What grade would you give Obama at this point?

[CrazyBob]

Leaving out all the other players, whats President Obama's report card in your mind?

1. As a President: A - F

2.As a Democrat: A - F

And why?

[Mz Pip]

1. He hasn't turned his mid-term assignment yet.

I'll give him a grade after I read it.

[yourout]

2. President - C, Dem - D-

[CrazyBob]

3. Thats where I am also

Pres = C, Dem = D

[styersc]

5. Same here.

Pres "C", Dem "D-"

Not mush hope for imporvement at this point. Like lots of students, he seems to be wasting a lot of time with the wrong crowd.........

[Myrina]

43. Agreed.

Unfortunately.

[Sherman A1]

56. Agreed

[truedelphi]

4. Eighty percent of what an Administration does is done by

Appoointment:

So here goes:

Monsanto Clone, Mike Taylor, now heading the FDA through Obama appointment - F

Valsick - who head the Agricultural Dept because of Obama appointment - F
(people, when our grain crops are too contaminated to safely eat, you will understand the meaning of these Monsanto appointments. These two Monsanto promoters brought us crops of rice, wheat and other grains so fusarium-contaminated that even buying them when they are labelled "organic" means nothing.)

Tim Geithner, who should have been tried under RICO, and should also be impeached - F


Eric Holder, who heads up Justice Dept because of Obama appointment (His resume included some interesting legal work done for the organizers of Death Squads south ouf our border) - F

Neil Barofsky, Obama appointment, who oversaw the TARP situation, and may be the only non-Corporate person appointed by this Adminsitration - A++

Elizabeth Warren - Honorable Mention (She never served in any meaningful capacity, but I think she would have if she had been given the ability to do so.)

[ananda]

12. Obama as compared to Bush and Clinton.

Bush - A-Reep F minus - Prez

Obama - D - Dem C - Prez

Clinton - C - Dem B - Prez

[truedelphi]

6. Oops, I left out the worst of the worst in terms of appointment

Emanuel, Rahm, he of the "I'll meet you Big Insurance Execs in the office down the street from the WH" agreements - F

[CrazyBob]

8. Axelrod too

When I heard those two names - Emanual and Axelrod, that broke the spell for me.

[William769]

7. As a President, F. Not a leader.

As a Democrat, F. Undoing decades of Democrats achievements.

[ProSense]

21. "As a Democrat, F. Undoing decades of Democrats achievements."

Yeah, remember when Obama repealed Glass-Steagall?

:rofl:

[Chan790]

60. Remember when he held the line against SS cuts...

oh wait, he's trying to pedal that sellout as fast as his quisling legs will move.

[jefferson_dem]

69. So what the hell are the Repugs thinking as they've opposed all of his achievements?

Shouldn't they be supporting him, and therefore enabling the great "undoing"?

[UrbScotty]

9. As a President? A- ... As a Democrat? B+.

I do think he could use the bully pulpit more - you know, show us more of that Obama we saw during the campaign.

And he should surround himself with better people, IMHO. He's got some good folks (Biden, Solis), but he's got some others there too (Daley, Geithner).

That said, this Obama is the most successful President of my lifetime - and those successes have come to the benefit of our progressive values.

As Rachel Maddow said, "The last time any president did this much in office, booze was illegal."

[State the Obvious]

32. i completely agree with you .....

Look at what President Obama is dealing with......a bunch of recalcitrant, spoiled, demanding, manipulative, sanctimonious, "little" Republican bullies. (Did I miss anything?) We all use the expression "I've got your back".....well, I, for one, plan on keeping my word on that one!

President Obama is forced to deal with the "MOST UN-AMERICAN OBSTRUCTIONISTS" that I have seen in my lifetime....and I will NOT abandon HIM because he is trying to cope with the usual Republican drama and temper tantrums! Afterall, THAT is the real purpose of this Republican charade......if they can keep all of us "biting at each others heels".......they will win!

Nope, I'm not joining THAT parade.

[Tikki]

55. Yes....I agree....

Tikki

[boxman15]

59. Exactly how I feel about the president.

If he used the bully pulpit more, I think he'd have way more public support, and we'd be dealing with center-left debates instead of center-right. But, it wouldn't change anything in terms of legislation because the GOP is hellbent to destroy his presidency.

He is the most liberal president in a long while, he's gotten a lot done, and I'm very grateful for that. He's not perfect, but he's much better than any alternative and is the best president of my lifetime so far.

