Well we are 2 1/2 years into President Obama's term.
What has he and his administration done right:
1. Pretty much reestablished our credibility or at least acceptability around the world.
2. Got Osama bin Laden and working on dismantling Al Qaeda.
3. Rescued the American car manufacturers.
4. Gotten health care reform going (although see below)
5. Gotten serious discussion going on the economy.
Now, what he has done wrong:
1. Gave health care to Congress to screw up - so instead of a national health care plan supported by a national sales tax, we end up with a convoluted system balancing on a future Supreme Court ruling on the individual mandate.
2. Took his eye off the tax code - When the Bush tax cuts expired, he should have changed the brackets and raised taxes on the top earners. This would not have solved the deficit (although it would help) but would have restored faith in the average man that the President is not just a puppet of corporations and Wall Street.
Instead, we will end up in the same place we started, with the rich getting richer though no effort on their part.
3. Gave in on the stimulus and did not direct enough money to reforming he housing crisis. The little tax break that dominated 1/3 of the stimulus did nothing, and the money to infrastructure did little on the money spent per job created chart. We forget that today, infrastructure repairs are done with big machinery and not many laborers.
So what can he do in the second part of his term?
If he lets the deficit ceiling deal go off without a plan to increase revenue from the wealthy and the big corporations, then he is doomed. How do you cut social services, when so many of your constituents need to be on them???
What we need is a 5 and 10 year plan, that can be modified as we go along, in order to reinvent our economy to what will be needed in the technology age.
He will have to open up a discussion of immigration - he has to take a bold step in 2012 whether it helps or hurts his election changes.
He needs to bring a substantial number of soldiers home (disclaimer - I have a son who should be deployed in 2012 - I would stick to this even if he ended up in Montana....) and reduce the amount we are spending on foreign wars and end the hidden costs. We are still losing many brave, young men and women and too many are coming back injured. Maybe some of the money form the higher taxes on the wealthy can be invested in our returning veterans, as they have made it possible for this increased wealth.
ChrisZ
