Richard Neustadt, one of the most respected experts on the
American presidency argues that we should ask four questions in order to
appraise the personal performance of a president:
1.
What were his purposes and did these run with or
against the grain of history? (in other words, what are his actions and are
they appropriate for the time in which he held the office?)
2.
What was his “feel,” his human understanding,
for the nature of his power in the circumstances of his time?
3.
What was his stance under pressure in office,
and how did this affect his decision making?
4.
What is his legacy?
We will start our examination of the presidency by beginning
a preliminary evaluation of our current president, with no prior political
knowledge necessary. Because president Obama is still in office we cannot
discuss his legacy. However we can evaluate his actions, “feel,” and stance
under pressure. Please give your gut rating on President Obama’s actions as
president, his “feel” for the people (does he get it?), and how he has acted
while under undeniable pressure. Rate him from 1-10 on each of the scales then
provide a brief reason why. For
instance:
Actions: 2
“feel” for the people: 8
actions under pressure: 5
Then simply explain your rating.
Keep in mind these are your opinions and there are no wrong
answers!
Posted for Yoni:
ReplyDelete(If you are having difficulty posting please let me know)
I believe that president Obama should be rated a 3 out of ten in terms of action and policy making. Also, I believe that president Obama should be rated a 5 out of ten in terms of relating and demonstrating sympathy towards the American people. Furthermore, I believe that president Obama should receive a rating of 3 out of ten when it comes to imperative matters and tasks under pressure. My overall rating of the president is 3.67 out of ten.
President Obama’s actions have jeopardized the American people’s reputation as an economic power house in the world and have weakened America’s impact on foreign policy issues. The president has created more debt to the deficit, slapped on more regulations on Wall Street, and unemployment has skyrocketed. What Obama has done in office is exacerbated the debt, taken vacations to Martha’s Vineyard, and has made America into a laughing stock. Obama is more interested in relating to voters on the campaign travel with hopes of taking the white House again and invigorating crowds with worthless rhetoric. Granted, his speech this week was filled with compassion; however, his track record speaks for itself. Lastly, I believe president Obama is an amateur in times of stress and difficult decision making because he went on vacation to Martha’s Vineyard, permitted congress to remain on a summer recess, and prolonged his jobs plan for the America people.
Actions: 2
ReplyDeleteFeel:5
Pressure:9
I believe that president Obama is a two out of ten when it comes to his actions as our figurehead for the United States. The man is able to relate to the people and get them to believe he is sincere and committed when it comes to accomplishing things, but he is unable to follow through with anything he has attempted to push through congress. For G-d’s sake he can’t even get John Boehner to allow him to speak to the nation on the night of his preference. I think Obama is a five out of ten when it comes to feel for the people, because of his attempts to help those who are so desperate for health care, but are unable to afford. He only gets a five though because I think he is clueless towards how the tax payers feel about the insane percentages that they are paying in taxes every year. The fact that taxes have not gotten any better while unemployment stays so high is a terrible tribute to his “feel” for the people rating. Lastly, I give Obama a nine out of ten in his “under pressure” rating because of the way he acted when the opportunity arose to eliminate the world’s biggest threat Osama Bin Laden. Courageously, he was able to act properly and make the world a safer place.
While Menachem seems to put much of the blame solely on the President himself (and I do agree with parts of his comment), I believe that we cannot fully fault the President for his inability to accomplish things. Part of the fault (if you would like to call it that) is the American political system, which allows members of Congress to challenge the President in the manner that John Boehner did. Therefore, I must give the President a 3 for his Actions and 4 for Actions under pressure. I give him a 4 for actions under pressure because I do believe the Jobs agreement will get done between the republicans and democrats. Also he persevered through heavy scrutiny to try to push his agenda through Congress. I grade the President a 3 for actions because I fail to see the same strength and leadership in the presidency that the US is known for. In addition, the American image in the foreign world has deteriorated beyond repair. However, I do believe the President has a feel for his constituents. He sympathizes with the economic plight of his citizens and one could label him as a "genuinely nice guy, but with leadership issues". Thus, I score the President a 7 for "feel of constituents".
ReplyDeleteI disagree with many of the points that Yoni and Menachem made.
ReplyDeleteYoni criticized President Obama for being "more interested in relating to voters on the campaign travel..". Not sure what you mean by this, as the President has not started campaigning yet.
