The election is still six months away, but a lot can be learned from looking at the last four years. When Barack Obama was running for office in 2008, he ran a campaign that was largely focused on optimism and change. He spoke of doing things differently in Washington. People responded. The American public was fed up with wars and in shock because of the state of economy. When the votes were counted, Barack Obama essentially won in a landslide and became the standard bearer of a new America. This type of optimism had not been present in America since the days of President Kennedy when the country was filled with this type of hope.

The predicament Barack Obama has found himself in as he starts his re-election campaign is that he angered his base because many of the people who got him elected do not feel that he followed through with his campaign promises. And on the “right” they just do not like Barack Obama. In terms of the optimism and promises of change that were the themes of his 2008 campaign, many of his supporters feel that a different man is in the White House than was running for President four years ago.

In terms of President Obama’s accomplishments, Senator Obama said he would pass national healthcare. Presidents for almost 100 years have talked about making national healthcare, law. President Obama ran on a platform that he would pass a national healthcare legislation. The public knew that if elected that this would be one of his major initiatives. Therefore, no one should be surprised that a national healthcare bill was passed by a Democratic Congress and then signed by President Obama. Is what is now called, “Obama-care” good for America and good for our people, only time will tell. If you ask the millions of people who do not have healthcare if they look forward to getting healthcare for the first time in their lives, almost all will be very grateful to the President for making this possible. Still, other supporters of a national healthcare law might state that the President did not go far enough. They continue to want a public option.

Detractors of the law like the way things are now. Most of these critics already have health insurance and look at the healthcare law as either a national takeover of the healthcare system and/or a violation of their constitutional rights to choose whether they are required to have healthcare or not. Many opponents also say that the new law will cause healthcare prices to rise through the roof. If the law does pass its legal hurdles, we will all find out how effective it truly is. The public should also remember back to 2008 when the country was worried about financial collapse that the electorate largely embraced the idea of a national healthcare plan. We believe at America for America that all Americans having healthcare is a great thing. We believe that one’s health is their birthright and our country should do everything it possibly can to ensure this birthright is always protected in the United States Of America.

During President Obama’s term as President, he passed “cash for clunkers”. This is a bill that largely helped lower wage earners get new cars. “Cash for clunkers” also injected some capital into a then struggling auto industry. However, we borrowed and/or printed the money to pay for “cash for clunkers”.  Our country is trillions of dollars in debt. “Cash for clunkers” added to the national debt. Yes, it supported the car manufacturers and yes it helped some of our poorest citizens get new cars, but it was a large one time investment that did not bring us any long term returns. As soon as a car leaves the lot, it immediately depreciates in value. The money that we borrowed for “cash for clunkers” could have been smartly invested in areas that would generate long term returns rather than a one time investment in depreciating assets.

Another area where President Obama has faltered is not being definitive in setting the tone for the country and following through with his campaign promises. As a candidate, he said he would close Guantanamo Bay, it remains open. Additionally. he talked about transparency in the White House and many including his base would argue that his administration holds many secrets and has not been transparent at all. 

We also feel that President Obama has set to compromise on his campaign promises by his desire to bring unity to the country. This was a flawed strategy. In attempting to compromise on his platform and stated agenda, President Obama has angered and deflated much of his base. During the financial crisis he “bailed out Wall Street” while his base was mostly composed of main street folks. This not only angered loyal followers, it spurned the Occupy Wall Street Movement that still holds rallies and sings the praises of the working man to protest against big CEOs. His critics, namely Republicans, remain unhappy with him because they are going to be unhappy with him no matter what he does. They have publicly stated their goal is to make President Obama a one term President. Whether President Obama compromises or does not compromise, conservatives are not going to be happy with the result.

To us, it looks as if President Obama has miscalculated much of his four years in the White House. We can not begin to understand the great responsibility and pressures that accompanies being President of the United States Of America. Gray hairs and wrinkles that were not present four years ago tell only some of the story. However, when a candidate runs a campaign that is embraced by the vast majority of American voters, that candidate is responsible to follow through with the tone and agenda that got he or she elected. In terms of the Republicans, they are unabashed and unapologetic about going after their policies. In terms of the Democrats, many believe if they say that they are liberal, that is a dirty word. Being a liberal, largely means to want change, to want progress and to move forward. By walking on the fence, President Obama puts himself in a very interesting position in the 2012 election. He lost a lot of support with his progressive followers and while trying to compromise with his political opponents, he has angered them too.

The President’s recent statement that he supports Gay marriage could be an attempt to rally his more liberal base and distinguish large differences between himself and Mitt Romney. There is still be much more work needed to regain the enthusiasm that surrounded his 2008 run for the White House. We believe the President would have served the country and his re-election efforts much more if he carried the tone and fulfilled all the promises he set as a candidate during his four years in office. He had the people with him when he got into office. He would still have us with him if he simply followed through.


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