[coalition_unwilling]

77. Rachel Maddow, bless her soul, is just flat-out wrong in her

history. Does Maddow assert seriously that Obama has done more in office than any president since FDR? For Christ's sake, that takes historical revisionism to a whole new level and ignores the Great Society (LBJ), the Interstate Highway program (Eisenhower) or the rapprochement with China (Nixon).

As for obstructionist Repukes, Harry S. Truman won re-election in 1948 by running against the 'Do-Nothing Congress' (Republican after mid-terms in 1946).

Obama is blazing no new trails, imho, other than being the first African-American to serve.

[stevenleser]

84. Rachel is right. n/t

[stevenleser]

83. Agreed. n/t

[dtotire]

10. I give him a C+

Not great, but passable. enough to get him reelected. He inherited an economy that was on the skids, and halted its decline. If he is reelected, and the economy is recovering, I'll give him a B. He also has a Reppub lican Congress, and a Senate with a minority leader whose goal is to havehim fail.

[Davis_X_Machina]

11. Incomplete. For any sitting president.

FDR wasn't the "FDR" we carry around in our heads till after he was dead -- our "FDR" is an after-the-fact construct -- and so too for all presidents.

[Bluenorthwest]

13. Interesting theory, but the glitch is that they stand for re-election

as sitting Presidents, so rating their performance as they work is required in our system. FDR stood three times and won each time, so that 'construct' was graded while he was living and working. And so for all Presidents. Ask HW Bush if sitting Presidents get assessed while sitting. He knows. Ask Jimmy.

[Davis_X_Machina]

15. In 1862, Lincoln was a dead cert to be a one-termer.

I'll wait.

[CrazyBob]

17. So you grade him on only his reelection prospects? (nt)

[Davis_X_Machina]

18. Me, I'm hasty in my judgements.

A real historian would wait a while. When they asked Zhou Enlai what he thought about the Enlightenment, he said "It's too soon to tell".

[truedelphi]

22. By that logic, The Founding Fathers should have waited out the

Kingship of George the Third.

FDR should have waited out the further actions of the Japanese Army. (After all, maybe they really didn't mean what happened at Pearl Harbor.)

Martin Luther King Jr should have waited out what was going on in Southern Apartheid USA, during the nineteen sixties.

And on and on.

[Davis_X_Machina]

29. The waiting isn't prior to the act...

..it's prior to one's judgement of the actor.

(Complete misreading of what I wrote, but hey, it's DU, I'm used to it.)

[truedelphi]

36. No you deliberately misread me.

I see Obama as OUR KING GEORGE. And I need not wait any longer to call him on the proverbial that he has installed upon We The People. It is far past the time to say, oh, gee he has only been in ofice six months. Eight months. A year. Two years.

he owns what he has done to us.

He has foisted horrid Republican (if not fascist policies) upon this nation, and those tens of thousands of us organizing the October Sixth rally are not going to wait him out. Over eight million households have faced foreclosure, just in the last fifteen months.

And has Obama had some stirring, call to action against his buddies in the Big Financial Kingdom?
On account of these foreclosures?

No, instead he is all about continuing the wars. Why is he even in the WH? He is there because of his allegiance to their policies, allegiance he first assured them of whenhe told "Sixty Minutes" late No 2008, "Hank is doing a good job."

And right after that interview he selected Tim Geithner as his Head of Treasury.

If the Founding Fathers could complain about a tax on tea, which let's face it, in the 1700's on the Eastern Seaboard, they lived in a land where there was ample ability to grow similar substances, so why their big fuss?

Many of us are not waiting out this particular King George. He wants the Social Security that my generation has paid into for the last forty years - he is going to realize by October Sixth what a big mistake he has made.

People in my age group shut down the universities of this nation after Kent State. I don't think Barack and Michelle are going to be too happy when we arrive by tens of thousands on October Sixth.

Besides the above - people often WRITE HISTORY, as they choose to judge a sitting President. if that were not the case, then Richard Nixon would have finished out his term of office, instead of resigning in August of 1974.

[truedelphi]

16. Not true at all.

Go to my journal, read the entry about Dorothy Thompson and Harry F Sinclair.

This was reported in 1935.

FDR is the one of only 2 Democrats elected in our century who did not do the bidding of his Handlers.


(Well JFK might also be an exception, depending on which history about him you read. But we all know what happened to him, after he failed to give them their Cuba coup, failed to keep the CIA chugging along smoothly, and especially after he issued an Executive Order regarding our monetary system.)

And back in 1935, those Handlers worked night and day, in 1935, piling donations after donations, into the Republican campaign of 1936. But since the voting machinery results were still hand coutned, FDR got the people's vote.

