Obama’s presidency one year in

One year ago today, Barack Obama took the Presidential oath of office. Millions poured into the National Mall to mark the event. Even those who voted for John McCain, who doubted the untested man before them, acknowledged that the election of an African American to the presidency was an occasion worthy of celebration. Yet even in the midst of the euphoria, events lent a sense of dread to the inauguration unlike any since Abraham Lincoln’s, the man on whose Bible Obama’s hand rested as he took the oath of office. At that very moment, the nation and the world teetered on the edge of financial catastrophe. Citizens of the world listened with palpable desperation, eager to hear something that might inspire confidence.

One year later, neither the hope nor the dread are as sharp as they were. The lofty heights of an historic celebration have been overwhelmed by the heavy slog of a brutal economic downturn.  We can’t help but view that historic day, and the man at the center of it, through our knowledge of all that has happened since.

But the opposite is true as well. Understanding Obama the President requires that we look back to that day, as well as the path that led up to it: the campaign he ran, his life as a politician and community organizer and his personal evolution. That is why Glen Jeansonne and David Luhrssen’s work, Changing Times: The Life of Barack Obama, is so valuable.

The book breaks little new ground. Despite the authors’ bona fides, this is no academic tome. Rather, it offers a clear and straightforward account of Obama’s remarkable childhood, his young adulthood and his political ascension. The style is breezy and accessible, if sometimes to a fault. Many points that beg for detail are glossed over. If newspapers are the first draft of history, this is may be the second. But for anyone seeking to understand where we are, as a nation, under Obama’s leadership, Changing Times is nevertheless extremely useful.

Changing Times recalls that Obama came to national attention during the 2004 Democratic convention. His speech, which he wrote himself, decried the notion of red and blue states, and called on all Americans to rebuild a truly United States of America. But Jeansonne and Luhrssen note that this pattern of building consensus was present as far back as his run for Editor in Chief of the Harvard Law Review. Conservatives at the school supported his candidacy because they felt that Obama would “give their arguments a fair hearing.” More importantly, the authors find the roots of this quest for unity in the most basic features of his life. The kid who was always an outsider grew into an adult who “learned to move back and forth with relative ease.” Better than most, he knew how to get along with everyone.

The foremost feature of Obama’s presidential campaign–the call for change–clearly centered on his effort to rebuild American unity and confront the widespread dissatisfaction with our nation’s politics. But just as clearly now, the poisonous partisanship has not changed, and may have even deteriorated further. Is this Obama’s responsibility? The Republicans’ lockstep effort to defeat healthcare reform, to make it the President’s “Waterloo,” is well known. But even before that, before it was clear that financial collapse had been averted, the stimulus plan passed with only three Republican votes. Last month, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) claimed that, from the start, the strategy within the Republican caucus was quite simply “to stonewall.” With partisanship, as most things, it takes two to tango.

On the other hand, the authors of Changing Times also note that Obama’s life experiences accounts for a cool, maybe even distant temperament. An only child growing up between two worlds, Obama became, in his own words, “most comfortable in [his] solitude.”

“Standing above the fray”, the authors conclude, “is part of his personality.” But at this particular political moment, there might not be any “above” in which to operate; seeking unity when there is none to be had might well be a recipe for failure. It is surely too early to know, and the authors point out that Obama the basketball player has learned to throw his political elbows. (How could anyone come through Chicago and Illinois politics without that ability?) But one cannot come away from this work without considering the possibility that Obama’s life history offers an explanation both of his appeal as a candidate, and (to this point) his limited successes as a President.

Consider the health care debate. No one can be surprised that Obama decided to make this his top domestic priority. It was a central issue in his campaign, and, as the authors note, the plan with the most detail. And, as with the other central elements of his domestic agenda (namely, education reform and energy independence), Obama’s argument was primarily one of economic competitiveness. The current system is rankly unjust, leaving many ill-served or bankrupt or both. But for Obama, the key point is that it is hopelessly inefficient.

This rather straightforward argument appears to have been lost in our Alice in Wonderland world of death panels and creeping socialism. But, again, why did it happen? Perhaps the economic situation is so severe that the fear of more change is an overwhelming argument. Surely the Republicans have done their part in this charade. But given Obama’s undeniable rhetorical skills, why is it that he appears unable to sustain public support? What exactly has changed between the campaign and now?

Jeansonne and Luhrssen’s book went to press in September of 2009. In their introduction, they predict that the euphoria of the inauguration would not last. They also note that “events drive every presidency” and that therefore “success lies beyond Obama’s control.” In the year that has passed since Obama’s inauguration, events have indeed driven his presidency.  They will continue to do so. Just yesterday, Senate Democrats lost their 60-seat majority. This change certainly does not bode well for the prospects of health care reform, and it is surely a blow to Obama’s Presidency. But three years is a very long time in politics, and as this book shows, Barack Obama is a man of formidable political talents. Whatever transpires, one can be confident that Changing Times will be useful for anyone who seeks to understand it.

More information about Changing Times: The Life of Barack Obama can be found at Amazon.com.