Can a President Be Great?

Posted: January 25th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: politics

On this morning of the State of the Union address, I was thinking about whether it is possible for any modern president to be “great”? Barack Obama has been president for two years, and arguably, he has accomplished more than President Bush did in 8 years. Obama has signed into law the recovery act (which prevented a depression), credit card reform, healthcare reform, banking/finance reform, repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, new START Treaty, saved the American car industry, lowered illegal immigration, ended major combat operations in Iraq, and the economy has begun to turnaround.

But no matter how many bills he signs, everything seems to work against the idea that he is, or will be, a “great” president: the GOP, which has little to no interest in working with him, a news media trapped in a 24-hour news cycle and obsessed with conflict and the trivial, a society that demands quick fixes, and wants them yesterday, and finally a cynicism that permeates our society and holds anyone in government in low regard.

I’ve read that it may be that every modern president is going to be, at best, average. Should we be okay with that?

←
←