Was He a Near Perfect President?

On February 3rd, 2010 I wrote a post on this blog entitled Near Perfect President?  In it I wrote this near concluding paragraph,

Now, the most interesting thing for me is that now there is a President in office with whom I pretty much agree on everything. This then gives me the opportunity to find out whether what I have believed politically is right or not. This so rarely happens that I must view it as a wonderful opportunity to scientifically evaluate my own beliefs. If I was a pure progressive, left-leaning, borderline socialist like my friend Dade I would never get to find out if I was right or not unless I moved to Denmark. If I was a Christian, "moral majority" believer like my friend Dave I would have just endured the evidence that my brand of politics is an absolute failure through the eight years of Bush. So, in about two and a half years I can check to see whether this brand of politics not only appeals to me, but also works, or whether the cynicism of politicians and the ignorance of experts renders this style a failure.

 It's not quite two and a half years, but it's just a few months shy, and it isn't as if Obama is going to get anything done in these last few months while campaigning.  So this is a good time to evaluate the president of the United States (POTUS).

I would say that most of the good things that Obama accomplished were in the category of "not negative".  The economy was stabilized through stimulation when many called for austerity, something that has simply failed in Europe.  I still think that this is a hugely under-appreciated aspect of his presidency.  People talk about the poor economy but without comparing it to what might have happened but rather what they expect the economy to be.  The fickle electorate in terror of another Great Depression turn to disappointment with the slow recovery and lack of jobs.  The truth is almost always somewhere in between, and largely the same throughout the process.

The war in Iraq is over and there is a democratically elected government.  This was the plan all along and would have happened under president Bush.  Obama didn't screw this up.

No terrorist attacks on the USA (or even most other industrialized nations) out of areas the US invaded in the first place.  Osama bin-Laden is dead.  Al Qaeda seems largely demolished as an organization, although probably still has an effect as an inspiration.

The USA is now considered a largely sane entity in terms of international affairs.  No more Axis of Evil.  No more "For us or against us," no automatic involvement in every single thing that happens.

For me the bad things under Obama come down to morality.  Guantanamo Bay still exists, a place where people are imprisoned indefinitely without trial under the most convoluted legal construction.  These are prisoners of a war without an opponent or most of the rights of prisoners of war, kept off US soil to make sure they are out of US legal jurisdiction.  It is disgusting.  Obama's excuse was the opposition from Congress yet Obama is commander-in-chief of the military.

Obama is a war criminal.  He has killed many civilians in countries with which the US is not at war without charge or trial.  They have simply been assassinated.  These are war crimes, simply murder.  However, this is simply standard procedure for US presidents, it's been decades since a US president, in my opinion, was not a war criminal.

The biggest positive achievement has been the passing of health care reform.  Soon almost all Americans will have health insurance, everyone will be able to go to a doctor.  This is a big deal.  However, the health care reform is very far from ideal.  It still is a private industry dedicated to the acquisition of money over increased health.  The system is still so convoluted that most people don't know what coverage they have.  It is outrageously expensive.  The difference in care between rich and poor is enormous.  I was hoping for single payer health care, or even some movement towards that, but we didn't really get it.

There have been minor improvements on gay rights, transparency in government, research and development, etc..  Nothing dramatic.

Overall, the results of Obama's presidency seem somewhat muted.  It reminds me very much of Bill Clinton's years, nudging things in the right direction, but so, so slowly.  The goals he outlined at the beginning are still what I believe he wishes to achieve but he has not been able to achieve them.  Obama has been severely hampered by the economy.  It is hard to get things done when there isn't the money.  He has been extremely hampered by an opposition that will even fight against their own ideas if Obama agrees with them (health care).  Obama reached out to the Republicans to make compromises and agreements, and they did their best to reject everything out of hand.

So, what is my opinion of Obama now?  I think he is competent.  I think he has the right vision for the future of the USA.  I think he has really tried to do the right things.  I don't think now that he is a near perfect president, but I don't have an idea of how he could be better under the circumstances.  The results aren't close to perfect, a perfect president would know how to have done things better, but I'm not close to being a perfect president.  In the end my opinion comes sadly down to, 

the cynicism of politicians and the ignorance of experts renders this style a failure.

 at least in the present climate and situation.  However, I don't think that has much to do with president Obama, and I cannot see any other style being a success.  Still, I am hopeful.  I think this style of politics has a relatively short shelf life.