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“I’ve never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there.” (CBS)
“Since taking office he has had to deal with a financial crisis, a growing war effort in Afghanistan and the backlash from a controversial health care bill. And all that has taken its toll, with polls showing many people are disappointed with what has been achieved so far.” (Russia Today)
Senator Barack Obama became President-elect a year ago. Since then, he won the Nobel Peace prize, lost an Olympic bid and fought numerous political battles with Congress. The media is evaluating his presidency so far and the reviews are mixed.
We are looking at perspectives from MSNBC, CNN, The Daily Beast, OpenLeft.com, Al Jazeera English and Reuters.
First we will turn to MSNBC, which cites a Gallup poll showing Americans have lost confidence in President Obama on some key issues.
On the issue of his ability to control spending, confidence is down 21 percent. On his ability to bring political parties closer, it’s down 26 percent. Confidence is down 18 percent on whether Obama will improve health care and it's down 16 percent on whether he will lower the unemployment rate.
The administration ranks foreign relations as a high priority. CNN presents the perspective in Afghanistan on Obama's presidency.
“People here say they’re simply disappointed with his policies and are concerned about the situation here, because the security situation has gotten worse, not better and the war rages on. They know that Mr. Obama didn’t start the war here in Afghanistan, but they certainly consider it his war now.”
Al Jazeera English talked to a University of Chicago analyst who thinks that with the issues Mr. Obama has faced, he’s being judged unfairly.
“The expectations were set way too high. People were expecting the romanticized version of the Kennedy administration.”
The Daily Beast says Obama’s first year shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Some presidents start out successful, some don't, but historically the first year doesn’t define a president.
“Almost all of the elected presidents in the last half-century flourished in their first year. Johnson, Reagan, and Dubya had wildly successful starts for different reasons—JFK’s assassination, the assassination attempt on Reagan, and 9/11—but only Reagan ended up popular.”
OpenLeft.com takes the view that if President Obama doesn’t start delivering soon, chances that he ever will become slimmer. On inauguration day Obama’s approval ratings were in the 60’s, they’re now close to 50.
But a political analyst from the Pew Research Center points out on Reuters that the president still has strong support.
“People still like this president, they see him as representing change...In terms of how people view his impact on the country it depends on the issue”
So what grade do you give President Obama, or do you think it’s too early to evaluate his presidency?
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