Barack Obama deserves another term (Boston Globe)

[pinto]

Barack Obama deserves another term

Amid uncertainty, real progress
October 29, 2012

Obama is both the key to a brighter future and the bulwark against a return to the chaos of the Bush years. He stands between the divides in American society, so some say he must therefore be the source of division. But as president, Obama has reached out repeatedly to Republicans and shied away from the I’m-the-decider pronouncements of his predecessor. He’s been diligent and responsible — to a fault. If anything, he’s been too little of a politician, not enough of a persuader. But he’s built a record of major accomplishments in the face of intense pressures, and fully deserves reelection.

The crisis that confronted Obama wasn’t some downturn in the business cycle; it was an epic collapse. As Obama was taking the oath on Jan. 20, 2009, the economy was losing a whopping 818,000 jobs in that month alone, with almost as many to follow in each of the next two months. Soon, Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package stopped the hemorrhage, and the still-bruised labor market has added jobs fitfully ever since.

The stimulus bill wasn’t an economic strategy in itself; it was a tourniquet to prevent further bleeding. About a third of the money was aid to states, which are constitutionally prevented from running deficits, to halt layoffs. Another third was tax cuts to working families to prevent a disastrous contraction in consumer spending. The final third was for education, infrastructure, clean energy, and extension of unemployment benefits. While people might argue about some provisions, the Republican depiction of the bill as useless spending is ludicrous.

Obama also brought an honorable end to a war that once seemed destined to divide America for a generation. Obama’s opponents make his withdrawal from Iraq seem as easy as turning a light switch; but anyone who remembers how Presidents Johnson and Nixon agonized for years without bringing troops home from Vietnam should understand that Obama’s courage saved America years of pain. Instead of starting wars, as Bush did, Obama has turned nations like Yemen into partners against Al Qaeda; the terrorist network has lost more than half its leadership on his watch, and the United States is vastly safer.

<snip>

Obama hasn’t been the Moses-like character some imagined. Instead, he’s worked tirelessly to undo a series of disasters that preceded him, while pushing forward on health and education. If he’s reelected, amid signs of new life in the job and housing markets, Obama can again be the transformative figure that Washington so desperately needs.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2012/10/28/election-endorsement-barack-obama-deserves-another-term/KuJG4aANDHHpEqKVYsLIaM/story.html