FDR just didn't need to do the bidding of the "handlers."

Nowadays every President we have had does that bidding.

Bill Clinton gave his Handlers what they wanted in terms of NAFTA, The FCC Act of 1996, and also the "Bank Reform" Act of 1999**. But he failed to agree to go ahead with another war on Iraq. Six weeks later, Monica and Bill were being talkied about by every Talking Head out there.



**Bank Reform Act of 1999 took away all the meaningful protections in palce due to the Glass Steagall Act of the Nineteen Thirties.) This meant that our financial system's biggest players became nothing mroe than a gambling casino. Results of Bank Reform Act that have been felt by every American since 2006 and on.

[truedelphi]

19. You need to scroll down to my third journal entry.

I find it quite chilling, but it explains exactly why Obama "doesn't get it."

I hope someone tugs at Rachel Maddow and at Ed Schultz, and has them read the entry. No need to keep wringing our hands saying, "Why doesn't Obama get it?"

He does get it. It's just that he "gets" that his bread is buttered not by what he does for the average citizen, but by what he does per instruction of the Real Powers that Be.

And as far as the Powers that Be: it's like George Carlin said a long time ago: "You and I are not in that club!"

[Dr Fate]

92. Besides, socialism was centrist back when FDR was for it. n/t

n/t

[tridim]

14. A- and A-..

And grading on a curve, A+ and A.

[ProSense]

20. President: Worse than Bush. Democrat: Worse than Clinton

Seriously, A's across the board!

[Hawkowl]

40. Freudian slip?

So you are saying that Obama is a worse president than Bush? And a worse Democrat than Clinton?

I agree with you 50%.

[boxman15]

62. I'm pretty sure that was meant to be sarcastic. nt

[onehandle]

23. Isn't the true test of a President how bipartisan they are?

That would give him an A++++++++.

Came in with a mandate and taped a 'kick me' sign to his own back.

[CrazyBob]

25. Can I REC your post? (nt)

[truedelphi]

37. I'd forgotten all about that.

On any Sunday, I am too inebriated from the pancakes and coffee to remember the essentials of American political life.

[la la]

24. as a retired teacher--

i would have to know exactly what i was grading him on---emotions and wanting what *we* want doesn't work ---doing his job and following through and being responsible would be high on the scale for me.

what's the rubric, is what i'm saying.....?

grading on emotions and selfishness doesn't work in the real world- it just leads to more of a mess....

[CrazyBob]

27. You pick

Thats up to you.

It seems like everyone is using a different yard stick on this. So you get to decide.

[la la]

30. that's why

i'm saying there needs to be a rubric---grading someone on what each single individual want is kind of a waste of time, in my opinion- but whatever........

so--just to put it down on paper, as *they* say--pres = A- dem = B-

[CrazyBob]

34. Got it!

Its funny you say that, because really thats what voting is. Everyone has their own criteria.

[boxman15]

26. The presidency is far too complex of a job to simply give a letter grade.

It drives me mad whenever I hear anyone ask what a president's "grade" is. As if it even matters. On certain issues, he's done well, on others he's been awful, and everywhere in between, as all presidents have.

[CrazyBob]

28. Ok then simplify it

If he has done well on some things and poorly on others, add that all up and say where you feel that puts him overall.

Whats the harm in it?

[boxman15]

35. He's accomplished a hell of a lot considering the circumstances

Politifact's record on his campaign promises being kept (138), compromised (41), broken (43), stalled (69), and in the works (215) sums up how I feel about him. He's gotten a lot done, though much more needs to be done.

Sure, I wanted a public option. I wanted financial reform to be stronger. I wanted the stimulus to be larger. But, what got through Congress were huge steps in the right direction, and it's the ConservaDems, not Obama, who are at fault for the watering down of these bills. It's incredible, when you look at all the obstruction, what he has gotten done. He's the most liberal president we've had since LBJ (that says little, I know, but I'm happy he's in the Oval Office).

I think he's one of the few adults in Washington, and he is one of the few people I think legitimately cares about the wellbeing of the public. He's restored America's standing abroad.

That being said, I wouldn't consider leaving troops in Iraq past the end of this year as he apparently is (granted, he knows info we don't, but still), I would drawdown the War in Afghanistan much more quickly, though still over a period of time, and I don't support us bombing Libya, Yemen, Ethiopia, etc. However, his handling of the Osama raid was extremely ballsy and hopefully marks a new beginning in our "war on terror:" a focus on precision and stealth, not brawn and might, to defeat specific threats. You can't defeat an ideology with an army. You can take out specific threats with specialized raids and sound intelligence, though.

