Obama will go down in history as being a worse President than Carter

[a_unique_person]

I don't think Carter was a bad president myself, but I seem to disagree with the majority on that point.

Obama has turned up right in the middle of the perfect storm. I don't know, maybe he is a miracle worker, but I think he's going to be powerless to do a lot about what is happening, pretty well all of it nothing to do with him or his policies.

If the Australian experience is any guide, the crises will be milked for partisan purposes by career politicians, who value their own grip on power as being more important than dealing with the problems. At the end of four years, he will be dumped, and a conservative will be elected, who won't actually do any better.

 

[Puppycow]

Do tell.

 

[Undesired Walrus]

FDR will go down as one of the worst Presidents ever. After all, he has to take over from that Hoover chap at the hight of the depression.

 

[leftysergeant]

This is why I have only the most abusive rejoinder to those who try to tell me I should split my ticket. I want Obama to have a Congress that can actually pass legislation that is not pruned, mutilated and defaced by the spoiled babies who want the GOP back in power and are willing to tear the country down to get it.

 

[Puppycow]

And he hasn't even been elected yet.

There will be a recession, but I think people understand that that's already baked into the cake. I don't think it will last 4 years.

There was a recession in the early 80s under Reagan, too, but most people blamed that on Carter, just as most will blame this one on Bush.

 

[a_unique_person]

FDR will go down as one of the worst Presidents ever. After all, he has to take over from that Hoover chap at the hight of the depression.

They were the good old days. I don't know, maybe has superhuman powers, but politics these days is a very different beast, IMHO.

 

[Undesired Walrus]

They may be different, but what does that change exactly?

 

[Meadmaker]

They were the good old days. I don't know, maybe has superhuman powers, but politics these days is a very different beast, IMHO.

I think your OP has a good point, but I think your conclusion is a bit premature. For one thing, economics these days is also a very different beast. While I think we are certainly in a global slowdown, I think we can react much more quickly, and even if it is as severe as the great depression, it will last a matter of months, not years. Four years from now, the recession/depression of 2008-2009 will be a reminder of how bad things can be.

In terms of his historical legacy, I think the greatest challenge facing President Obama will be that, no matter what happens, I think America's power and prestige relative to the rest of the world are in an inevitable decline, and no president and no congress can do anything about it. Now that the rest of the world has factories, education, and consumer electronics, there's no particular reason we ought to be top of the heap anymore. We will have to take our place alongside other countries, especially China, and give up our status as undisputed top dogs. This will be a bitter pill to swallow, and the American people are very likely to blame whoever is President when it happens.

Of course, a more immediate challenge to President Obama will be becoming President. The elections haven't actually been held yet, and polling data, while incredibly favorable for Obama, may be exaggerated. A bit of "good news" for the McCain camp, i.e. some sort of major blunder by Obama, could make election night a nail biter even now.

 

[T.A.M.]

The recession, for all intent, is here. It will not likely be here in 2-3 years. If anything, Obama will get undeserved credit for that, and will be re-elected in 4 years.

TAM

 

[leftysergeant]

For one thing, economics these days is also a very different beast.

Rewagan/Bush/Clinton/Bush removed most of the safeguards that FDR built into the system, so we are now closer to Hoover's American than to FDR's.

While I think we are certainly in a global slowdown, I think we can react much more quickly,

I wish! Hard to do much about it since we have nowhere near the industrial capacity that FDR had at his disposal to put people back to work.

and even if it is as severe as the great depression, it will last a matter of months, not years. Four years from now, the recession/depression of 2008-2009 will be a reminder of how bad things can be.

Wishful thinking again. Without an industrial base, we are just getting back on the bobsled, still too dazed to undersatand that it is defective.

 

[Undesired Walrus]

Shouldn't the title be "worst President than Bush"?

 

[Magyar]

wow, are you like officially applying for the Million dollars, 'cause you're sounding like
Madam Zorba


Seriously. Maybe you have a point. I think that there is a real chance here to make major changes.
This would push the US far more to the left then the looney repugs who are crying like chicken little
about socialism.

The reality is that to get change done the rich will have to bite the bullet. Everyone has known this for years.

