If you ask me, President Obama is being way too hard on himself…. “It’s one of the few regrets of my presidency, that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better,” the president said during his final State of the Union address last week. He added, “a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide.”…. While I’m all for humility, the president is not to blame for the rancor and polarization that have characterized his presidency.
If you look up class in the dictionary, you’ll learn that, among other things, it’s an adjective meaning “high quality, integrity, status, or style.” That definition is good, if somewhat limited. If you really want to understand class, what it means to stand your ground with pride, resolve, and the refusal to let the bullshit get you down, all you really need do is to find a picture of Barack Obama. For seven years, he’s withstood a degree of opposition and obstructionism unprecedented in modern times. He’s faced seven solid years of Republican intransigence in Congress. The GOP Caucus in the House AND Senate have refused to take any action that would hand The Black Guy in the White House © anything even faintly redolent of victory. If this President praised oxygen, Republicans would collectively hold their breath until they passed out. He’s experienced unimaginable racism and the vilest personal attacks, far beyond what any reasonable person should have to endure. Through it all, he’s kept his head up, his eyes focused on the prize, and refused to take the bait.
Class is President Obama accepting responsibility for the rancorous state of American politics and the difficulty he’s experienced in getting things done when he’s not even close to being the biggest part of the problem. He didn’t promise on Day One not to allow anything to be accomplished, no matter how small. It was Congressional Republicans who pledged not to work with the President in any shape, manner, or form. It was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) who said that “Job One” was ensuring the President didn’t win re-election in 2012. McConnell’s top priority wasn’t health care reform, fixing the economy, or ending the war in Iraq; it was defeating the President.
Barack Obama isn’t the reason he didn’t accomplish all the things he set out to do. Given the almost impossible odds and the virulent, visceral opposition he faced, he’s still managed to become arguably one of the greatest Presidents in our nation’s history. I’ll leave that judgment to those who’ll write the history books. Still, there’s no arguing that President Obama’s accomplishments are even more impressive when viewed in light of the intransigence and entreched opposition of Congressional Republicans.
This President hasn’t been perfect…but none ever has. Given what he’s faced from the “Loyal” Opposition over the past seven years, I’d argue he’s been about as close to perfect as any of us could reasonably have expected.
