Real Talk: Two years in, I'm wondering if Obama is cut out for this job. Seriously.
I'm not the biggest Bill Maher fan for a host of reasons, nor do I like the incessant Obama-bashing I'm hearing lately from lots of uber-liberals. But d*mn if I didn't find myself agreeing with about 75% of what dude was saying this weekend when I just so happened to flip by Fareed Zacharia GPS.[1]
For a supposedly free-thinking liberal who's bedded his share of sistas, Maher's racial stereotyping of Obama as "gangsta" is basackwards and Fox News-level ignant. But if you can look past that, he's sorta kinda got a point.[2]
I've been waiting for Obama's testicles to descend [PAUSE!] and for him to put some fools in their place for awhile now. I'm still waiting. Even when he's confrontational (something that happens so infrequently it's notable) he's still so nice and cordial. It seems like he's obsessed with being liked. He just cares too much about what people think of him. And that need to appease shows, as he vacillates from one end of the spectrum on a given issue to another. From healthcare, to Bush tax cuts, to civilian terror trials. You seldom, if ever, get a sense of what this guy believes in.
I understand the need to pay attention to polls, election results, and the thoughts and wishes of "Real Americans". I get it. But damn bruh, how about simply standing for something, anything, for once? Why didn't he lead the healthcare reform discussion with the public option, then compromise? Why is he offering unemployment benefit extensions in return for extending the Bush tax cuts? Doesn't he realize he still has a majority in both the House and Senate. It's not January 2011 yet, bruh. Why can't he pick a side, definitively state that side, and defend that freakin' side to the death?
I've long asserted that while I agree with much of what Obama's gone legislatively, I found his lack of leadership and resistance to doing the dirty work of the Presidency troubling. Stepping back and looking at it objectively, reality is his legislative victories (if that's what you want to call them) were mostly a result of circumstance (ie: majorities in the House and Senate) rather than his own doing. It's almost like he won just by virtue of being on the winning team, not because he actually contributed in any substantive way.
He's like the Adam Morrison of Presidents.
Yeah d*mnit, I said it.
There's really no point in revisiting 2008. I chose Obama over Hillary and don't regret that decision. I also chose him over McCain/Palin. I don't need to reiterate the wisdom of that selection.
Still, I can't help but look at this Presidency as a lost opportunity. Obama, again by virtue of being in the right place at the right time, will probably win re-election in a couple of years.
But there's no real reason to think that he'll suddenly shed the annoying habits he's displayed thus far, turn the corner, and become the Great President we all hoped for.
Instead, he's merely going to be Average.
Question: Two years in, has Obama lived up to your expectations as President? If you had it to do over, how would you have voted?
[1] What a lame title for a show. And yeah, I know this guy's a serious journalist, but would it hurt him to mix in a smile every now and then? This show is literally painful to watch. And you wonder why CNN stay losing.
[2] On a somewhat related note, wouldn't a "serious" journalism correct a guest like Maher for continually using a pejorative like "TeaBagger"? That's fair game for an obviously biased hack with a Blogger account (ie: me), but seriously tacky for a supposedly unbiased professional journalist. And you wonder why CNN stay losing.
