Obama's First Year: Trying to Do Too Much?

President Obama's first year in office concludes with criticism that he "is trying to do too much." This seems odd. Should he try to do less?

With conclusion of President Obama's first year, it indeed seems like a long time since he walked with the canary-yellow clad First Lady in the January 2009 inaugural parade. The first year for President Obama seems like a long one for two reasons: (1) He has tried to accomplish a great deal, and (2) He has faced a great deal of resistance.

Was President Obama "trying to do too much" in his first year, in his first month, when he marshaled the $787 billion economic stimulus package? The economy was totally in the tank. Republicans called for more economic stimulus tax cuts, seemingly oblivious that they were repeating the failed mantra of the past eight years. Obama tried to demonstrate his "team player" promise when he agreed that $252 billion of the stimulus plan would go for tax cuts, although rachetted lower on the income scale than the prior Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. Obama still was accused of being one-sided, which would portend future friction with entrenched Republicans.

Was President Obama "trying to do too much" in his first year when he tackled health care insurance reform? The U.S. system now absorbs 17 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared to an average of about 10 percent in other modern-day democracies in Europe, Japan and South Korea. Still, Obama encountered massive status quo resistance. The legislation he will win is watered down, but he has accomplished more on health care than any president since Lyndon Johnson, who achieved Medicare and Medicaid in 1965.

Was President Obama "trying to do too much" in his first year with his Cairo speech to the Arab world, or with his recent jobs summit, or with his pursuit of alternative energy sources, or with his various other initiatives?

President Obama famously has said, more than once, that a president must be smart enough (and dedicated enough) to do more than one thing at a time. It's interesting that state lottery players can figure out the multitude of available choices, and football fans can keep track of intricate systems for the college BCS and pro NFL playoffs, to provide just two examples. But nobody says the lottery or football execs are "trying to do too much."

My skeptical side says that some of our problems may have grown to the point of becoming intractable, and that too many Americans have become so cynical and selfish that they won't give President Obama a chance. When the same people who receive Medicare also blast health care reform as "socialized medicine," and when the same people who rip Obama for "trying to do too much" also criticize him for taking a family vacation, those are just two examples of prevailing ignorance.

Still, if President Obama wants to continue "trying to do too much" in 2010, more power to him. He's not perfect, but he's certainly smarter and more disciplined than my own self. He's been the best president of my 54-year lifetime, and as he learns, the best is (hopefully) yet to come.

SOURCES

http://www.ft.com/indepth/barack-obama-the-first-year

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fe2bb078-f89c-11de-beb8-00144feab49a,dwp_uuid=25fb01b4-397e-11de-b82d-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

"The Audacity to Win," by David Plouffe

"The Healing of America," by T.R. Reid