This sense of "urgency" takes on greater import as the political 'debate' itself, such as it is, becomes increasingly trivialised as the campaign 'progresses', at a time when the issues facing America and the world it purports to lead and provide an example to, are far from being so.
Indeed when it comes to considering the state of the broad political economy of the U.S. itself, and the state of the even wider geopolitical landscape, both of these have deteriorated markedly under Obama's watch. The only point of contention might be to what extent the president has contributed to that state of affairs, via those "sins of omission and commission".
As for Obama and his legacy then, for those millions of hope-filled Americans for whom he represented not just a renewed faith in the American dream, but potentially a rejuvenated respect for the institution of the presidency itself, it is tempting to speculate on what must be going through their minds as we enter the 'home stretch'. And this is without necessarily taking into account the views of those non-Americans who might have anticipated a reinvention of U.S. global leadership under Obama.
At this stage of his presidency though, it seems safe to say said "hope" has been considerably misplaced, with the expectations accompanying it remaining for the most part as unrequited now as they were possibly unrealistic to begin with.
It is with these deliberations in mind we now attempt a deeper analysis of aspects of the incumbent's performance, and from there [to] how the narrative of his legacy might unfold.
Be Careful What You Hope For
It seems that worthwhile assessments of any presidential legacy must be undertaken hand-in-glove with concerns of integrity and credibility. This seems especially so with Obama, if only because he entered the White House with so much promise, the operative word in his case.
Certainly in this respect his defenders might now argue he was over-burdened with the weight of expectation imbued in that "promise". Yet more objective observers would respond it is because millions of hopeful Americans accorded the candidate-cum-president enormous, possibly unprecedented, reserves of "integrity and credibility" to begin with.
"Political capital" I think is what the pundits call it!
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
