Obama's First Year

When President Barack Obama took the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2009, he was a breathe of fresh air, a new swooning, oratory voice in a crowd of haggard and dated "re-election-centric" politicians. Americans, especially young Americans who were new to the game of politics, were captivated by his personality, his ambition, his truthfulness.

And then he was thrust into a political maelstrom, one that many believed he would quickly succumb to. Many voiced his lack of experience would do this, his choice of friends that, to many, seemed radical and would make Obama unpopular, or that he would break under the nit-picky microscope cast upon him by the American people. Many said he would never survive in politically polarized Washington, a place that is characterized by "insider culture" and crooked deals.

It didn't help that the second Bush Administration had completely dismantled the economy and left what the Clinton Administration had done to bolster the economy in shambles. It didn't help that Obama was left with the wreckage. It also didn't help that Obama brandished the yoke of war upon his shoulders as he stood atop the nation's capitol a year ago.

In a world where the image of president has been crafted into a celebrity instead of commander-in-chief, instead of policy-maker, instead of politician, Obama faces heat from all sides - the media in particular with its short-sighted lectures on the Obama of right now, his rights and wrongs of right this moment, not the Obama who is striving for a better America in the long run. In the modern political world we, as Americans, have to realize that partisan-ism has become the moniker of the day, it has become selfish and ego-centric, it has become synonymous with the bottom line. Modern partisan-ism has become banal and a rigor-mortis to many positive policies of the Obama Administration.

Obama has revitalized the economy. True, the economy may not be where it was before Bush wrangled it, but strides are being made and progress noticed. A new faith has been found in the stock market and Americans are beginning to buy homes again.

Obama has re-focused our military efforts on al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda's allies within Afghanistan and given a timetable for our exit from Iraq. He has made strides in foreign relations and made diplomacy a central theme throughout his presidency making it evident that future wars will be avoided unless absolutely necessary for the protection of the American or any oppressed peoples. Obama has re-extended America's hand to the world and redefined the war on terror to mean something more than simple wholesale conflict with those who hold different ideologies than us. He has provided something fresh in this aspect: we will hold discourse with our enemies not just our allies.


It is too early to judge Obama's health reform immediately. It is too early to judge if Obama has failed in foreign politics or excelled - we can only go by the positives currently given to us. It is too early to determine if Obama has completely failed in bi-partisan politics or simply encountered a road block. But we cannot place the full burden of failure, if any, truly, is to be had, on one man. And the same can be said of his aforementioned accomplishments.

It is not about one man. It is about an administration and the government as a whole.

Yes, the commander-in-chief holds much power, but Obama could not do much of what he has done without the aid of Congress. Moreover, Congress is what stands in the way of health-care reform. When the Republicans don't play ball, or Democrats if the situation permits, nothing can be accomplished.

I'll close with this quote given by President Obama in an article discussing the tribulations of the Health Care Reform bill.

"The classic example being me heading over to meet with the House Republican caucus to discuss the stimulus," the President said, "and finding out that [minority leader John] Boehner had already released a statement saying, We're going to vote against the bill before we've even had a chance to exchange ideas."

Let's give the administration a chance. Let's remember how President Obama first captivated us and promised the Administration would try to crack the mold of Wallstreet politics (Although some would say the stimulus played right into the hands of corporations looking for an easy handout, I'm waiting a while before I make that judgment). Let's take the Administration out from underneath the microscope and let it breathe a little. Let's give another year a chance, another year to see if its policies truly work, another year for bi-partisanship, another year until we truly judge it as a whole.