Obama-What you expect vs. what you get

I thought I'd make a post about what Obama is and is not doing well; it seems to be in fashion at the moment, and I thought I'd give it a try.

First off, a little about myself, so you can see my biases easier. I am a moderate conservative who voted for Obama and Bush. I agree with most conservative ideas, but I can understand why liberals think differently, and I respect most of those differences. I voted for Obama because I would rather have competent liberal governance than incompetent conservative governance, and I did not believe McCain would be a responsible choice as President for many reasons, not least of which is his choice of running mate. If these two candidates were in an election for House or Senate, I would have likely voted differently.

So, here is what I believed Obama promised, and what he gave.

1. Change. Obvious and imprecise. I will take his to mean that he would bring change in Washington, not just from an R to a D, but also in the way that he conducts his business.Overall here, not too much. He's doing podcasts, but he's also still doing signing statements, using executive privilege, etc. He hasn't politicized government departments as Bush did, but he promised to do a bit more than that. I didn't expect the moon, but I did expect some effort, given that this was his campaign's slogan for a year.

Score: 3/10

2. Better Foreign Relations. That isn't a hard job, given his predecessor. He hasn't had much of a chance to do anything major. His recent trip to Europe was not terribly eventful. People are making much ado about nothing with the whole Chavez business (also, Michelle touched the Queen. Everybody panic!). His policy of talking to Iran and North Korea has been, I think, unfairly maligned, since Obama obviously knows better than to think we can get Iran to disarm by asking them nicely. Diplomacy is both threats and incentives, after all. Obama's articulation of a multipolar world is a bit worrisome, since the other poles are probably the EU and China, respectively milquetoast and Machiavellian, but considering we screwed the pooch with our banking crisis, some humility might be in order.

Score: 6/10

3. Social Issues. There isn't that much noise about this, probably due to the fact that the economy is not at 100%. I think the conservative reaction, of stockpiling guns, is completely unwarranted, and the overturn of the stem cell ban was predictable.

Since this section is short, I'll add torture to this part. Obama said he would close Gitmo, and he is, he said that the US would stop torture, i.e. waterboarding, and he seems genuine on that front. Regardless of whether torture belongs in our arsenal or it doesn't, Obama said he was against it, and he is following through.

Score: 8/10

4. Economic Issues. Obama promised a middle-class tax cut, a stimulus bill, health care reform, and banking reform. 2/4 so far, and the other two aren't that far behind. Whether you think that his economic plans are sound or not, he has said during the campaign what he would do, and now he's doing it.

Score: 9/10

Overall. I think Obama's being effective given his adverse situation. The socialism charge seems unwarranted, since he has said he would be doing most of what he is during the campaign. Also, they keep using that word. I do not think it means what they think it means. I am frustrated, since the Republican leadership is more focused on Obama's daily minutiae and slip-ups than it is on trying to present an alternate plan, and I know that they can do better.

Score: 7/10