January 13, 2016
THE TIMES MAKE THE MAN:
No Hope for Greatness : In his final State of the Union address, Obama urges Americans to fulfill his failed promise. (Ron Fournier, 1/13/16, National Journal)
In a rare embrace of failure and humility, Barack Obama said Tuesday night that "one of the few regrets of my presidency" is the fact that partisan rancor has worsened under his watch. The president seems to finally realize that breaking the founding promise of his political career will hurt him in the eyes of history.In his final State of the Union address, Obama called for "a better politics," saying the nation's large and lingering problems can only be solved if Americans "can have rational, constructive debates."Had it been delivered by a presidential candidate, the speech would have been tremendous. But in the hands of a time-worn leader seven years into a presidency that began with such promise, Obama's sentiments were sadly familiar, almost hollow: well-written and well-intentioned but, like the balance of his presidency, a disappointment. [...]He said democracy "grinds to a halt without a willingness to compromise; or when even basic facts are contested, and we listen only to those who agree with us. Our public life withers when only the most extreme voices get attention. Most of all, democracy breaks down when the average person feels their voice doesn't matter; that the system is rigged in favor of the rich or the powerful or some narrow interest."He continued: "Too many Americans feel that way right now. It's one of the few regrets of my presidency -- that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better. There's no doubt a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide, and I guarantee I'll keep trying to be better so long as I hold this office."Obama has long measured his legacy against the greats-writing speeches aimed for carved granite, and unspooling policies geared toward transformative change.He failed. They failed. We failed. Because, as Obama reminded us, no leader can force change without an engaged and willing public. Looking beyond his presidency, still hoping for change, Obama said, "It will depend on you."
His enemies say he fundamentally transformed the country in a bad way. His allies say he was transformative in the best sense of the word. The fact is, barring unforeseen events in his eighth year, Obama will be remembered as a good man--and maybe a good president--who nonetheless failed to be great.
Indeed, historical assessments of his presidency will be identical to those of W. This is too bad in the sense that the bitter partisanship of two parties that no longer have any differences prevented greater progress on the issues we all agree upon. But, look at the presidencies that are the model of "greatness". Do we really wish the Red States had broken away from the Union so that he could have waged a war to save it? Or that a Nazi and a Communist superpower existed so that he could defeat the one and save the other?
Thankfully, we live in profoundly normal times and are faced by no existential challenges. The best a president can hope for in such times is to be considered "good." Historians will look back at how the UR continued the WoT and Reformation of Sunni Islam that W began; the expansion of free trade (several of which agreements he was handed by W) and the passage of the Heritage mandate that will be the basis of our eventual universal health program and they'll consider him a figure of continuity, not of tranformation, but one who did reasonably well in conjunction with a Republican Congress and Court.
Posted by Orrin Judd at January 13, 2016 3:26 PM