Obama's first year in office (A term of public perception)

As someone who voted for Obama, I was really rooting for him to succeed in his first year in office. The verdict. . . . disappointed, but when you really think about it not really surprising. Caught up in the "hype" that was Obama's sweeping election, I think many people we're expecting a swift end to the recession, where almost every American would have a job and the United States would once again be the the grail that other free republic's could aspire to.

We know now that those expectations we're unrealistic. Fixing an economy takes times and it could very well get worse before it gets better. I think the Obama Campaign is partly to blame in this. They were all too willing to stoke the fire's of change, promising and end to pandering to lobbyists and the same old politics. A brilliant campaign ideal (The McCain camp liked it so much that they threw in thier own conservative "Rouge" in Palin) , but one that has backfired as things today don't feel much different than they did a year ago.

In addition to people whos expectations might've been to high, they're are also the people who are genuinly scared (perhaps irrationally)of the effects the Obama administration could have on thier lives. Today its whether or not he tough enough on Islamic extremists. If you recall six months ago it was "Death Panels" and a "Socialist Democracy".

A big part of this can be attributed to GOP slanted press (Particularly a certain News Network that rhymes with Fox News). But the white House has done a poor job of dismissing these fears (We never received straight answers regarding the Public Health Option). During his election Campaign there was a slew of "fear stories" regarding topics such as Obama's Birth certificate, his Religion, his middle name. Obama and his supporters made quick work, striking down these subjects, which never gained footing. This time around many of these new allegations have stuck and the less educated are scared

Its too early give Obama a grade. It takes more than just a few hours, but possibly the passing of several years to accurately (and fairly) grade an administration's effectiveness. Both Ronald Regan and Bill Clinton (generally considered successful administrations by their respective parties) had mediorce showing in their first years in office.

But its undeniable that the public at large is starting to have reservations. This month alone the democrats have already lost a special election in Massachusetts (a historically democratic state) in the process losing the majority they needed to pass a Goverment Health Option bill. At the same time many media polls show his aprovall ratings (Personally I don't always trust these) have dropped to nearly 50%.

To me Obama's first year is a bit of an enigma. I would have liked to see more, but I understand that an economy can't be saved in a day and the current state of things can't be attributed to him alone. Another year or so might give us a better idea of where his 4 years are heading.