By EAMON JAVERS,Politico
Politico compiled a list of Obama’s ten worst (and “best”) moves
Across Washington,political pros are quietly putting together their report cards on the first year of the Obama presidency.
On some issues – like Obama’s diplomatic overtures to Iran – it’s too early to tell whether they’re political wins or losses. On others – like Obama’s failure to break up the big banks – the judgment is hopelessly clouded by ideology. Where you stand,as in so much of life,depends on where you sit.
But on much of Obama’s presidency,there is a surprising bipartisan consensus on what has worked well and what has not. POLITICO spoke to a dozen political insiders and pulled together this list of Obama’s ten worst,and ten best,moves of the year.
1. Obama saying the Cambridge cops acted "stupidly"in arresting Henry Louis Gates.
As Obama took the side of an old friend against a police officer before he even knew the details,he threw gasoline on simmering racial tensions left over from his election. The White House’s hastily cobbled together attempt at a solution – the famous “beer summit” – is probably not what won him the Nobel Peace Prize.
2. Eight percent unemployment? No.
If the stimulus was a good idea,touting the stimulus too much was definitely not.
Obama’s advisers confidently predicted that unemployment would top out at 8 percent if Congress went along with his push for a $787 billion stimulus package. But unemployment hit 9.8 percent last month and 10 percent isn’t far behind.
The White House said that the economy was actually much worse than the advisers would have known at the time. Still,they broke a cardinal rule of politics – under-promise and over-deliver.
3. The Olympics bid
Copenhagen was not so wonderful to Barack Obama. More like the agony of defeat. The trip gave fodder to the White House’s critics to argue that the president remains too close to his Windy City political base,and all the big city machine seediness that implies. Not only that,Chicago’s bid was bounced on a first ballot – so much for the power of the global Brand Obama.