~This morning I lay in bed listening to the news on NPR before I got up--they were talking about the elections taking place in several states tomorrow, and it set me to thinking about this time last year, and how excited many of us were about the presidential election. I can still feel that sense of excitement and hope that we felt in the hours leading up to Obama's election, and the elation we felt in the days that followed. And now the news media is referring to tomorrow's elections as a referendum on his presidency. That seems unfair somehow.
I knew from the get-go that Barack Obama wouldn't be able to accomplish all that I would hope for--no one could in this political climate. And I can't imagine a worse time to become president, what with wars in Afghanistan and Iraq dragging on and the economy going to hell in a handbasket in the waning days of the campaign. The health care debacle--I knew that there would be opposition, but nothing like what has sprung up from the conservatives--beyond the pale in many ways. Yes, I am very disappointed that health care reform is not more extensive than the bills currently in the congress (but not surprised--me, I'll take a single payor system, whether run by the government or not, but I don't expect it to happen any time soon).
Nonetheless, it seems unfair to say that if Democrats lose the governorship in New Jersey or Virginia, it's a reflection on how Obama is doing. Doesn't it have more to do with the merit of those candidates and the issues those states have to face than with national political sentiment? And shouldn't we give Obama more time before we sit judgment on his presidency? Take into consideration the extraordinarily difficult times he's been working in?
Next year is soon enough, don't you think?
1 comment:
You echo many of my own thoughts. Give the man time. For many in this instant culture, that is impossible.
One of my friends said, "Obama is the sacrificial president." On many fronts, I'm afraid that may be true.
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