My Sunday column argues that President Obama is, in market terms, oversold; as we approach an election year, let's look at other candidates and remember the context. Sure, we have our disappointments with Obama, but he also has legitimate achievements that tend to be overlooked in this economic downturn. And he's tacking against unbelievable headwinds, economic and political: no president is going to be popular with 9 percent unemployment. All in all, I think he's been better than many critics on left and right acknowledge.
I tend to agree with the common Democratic critique that Obama should use his bully pulpit more to make the public case for liberal ideals. But let's also acknowledge that this strategy wouldn't result in any new legislative achievements. And if Obama had put aside health care reform to focus on the economy, as many urge, he might be slightly more popular but the economy probably would be no better–and we would still be waiting for health care reform. In short, I think some of the criticisms don't fully acknowledge the tradeoffs that Obama faced and the difficulty of making headway in this political environment.
My view on the sourness toward Obama is very much shaped by the anti-Carter feeling in 1980 and the disdain for Al Gore in 2000. In each case, I think it became fashionable for Democrats to so focus on their nominee's shortcomings that they lost perspective and ended up empowering someone whom they liked even less. So retain that perspective–and read the column and post your thoughts!
Original Page: http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/26/readers-weigh-in-on-obama/