The 100 Day Thing

I'm going to get a jump on the 100-day critique of President Obama's performance, and I feel quite confident doing that in that my expertise is so severely limited and my fame so utterly nonexistent that I am sure to influence nobody of significance. I don't think David Axelrod is going to call me up and complain about me influencing, say, the New York Times.

I'm not going to discuss his legislative agenda for the simple reason that I don't believe a President should even have a legislative agenda. I think the legislature should have a legislative agenda (which our current one does not). Pretty radical thinking, and to some degree itself a critique, but...

I believe the role of President is to provide moral leadership to the nation, and to represent us in the international community. Grade A- on the first and A+ on the second.

He would grade higher on the first as well if he weren't quite so cozy with Wall Street and so incoherent on his recovery plans. Polls suggest that the nation loves his economic stimulus but is unhappy with his financial sector bailout and less than thrilled with his handling of the auto industry. He is doing so many other things so well that "right direction/wrong direction" and "confidence" polling suggests that we're sort of blowing those off and feeling good about ourselves and our nation though, so he gets a win.

On a personal note, he would grade higher if he were less in the "look forward" mode and less insistent on ignoring the previous administration's abuses of the laws and constitution of this nation.

I'll speak tomorrow to some details that I don't like, when everyone else is talking about his water-walking skilz. Well, everyone but the Republicans, of course.