Washington, Lincoln, Reagan, Obama?
You bet, says an architect of President Obama’s campaigns and a former deputy chief of staff, Jim Messina.
“Oh, no question, one of the all-time great presidents,” he told OZY. “I think there’s no question he’s transformative.”
As the president enters his final two years, aides and pundits are sizing up his legacy and top legacy issues such as Obamacare, the economic disaster he was handed and being the first African-American president. But few outside of the president’s circle believe he’s historic.
Messina, however, made the case for Obama being put on Mount Rushmore in the interview with OZY’s Carlos Watson.
He said that Obama “walked into the toughest economic situation in several generations. Made tough choices to fix it, took on a incredibly unpopular and difficult fight on healthcare, put all of his political chips on the line, passed it, continued to go on, and have a successful presidency.”
And he said that decades from now, after the political pain of Obamacare has eased, generations will only “remember that he did a very big, historic thing.”
He also sized up the 2016 crop of GOP candidates and sneered, “I’m rooting really hard for Sarah Palin.” When Watson mentioned Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, he cheered, “I’m for him too!” He added, “I think Ted Cruz would be a wonderful gift” and Messina called Paul more “right wing” than Barry Goldwater.
Messina also cheered on Hillary Clinton, saying that, as president, she would “bring together the country.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
