Obama’s first-term report card
On a backpacking trip once, I slipped on a steep ice sheet and began sliding uncontrollably toward the edge of a cliff overhanging an icy river.
Luckily, my son pulled me to safety with his trekking pole. Am I better off now than I was when I was sliding toward the abyss? Duh!
That’s a useful starting point in any assessment of President Barack Obama. In many ways, his first term has been disappointing: The economy remains weak, housing is a mess and, for a man with a silver tongue, he has been a wretched communicator. Then again, we’re incomparably better off than when we were tumbling toward another Great Depression.
With that in mind, let me offer a first-term report card for Obama. are willing to offend teachers’ unions, but recognize the practical need to work closely with them. Obama’s Race to the Top initiative bribed states to devise their own school reforms, a cost- effective way to achieve nationwide change.
Obama has pushed Pell grants to make college more affordable and has promoted investments in community colleges.
Other domestic issues: B+ except a huge increase in blood and treasure spilled there. In Pakistan, a more important country than either Iraq or Afghanistan, Obama has stumbled.
Obama’s peace effort in the Middle East collapsed, partly because of administration infighting and ineptitude, and he often seemed behind the curve during the Arab Spring. He has been purely reactive in Syria.
A bright spot is Obama’s international coalition to squeeze Iran, while restraining jingoists in Israel from dragging us into a war there.