style over substance.

[lgillooly]

Ditto! I also worked for and donated to the Obama Campaign. I had high hopes also. What I have come to realize is that was just the beginning. The real work is ahead. The Conservative media from talk radio to Fox to Drudge have a powerfully negative and destructive influence in our Country today. We can't sit on the sidelines. What is amazing to me is how so many Americans have already forgotten the disasterous 8 yrs under Bush and what he left on his desk for Obama to deal with.
I am disappointed that the previous Admin. was not held accoutable for lying to go to War, for ignoring Afghanistan for 7 yrs, for eavesdropping on American citizens, including our soldiers calls home, for implementing torture that put our men and women at more risk in the field, for letting Wall st. become a casino and risk Americans hard earned 401K's, for ruining our reputation Globally, etc etc etc . Americans know what happened and we are sick and tired.

[Neonmoon]

Oh, blah, blah, boring blah, blah.

[nellyb stl]

DITTO DITTO DITTO, Mike. Another great post. A bunch of us are moving from 'Centrist' to 'Progressive' views as the DC truth unfolds. [Realizing we were handled a tough pill to swallow and are still suffering with the ongoing effects of the financial meltdown, we seem to be making great strides toward reforming health care insurance. But, the dual problem of spurring economic growth and creating new jobs is uppermost on the minds of most Americans, right with 'getting our people out of harms way.' Hopefully, the President's State of the State will level with us and give us some direct answers.