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A critique of our commander in chief.

     As president of the United States, Barack Obama is subject to perhaps as much scrutiny as anyone in the world.   And everyone seems to have an opinion.  What amazes me is how uninformed the average opinion is.  Most who favor him issue vague statements about change, while most who oppose him spew out equally vague mutterings of overspending.  Most throw in something they heard from Anderson Cooper or Larry King.  But no one seems to take the time to dig and figure out what they’re talking about! 

     So the question seems to be, how, this early into his administration, do we quantify his performance as commander in chief?  It isn’t something that can be decided objectively using partisan standards… by now we know that to democrats, the stimulus package is our salvation, and to republicans, the apocalypse.  To judge his performance, we need to start with promises.  A significant number of promises were made during his campaign.  Promises that in many instances, consisted of great change.

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     So that is where we will begin.  Listed here are the majority of his campaign promises, broken into four categories.  Each will receive a grade, similar to the scale used in most schools. A meaning he has kept his promise completely, an F meaning he broke the promise.  An overall grade will be given to each category, and the four categories will be averaged into one final grade. Issues not yet addressed one way or another will not be factored in… in all fairness, the administration is only a half year old.

Economy

1.  Increase the capital gains and dividends taxes for higher income taxpayers…. B

2.  Eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses and start ups…. B

3.  Create a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners… A

4.  Create a $60 billion bank to fund roads and bridges…C

5.  Expand loan programs for small business… A

6.  Create new financial regulations… C

7.  Create a $3,000 tax credit for companies that add jobs…D

8.  Extend unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on benefits… A

9.  Allow penalty free hardship withdrawals from retirement accounts in ‘08 and ‘09… F

21 major promises made, 9 addressed (43%)

Average grade…C+

Military

1.  Begin moving combat brigades from Iraq… B

2.  Send two additional brigades to Afghanistan… A

3.  Increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps… B

4.  End the “Stop-Loss” program of forcing troops to stay in service beyond expected commitments… B

5.  Review weapons programs… C

6.  Set standards for when government hires defense contractors… C

7.  End the abuse of supplemental war budgets… C

8.  Call for a repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”… D

37 major promises made, 8 addressed (18%)

Average grade… C+

Taxes

1.  Increase the capital gains and dividends taxes for higher income taxpayers… B

2.  Eliminate all oil and gas tax loopholes… C

3.  Eliminate capital gains taxes for small business and start ups… C

4.  Extend child tax credits and marriage penalty fixes… B

5.  Expand the earned income tax credit… B

6.  Require automatic Enrollment in 401(k) plans… B

7.  Require automatic Enrollment in IRA plans… B

8.  End income tax for seniors making less than $50,000… F

9.  Create a tax credit of $500 for workers… B

10.  Extend the Bush tax cuts for the lower incomes… C

11.  Repeal the Bush tax cuts for higher incomes… C

12.  Phase out the exemptions and deductions for higher earners… C

13.  Extend and index 2007 minimum tax patch… B

14.  Create the American Opportunity tax credit to offset college costs… B

15. Enact windfall profits tax for oil companies… D

16.  Enact tax credit for consumers with plug in hybrid cars… A

17.  Create a $3,000 tax credit for companies that add jobs… F

18.  Extend unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on benefits… A

19.  No Family making less than $25,000 will see any form of tax increase… B

39 major promises made, 19 addressed (49%)

Average grade…B-

Energy

1.  Eliminate all oil and gas tax loopholes… C

2.  Create 5 million green jobs… B

3.  Enact windfall profits tax for oil companies… D

4.  Raise fuel economy standards… B

5.  Weatherize 1 million homes per year… A

6.  Work with U.N. on climate control… B

7.  Create cap and trade system with interim goals to reduce global warming… B

8.  Invest in all types of alternative energy… A

9.  Enact tax credit for consumers with plug in hybrid cars… A

10.  Require more energy efficient appliances… B

11.  Reduce energy consumption in federal buildings… B

12.  Require federal fleet to be half hybrids or electric cars… B

13.  Modernize the nation’s electricity grid and use “smart grid” practices… B

14.  Provide grants to encourage energy efficient building codes… B

Major promises made 48, 14 addressed (29%)

Average grade… B

Overall grade…. B-

     These grades are, of course, subjective.  As I said, this shallow into the administration, partisan politics can’t yet be used as a barometer for judging; opinions aside, no one actually knows how the stimulus plan, or his other moves, for that matter, will play out.  The issues in North Korea and Iran are far too young to even guess outcomes, although his hands on methods appear to be garnering positive results, at least tenatively.   And as far as the inevitable arguments I will receive from Obama supporters, Senate or House killing of his proposals are not an excuse… promises were made, not conditional promises.

     In the end, Obama appears, at this point, to receive passing marks, especially considering the brief time he has been in office.  The majority of the things he said he would do, he has either done or begun.  Time will tell, but it would appear that he is off on the right foot.  He has two very important factors in his favor at this point.  First, he inherited a disaster of an administration, and it will be hard to go anywhere but up.  Second, he is at this point insanely popular.  Barring a catastrophic meltdown of some form, he will in all likelihood have two terms to accomplish his goals.

     I have no doubt I will be dissected, but I feel his term has been successful to date.  I think the future holds promise, and am excited to see what direction he leads us.