The reason I don't like grades when it comes to presidents is because it is incredibly simple. Giving Obama a B, for example, wouldn't sum up how I feel about him. Plus, he's still got 1.5 or 5.5 years left to go. My opinion of him could change drastically over that period of time.

[LWolf]

31. Here:

President: F for consistent pandering and capitulation to republicans, while throwing everyone to the left of Ayn Rand under the bus.

Democrat: F for leading the party further into neoliberalsm.

[CrazyBob]

33. President C, Democrat, D

As President: He inherited an awful situation. What was required was a stimulus and of course he had to continue the bailouts.

The bailouts worked out fine. But the stimulus was junk. Where are the big projects that could benefit the nation in the future? Instead we got a shopping spree for the congress. And politically, it was just crushing. The stimulus should have been his shining moment. Instead, it was a sign of all the things right wingers claim about our party. No wonder we lost the House.

As a Democrat. I don't even want to get into it. D.

[Left of the Left]

38. A good, solid D+

F as Dem

[Hawkowl]

39. D as president F as democrat

He gets a D because he got Osama. He gets an F for continuing 90% of Bush's policies and then putting SS and Medicare on the table.

[libmom74]

51. +1

[MissDeeds]

82. +1

[rury]

41. President A Democrat A-

[madamesilverspurs]

42. A+

Just for being a better human being than Boehner/McConnell/Cantor combined.

All day, every day.

-

[COLGATE4]

44. As President, C-. As a Democrat, F

[Armstead]

45. A "Gentleman's C" all the way around

[marlakay]

46. Pres C+ Dem D+ nt

[quiller4]

47. As President A; as Democrat B

[Jakes Progress]

48. Too vague a scale.

History - C-
Math - F
Oratory - A (when he applies himself)
Government - D

[CrazyBob]

52. I get what you are saying

Maybe I should have put more thought into the wording of the question.

Why do you say C for history?

[Jakes Progress]

58. The C

is because I think he acts out of an incomplete understanding of the past 60 years. I think he is highly influenced by the reagan era rewrites of history. At times he seems unable to learn the lessons of even recent history. He witnessed the Clinton problems with the new republicans, hired staff that worked in that administration, and then does exactly the wrong things based on that. He seems to dream of the "golden era" of the 50's when compromise and cooperation was a productive way to govern. That hasn't been the case since bush one.

See this to help understand his motives here. This post is a really valuable piece of research. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1540315

[countingbluecars]

49. As a President: A

As a Democrat: B

[NorthCarolina]

50. C-, and F- please try again. n/t

[LibDemAlways]

53. As a president - D, As a Democrat - F n/t

[woolldog]

54. F, F

[jefferson_dem]

57. A, B.

[Logical]

63. Based on your OPs, I am not surprised. But I do like your current news posts! Thanks for those!

[Chan790]

61. D's

Two of them. He's not Bush but he's not much better.

[swilton]

64. FF

[struggle4progress]

65. He's doing OK. He'd do better if the left was better organized at the grassroots

to push the whole political establishment in the right direction

[boxman15]

87. This.

That's the key. We have to be better organized. One of the things I respect about the right is their ability to come together to fight for what they want. We too often divide ourselves on the left and that's why the GOP has pretty much dominated politics over the past 30ish years.

[creon]

66. a "C"

In this environment of uncontrolled fear and anger - basically panic - he has done fairly well.

He does done something very few here are capable of doing:

He has remained calm and retained his wits.

I find it amusing that he is hated by the hotheads of the left and the right.

[jefferson_dem]

67. Based on the grades in this thread...I'm even more encouraged about Obama's re-election chances.

Cheers all! :party:

[Hawkowl]

73. Funny!

But so am I. But in the other direction :rofl:

[CrazyBob]

75. So you base your assessment on winning or losing elections?-nt

[Number23]

103. + a million

[woo me with science]

68. Fail, Fail.

Trojan horse Republican

Offering up poor people and the elderly for sacrifice by attacking Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, for god's sake.

Expanding wars and Pentagon budget.

Attacking teachers and schools.

Fellating corporate America, millionaires and billionaires, and the banks.

Extending the Patriot Act and actively working to shred MORE civil liberties through TSA herding, groping and scanning; Supreme Court case arguing for expanded surveillance powers; expanding the FBI's power to monitor Americans.

