Chris Cillizza offers up thought on a president's (any president's) first year in office.
I am not displeased by Obama's, though some of that is because Bush lowered the bar so damn low. I mean, Obama could sell a couple of states as cheap Buy It Now offers on eBay and we'd still say, "Well, he's better than the last guy." I am disappointed that he's reversed himself or hedged on some progressive promises like ending "Don't ask, don't tell" and — despite his technical denial that he ever campaigned on the issue — a public insurance plan. But I also recognize that he's facing a Republican wing of Congress that would filibuster his order from Papa John's Pizza…so maybe it's all understandable.
By the way: I am still amazed that this president — who won't mention terms like "single payer insurance" or "more progressive taxation" is viewed as a "Communist" by so many of his opponents. One of the more interesting exchanges during the election, I thought, was when Jon Stewart was chatting with Bill Kristol and Kristol predicted (in a rare instance of William Kristol being right about anything) that Obama would be a fairly moderate, slightly-left-of-center Chief Exec. Mr. Stewart then made the comment, with which Kristol could scarcely disagree, that folks like him knew that and believed that…but were willing to paint the guy as a Commie because they thought it would get votes.
I think that is still the basic operating strategy of the Republican party. What I don't get is why if they're going to call Obama a Stalinist no matter what he does, he doesn't just figure he might as well lean a little more to the left…say, about as far as Richard Nixon did.