In Defense of Obama
The
Nobel Prize-winning economist, Paul Krugman, once one of President Barack Obama’s
most notable critics, has written a cover story for Rolling Stone magazine on why Obama is a historic success: Here’s an excerpt.
“...Obama faces
trash talk left, right and center – literally – and doesn’t deserve it.
“Despite bitter
opposition, despite having come close to self-inflicted disaster, Obama has
emerged as one of the most consequential and, yes, successful presidents in
American history. His health reform is imperfect but still a huge step forward
– and it’s working better than anyone expected. Financial reform fell far short
of what should have happened, but it’s much more effective than you’d think.
“Economic management
has been half-crippled by Republican obstruction, but has nonetheless been much
better than in other advanced countries. And environmental policy is starting
to look like it could be a major legacy.
“Am I damning with
faint praise? Not at all. This is what a successful presidency looks like. No
president gets to do everything his supporters expected him to. FDR left behind
a reformed nation, but one in which the wealthy retained a lot of power and
privilege. On the other side, for all his anti-government rhetoric, Reagan left
the core institutions of the New Deal and the Great Society in place. I don’t
care about the fact that Obama hasn’t lived up to the golden dreams of 2008,
and I care even less about his approval rating. I do care that he has, when all
is said and done, achieved a lot. That is, as Joe Biden didn’t quite say, a big
deal...”
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