It Aint Easy Being President

If there is one thing you can count on Barack Obama for, it’s to give a good speech. Last night was no exception as Obama delivered his State of the Union Address with grace, humor, and fight. In his speeches Obama has always shown the ability to connect with his audience without resorting to pandering or gimmicks. Obama never embarrasses his supporters when he speaks. His speeches serve to remind the listener of his best qualities and to inspire the listener to look for these qualities in themselves.

It is perhaps within the ground laid by Obama’s aspiration speeches that the seeds of his problems the last year have been sown. Contrasted against such moving exhortations, the ugly machinations of everyday Washington appear grotesque. Why does a man who seems so engaged and understanding on the stump often come off as remote and out of touch in between speeches? Why does a man who speeches commit him to transformational change in the service of ordinary people so often tactically first turn to business interests when there are problems to be solved?

It’s a puzzle, and the present answers to that puzzle have been mostly unsatisfying. Obama’s most vocal supporters have argued that the President simply plays the game of politics on a higher level than most of us can understand. His biggest detractors on the left describe Obama as a ‘corporatist’, left-wing slang for a sell-out, and argue that his actions simply match his intentions.

There are merits to both these arguments, Obama’s strategic thinking can be dazzling while the results of his strategies so often benefit corporations, I think the answer to the Obama puzzle is simpler. It’s just not easy to be the President of the United States, especially in times like these.

If Obama’s speech last night reminded me of anything it was that its hard to be the President. A president needs to master a huge range of substantive details, build and balance coalitions around each issue, feed an increasingly fickle, undereducated, and irresponsible press corps, and finally find ways to break through the constant chatter of our society to communicate with citizens who often don’t have the time to hear information but are perfectly willing to form and voice their opinions anyway. Anyone who has ever tried to accomplish a single task of modest scope and complexity can understand the difficulty any President must face.

Not surprisingly, like most President’s in my life, Obama had a rocky first year. History shows that most President’s approval falls in their first year in office as they tackle the difficult problems they’ve inherited from the last administration at the same time they and their staff’s learn how to do the job.

Given the vital importance to both the country and the progressive left of a successful Obama Presidency, I am inclined to give Obama the benefit of the doubt and wait and see what his second year will bring. His State of the Union Speech hit the right notes, he confronted the Blue Dogs directly, he gave the marching orders to get healthcare done, he committed to improve jobs and welfare of the working classes and to eliminate of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and (perhaps most importantly) he seems aware of and ready to deal with the potentially civilization destroying problem of peak oil (although he of course couldn’t use those words). Obama might not have had a perfect first year, but right now he’s the best chance we’ve got. I’d suggest the left double down on him for his second year.