There was a survey not long ago of a couple hundred historians (I think it was posted somewhere on here before?) and Barack came out with a B-. I thought that sounded about right.
As spokesman for the Left Opposition and Spartacist Movement, I'd have to give Comrade Obama a C-. His unwavering support for increased military adventurism ("the surge") abroad and a secretive national security apparatus spying on every American tarnish his credentials as a peacemaker and civil rights advocate. His corporatist economic policy has enriched Wall Street and impoverished America. He starts every social and economic initiative with a rousing speech of what he would like to do and then, rather than fighting for it, talks himself into surrendering to the other side in the name of what is "politically possible". Instead of leading a social and economic revolutionary vanguard, he surrendered the high ground to the class enemy and whimpered his way through protecting the profits of Big Pharma and the corrupt health insurance industry.
After betraying his base, he shifted seamlessly into "Grand Bargain" mode, to be saved only by the stupidity of his partners in crime who could not accept yes for an answer. He almost succeeded in dooming a generation of Americans to permanent depression in this debacle and had to settle for merely a decade or two of economic stagnation and economic inequality not seen since the Robber Barons.
History will place Obama somewhat lower than Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford in ranking of recent presidents. LBJ and Nixon have the distinction of both being the best and worst presidents of my lifetime; compared to them Obama is colorless, not good enough or bad enough to stand out. He reminds me most of Chester A Arthur and Benjamin Harrison, both notable for being forgettable. Try naming all the presidents in order and I bet these are two you leave out. "So let it be with Caesar."