Failure to defend equal civil rights for entire subsections of the American people

I have to throw up now.

[Fearless]

70. F, F

[bobdawg]

71. that's a hard one.

President: D-
Democrat: F

[cottonseed]

72. If he had more and better Dems in congress he'd be greater than FDR A

[CrazyBob]

74. He did

When he arrived in office he had big numbers and a GOP that was on its last legs.

I don't mean to pile on you, because you aren't the only person that sees it that way. But when I was trying to decide on a grade, I certainly took into account the hand he was dealt and how I feel he played it.

[Dr Fate]

96. No no no- back when we had the majority of votes, we still did not have the votes!

How many times do we have to say "We do not have the votes" until the base believes that the majority did not have the majority?

[Left of the Left]

76. With more and better Dems many could be greater than FDR

.

[Dr Fate]

94. And you get "more and better DEMS" by being CENTRIST. The midterms PROVE that.

FDR and the Democrats of yesteryear certainly did not get their majorities by acting all liberal and stuff- they got to that point by agreeing with conservatives.

All we have to do is look at the REAL history books and it's all there.

[Dr Fate]

93. And FDR & DEMS did NOT get those majorities by acting like Liberals, that is for sure.

They got those majorities by being CENTRIST- adopting popular ideas from hoover, Coolidge, etc.

This was Obama's strategy for the midterms, but the Liberals sabotaged it.

[NaturalHigh]

78. C-

That's being generous considering his complicity in the assault on the middle class.

[blkmusclmachine]

79. OK:

As Pres: C-

As DEM: D-

Why? He earned it.

[blkmusclmachine]

80. Asked my Significant Other. Here's his:

As Pres: C-

As DEM: F

Same reasons.

[great white snark]

81. A & B

Having said that, there is lots of room for improvement.

[Dawgs]

85. D and F n/t

[Johnny2X2X]

86. Not good

As a President C-
As A Democrat D-

I am really beside myself how anyone can think this guy is Liberal at all. I am more of a moderate so I was expecting compromise, but I am aghast at the fact that he seems to be a Conservative who is taking his Liberal base for granted.

[BigDemVoter]

88. Prez= C minus (-) ; Dem= D Plus (+)

[Donnachaidh]

89. F, F

He used his presidency to line the pockets of Goldman Sachs, etc. Pushed thru a bill to protect health insurance profits before people.

He's NO Democrat with his plans to cut SS and Medicare.

[Onlooker]

90. C, D

He's been an adequate president, preventing things from spiraling out of control. But, he has no accomplishments to speak of. He's lack of courage has turned health care reform into a sitting duck and his handling of the economy has been a boon to Wall Street, but with the end to DADT, killing Osama, and economic stagnancy as opposed to decline he warrants a C.

He's not the Democrat I wanted. He was a DLC plant and continues to embrace the Joe Liebermanian type thinking that has turned the Democratic Party into a spineless bunch who fear change. Apparently, the only change in 'change we can believe in' is the great success that a black man became president. Beyond that, Obama has done his best to change nothing.

[Unvanguard]

91. Several grades higher than any of the Republicans, and that's what counts. n/t

[polichick]

95. C for corporate

[harun]

97. F, F

Didn't do the Progressive things he said he would do. Has governed too far to the right, when governing to the right is what got us in this mess to begin with. Had an opportunity to highlight what is corrupt about GOP ideology, instead, helped resurrect it from the dead.

[mochajava666]

98. D, F

As a President he gets a D for showing a complete lack of courage and leadership when this country, and the world, needed it most.

As a Democrat, F, because not even a strong Republican could have moved a once great Party so far to the right that it isn't even recognizable as a Party that stands up for the less fortunate people in this nation. Ayn Rand would be very proud of Obama. So would most tea-baggers if they could get past their racism.

[jschurchin]

99. C- as President

D as a Democrat. He isn't very good at either.

[Name removed]

100. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MrsCorleone]

101. A-fricken'+++++ as President & a Dem!

Research what he and his administration have accomplished given the immense push back from the Transnationals Corps and their tools, The Republican Party.

Note: When I say research, I don't mean Huff-po, the TV, or message boards. Go to the source: the actual documents and/or the horse's mouth. Read the bills and fact check data/reports printed in serious news articles. The rest is just Think Tank noise.

[banned from Kos]

102. Bullshit! I give him A- and A-

I wish he would lighten up on the War on Drugs..... other than that -- all A's!

[laruemtt]

104. D-, D-

[Safetykitten]

105. F

[SadPanda]

106. B.... History will record it so... nt