I think that the real question isn't really whether he wants to do it. I think it's whether he will live long enough to try.
I am serious, that I do fear for that possibility and what it would cause.

 

[gdnp]

People have a short memory. Many of the posters here probably were not around during the times of race riots, 10% unemployment, and stagflation. We are at the lip of a major recession the likes of which the majority of the population has not seen.

How Obama is perceived will depend on his ability to unite rather than divide the country. I suspect that he will rise to the challenge and be remembered as one of our great presidents, one who led us through difficult times and returned the country to its place of leadership in the world.

Time will tell. We live in interesting times.

 

[Cain]

The demographics now seem to be trending in favor the Democratic party's constituency (after favoring Republicans for decades). Carter was an anomaly (and Clinton benefited from Ross Perot's run). I think it will be difficult to break the "Bush is the worst president in history" narrative, but if it happens it will go something like, "Geez, and we thought Bush was bad..." I find it hard to imagine Obama will either actually be that incompetent, or be incompetent enough to allow people to credibly portray him in such a light. Still, Obama's health care plan is weak, and I still think Democrats should ready themselves for disappointment with regard to our wars, especially Iraq.

As far as re-election, the problem is peaking early. Reagan was in terrible shape his first couple of years in office, but Republicans have generally had the fortune of having a good economy come time of re-election. Bush I was hugely popular after Iraq, and then... recession. Since it does not seem the economy can get any worse, Obama should do well on that front. On the foreign policy side (a weakness for Democrats), I guess it will depend on how much Republican slime sticks. Can anyone here imagine Gore getting re-elected in '04 if 9/11 happened? The other side would have relentlessly hammered "Bin Laden determined to strike..." Right now it's incredible Obama's lead as small as it is, and he's benefiting from a sudden economic crisis.

 

[BenBurch]

If his spokesperson stays "on script" everything bad will (correctly) be blamed on Bush and the "Borrow and Loot" Repubs until things get better at which time credit will be taken (correctly) for even slight improvements.

It will all work out fine.

But it will be a HARD few years.

 

[TheJim]

People have a short memory. Many of the posters here probably were not around during the times of race riots, 10% unemployment, and stagflation. We are at the lip of a major recession the likes of which the majority of the population has not seen.

How Obama is perceived will depend on his ability to unite rather than divide the country. I suspect that he will rise to the challenge and be remembered as one of our great presidents, one who led us through difficult times and returned the country to its place of leadership in the world.

Time will tell. We live in interesting times.

Agree with this. Obama has been handed a historic challenge and if he can rise to that challenge he could go down as one of the all time greats.

 

[gdnp]

Since it does not seem the economy can get any worse, Obama should do well on that front.

I wish this were the case. Unemployment has barely risen, and could easily peak at above 10%. Cities will find their budgets stretched and the safety net will start to fail. Property crime will rise and riots are not out of the question if inner city unemployment reaches 30 percent or more. The government will use the only tools that it has which are fiscal policy and public works spending, sending inflation through the roof. It could get really, really ugly.

If any of this happens, then we will have to see if Bush or Obama will take the bulk of the blame.

As to the "worst president ever", there were republicans who thought FDR was. There are democrats that think Ronald Reagan was. (I put him pretty low down, but not as bad as W.) So it's not likely that we will ever reach a consensus.

 

[WildCat]

Let's keep ignoring the fact that this whole crisis was caused by people gatting loans they couldn't repay. And that is was the government mandating that these loans be made, and it sure as hell wasn't the conservatives pushing that agenda. Everyone, no matter what their credit or income, deserves a home loan!

Let's keep blaming it on "deregulation"...

 

[geni]

Let's keep ignoring the fact that this whole crisis was caused by people gatting loans they couldn't repay. And that is was the government mandating that these loans be made,

Nope. But don't let reality get in thw way of your wierd interpritation of the law.

 

[DavidJames]

Nope. But don't let reality get in thw way of your wierd interpritation of the law.

I have to put some support behind the first part WC's comment.

To many people took out loans they shouldn't have. No one put a gun to their heads. They own part of the problem.