American President Barack Obama One Year after Election: Ambitious, Well-Meaning, Perhaps Naive

New American President Barack Obama campaigned on a platform of change. No doubt that in the first 12 months since being elected he has been ambitious, worked hard, and came out of the gate with a desire to deliver all that he promised. Certainly, it seems that he has been well-meaning and sincere and forthright in presenting solutions to complicated problems. Yet, in essence, very little has been altered in the way of American politics. It seems now that even as he has been eager to get the job done; he was perhaps naive about the true nature of Washington, D.C. and his ability to turn it around. 

During his presidential campaign, Obama promised to transform Washington, D.C. He made it clear that he would not stand for politics as usual. Yet, ironically, within days of winning the nomination, he named old Democrat insiders like Tom Daschle, Hillary Clinton and some from the old Clinton Adminstration to be key members of his staff and cabinet. Furthermore, it was pointed out in a November 2009 issue of the Huffington Post that Obama in his first 10 months is getting less of what he wanted and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi seems to be getting nearly all of what she wants. It seems that President Obama was naive about how much he could do to reform the ways of Washington.

A second promise made by Barack Obama while on the campaign trail was that he would be never give into lobbyists or special interests. He emphatically declared that he would be better than Senator John MacCain at eradicating earmarks. Well, it seems President Obama was naive about that too. A stimulus package bill and the House healthcare reform bill cannot grow to over 1500 pages without input from lobbyists and special interests.

A third promise declared by presidential candidate Barack Obama was that he would deliver affordable healthcare. As newly-elected American president, Obama has been working hard to make this a reality. Even so, he has been unable to get anywhere close to a deal; the House bill notwithstanding. It seems the new president was naive about how much he could get lawmakers from his own Democrat party to follow his lead. He demanded they have something put together by the first recess in August, but they didn't come through. He set forth a new deadline, but even though Nancy Pelosi rammed through a bill in the House; Senate Democrats could only agree to talk about the issue. With two weeks to go, Congress is not any closer to getting the President's healthcare agenda passed.

A fourth promise declared by President Obama is that he would shift the War on Terror from Iraq to Afghanistan. Finally, after 11 months of deliberation, American President Obama has made a decision about how to fulfill this promise. Some say he has taken too long to make a decision; others (many from his own Democrat party) feel he is making the wrong decision. Again although well-meaning in his sincerity to fulfill his campaign promise, it seems Obama was naive about the type of support he would receive to curb the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Barack Obama also promised to regulate Wall Street. Indeed, it was probably the promise of fixing the economy and setting things right on Wall Street that caused the majority of American voters to flock to his side. Yet, it seems that Wall Street is back to business as usual with big banks and other financial institutions using government (tax-payer) bail out money to pad their own pockets. Wall Street is powerful; it holds much sway over the financial behaviors of the country. Perhaps, Obama was naive about what he could do to reform its practices.

Furthermore, Obama promised to get the folks from Main Street back to work. While it does seem that at least a few jobs have been created by the last stimulus package formal unemployment has risen to over 10% while actual unemployment (cutting the underemployed) to closer to 15%. While no one could have turned things around in less than a year, it seems President Obama was naive about hwo much he could do to help out the folks of Main Street.

Finally, American President Barack Obama promised to repair the image of America in the world abroad. To his credit, the new president seems to be making progress in this area. He has changed the tenor of American foreign policy. He has been humble and, instead of assuming that he knows best, has taken the posture of a cultural learner. Whether such an approach will truly gain him and the United States of America greater credibility is yet to be seen. Some believe his naivete is setting the U.S. up to be exploited.

 In all that he promised, President Obama never promised to be a miracle worker. In fact, it should be noted that given the State of the Union at the time of his election, no one should have expected more than has already been brought forth. It takes time to change an entrenched system. If anyone has expected much more, then maybe they were the most naive of all.