You also say criticize him because he "went on vacation to Martha’s Vineyard" If you look at President Bush's presidency, at this point in his term, he had taken 225 days of vacation in comparison to the 70 days Mr. Obama has taken thus far (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20014132-503544.html). In fact, President Obama returned immediately from his vacation to deal with Hurricane Irene, something that President Bush did not do for the much larger Hurricane Katrina.
On your next point, criticizing the President for "permitting congress to remain on a summer recess" I am not sure what you mean when you say that President Obama has permitted Congress to remain on vacation. I do not believe that the President controls Congress' summer recess, nor do I believe that Congress should be denied their traditional break during the summer.
Finally, I'm not sure what you mean by "prolonging his jobs plan for the America[n] people"…perhaps you can clarify.
Menachem writes about how "clueless the tax payers feel about the insane percentages that they are paying in taxes every year". Federal taxes are actually at the lowest levels they have ever been at in more than 60 years (http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/are-taxes-in-the-u-s-high-or-low/). Raising taxes on the richest Americans, is not something radical that the Democrats believe in. See Warren Buffet's op-ed in the NY Times, why it is necessary to raise taxes on Americans with the highest incomes (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html?_r=1).
I do agree with Zach that much of the problems brought up by Menachem and Yoni are not the fault of the President. Much of criticism on the President for "his inability to accomplish things" is largely due to conflict with the Republican Congress, who sometimes appear not willing to compromise with the Democrats.
Before beginning to rate the President, I feel it is necessary to point out that the score is for his whole term, not only the part either before or after the midterm elections. That being said, for his actions, I will give him a 6. He is attempting to deal with the problems as they arise and he is facing difficulty in doing so, but he is doing something and that is what is important. He is taking a stand and putting himself out there even though he knows that the pundits will criticize him. He is doing it anyways because the current situation warrants action which is important.
ReplyDeleteAs for his feel of the situation, he is mostly in tune with Americans, garnering him a score of 6. However, I feel that he could use his office more to try to push something through Congress. Since he is not fully using the power of his office, the fact that he is in tune with Americans does little positive but tell them that he knows of their suffering.
As regards the question of stance under pressure, I feel that is not holding up to the pressure, earning him a score of 2. However, paradoxically, it is better for the country that he waiver under pressure rather than remain steadfast, as will be explained:
The President is facing a hostile Congress and a rapidly deteriorating economic situation. It is imperative that he is willing to shift slightly in regards to his economic policy, lest he advocate a policy that will not work, leading America to economic ruin. Hence, it is better that he be flexible under pressure, adopting a more pragmatic attitude.
Posted for Zach Goldberg:
ReplyDeleteThe American people are frustrated with President Obama’s inability to get things done in Washington D.C. I would rate President Obama a 4 out of 10 in terms of action and policy making. Furthermore, I believe that president Obama should be rated a 4 out of 10 in terms of caring for the American People. I would give President Obama a 4 out of 10 in pressure situations. In difficult economic times, the President needs to reassure the American people that the economy will improve. With that said, President Obama has failed to reassure the American People that American will return as an economic competitor in the fields of technology, industry, and agriculture. Americans need a confident president that will assume responsibility and rectify the situation as soon as possible. The President has waited far too long to evaluate the debt crisis. Likewise, he has been waiting too long to tackle the job unemployment problem. Enough with the speeches, I want to see the president get people back to work. President Obama should be focusing more on the next couple of months and not on his campaign for re-election in 2012. However, America cannot only put the blame on Obama. Congress also plays a pivotal role in legislation and decision making. In this period of economic distress, America needs to bounce back and regain its edge on the global economy before it’s too late.
I feel in regard to everything that is going with the economy, the president does deserve some credit. That being said I give the president a 5 regarding his actions for he is dealing with all the major issues that are arising. I would give him a 6 regarding his "feel." He is definitely a people person and can relate to the majority of the American people. Whether that is a good thing or not is questionable. And finally I would give him a 2 for pressure situations because it seems as he has been under pressure since the day he stepped into office and he hasn't seem to get anything done thus far in terms of bettering the economy or any of the other things he was promising in his election campaign. I agree with Zach in saying that America can not put all the blame on Obama because Congress should be doing more themselves in order to get out of these hard times.
ReplyDeleteNoam Hirsch
ReplyDeleteActions- 5
For the actions category, I believe President Obama may get the short end of the stick. The President is dealing with a congress controlled by his opposition, and it is therefore harder for him to act. Having said that, President Obama probably could do more than he has done thus far and for that reason he still warrants a less than positive rating.
Feel- 7
I agree 100% with what Ezra said regarding the Presidents "feel" for this country. Knowing the plight is no help to anyone without action. I believe that the President is in tune to the plight of Americans today, and even wants to help this plight; however, not having offered a solid plan to combat this "jobs crisis" before last thursday may show that the president didn't know how to respond to the problem, but his plan and words show that he is nonetheless in tune to the plight.
Action under Pressure- 5
The President deliberated far too long in introducing a necessary Jobs plan. His plan may be effective in the future, and may even be the appropriate bill, but it seems his actions were a step behind. His speech was well given, and the constant push to pass this bill appropriate, but the action may have taken a little too long to produce.
To go with my gut feeling here, I tried not to look at everyone's compelling arguments just yet- otherwise it would not be my gut feeling. I would rate President Obama's "feel" or human understanding for his power as a 6, and I'll tell you why. I have seen only 3 presidents in my lifetime and many candidates, but President Obama holds a swagger different than them all. He was confident coming into the presidency and upon his entry he became almost godlike to the American people. This is a self perception that he lives (this is all very cosmetic, I know). On the other hand his grand plans to change the way the economy runs or healthcare, have been a mis-measurement of his own power. With the bipartisanship and the bureaucratic nature of the US government, he does not recognize he is not powerful enough to overcome that system (not a king). That is why I give him a 6 in "feel for power".
ReplyDeleteMy cosmetic evaluation of his "feel" is somewhat connected to what I would rate his "actions under pressure" which I would give a 7. Once again President Obama is a steadfast and proud leader and grand orator. He has stuck to his guns in domestic political agendas in the face of a hateful Republican majority in the House. But he has the liberal habit of pluralistic pleasing. Meaning, I believe, especially with foreign policy, he will tell one group one thing and another group the opposite hidden in a sea of fancy oration so as not to displease either one of the pressuring parties. Diplomacy is necessary, but he is the Commander in Chief and the "decider" to use President George W. Bush's term. I wonder where he stands in the face of pressure.
Since I am Canadian, the truth is that I don't know as much detail of what Obama has done as President as most of you in this class. The one thing I can comment on is his "feel" and action under pressure.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, it is surprising how low the grades are that everyone else has given him. I guess these grades reflect the views of Americans, and that doesn't look too good for him as we approach the next election.
I believe that Obama's feel for the people and his action under pressure somewhat go together. I think that he has amazing people and communicative skills, and that serves him well as a President. In my opinion, when I watch him speak, I am relieved because I feel that he understands me, a basic citizen, and that he has things under control. If he really does or doesn't I really don't know, and I think that has to do with the question of action. However, as for the feel of the American people, and action under pressure, I give him a good grade because his words and appearance gives me confidence in him. I give him an 8 as there aren't many people that by listening to, I feel this same sense of comfort, as I get from Obama.
Actions: 8
ReplyDeleteFeel:9
Pressure:4
I am pretty stunned by a lot of the replies here, though maybe I am biased as a left-leaning guy. But President Obama has done an incredible amount of work. The Stimulus Bill, Health Care Reform, focused the Middle East conflict to Afghanistan, allowed for more transparency in government (ie, by ending the "black out" on media reporting on war casualties), started the Libyan bombing campaign that has led to a National Transition Council about to take Ghaddafi's place, reversed Bush's environmental mandates, on and on. This is not a "do-nothing" president. This is a "do-nothing" Congress that he's stuck with.
As for "feel", I can't give him a 10 because I don't know what it means to be in perfect synch with the American people. But this is not a president who's focus is predominantly on, say, rogue states or cutting taxes for the rich. The common thread behind Obama's various initiatives is that they are geared to help out the average American. Unlike Bush's non-reaction to Katrina, Mr. Obama freed up disaster funds and directed FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate disaster relief.
I can't say there's much pressure. There is no existential national threat, from the outside or within. The economic crisis was bad, but it wasn't the worst since the Great Depression. Even the terrorist threats have subsided to the point that the big ones (I have the Liquid Bomb Plot in mind) have all been stopped before they could be realized. Even on 9/11, can we say pressure was more than 6 or 7? The Cold War, WWII, the Civil War - these are the pressure points in American history, in my opinion, and we are not even close to them today, thankfully.