This week’s Weekly White House Report Card finds elements of President Obama’s legacy bruised. He suffered his first veto override, is losing the battle in Syria and has to prop up Obamacare. Our graders are in near agreement that it was a bad week, deserving a bad grade.
John Zogby
There are weeks that try president’s souls. His veto of a bill enabling lawsuits against Saudi Arabia was not just overridden, it was driven over by a payloader. Aleppo is on the verge of a near-complete Assad government takeover and U.S.-Russian relations are about where they were when the old USSR put up the Berlin Wall. At least there is a budget until December 9. But still a terrible week for Mr. Obama even though his approval ratings continue at over 50 percent.
Bad week means bad grade.
Grade D
Jed Babbin
A notable first for President Obama occurred this week, and it wasn’t a good one — a congressional override of a major veto. Democrats and Republicans joined together by overwhelming margins (the Senate voted 97-1) to override his veto of legislation that will enable Americans to sue the Saudi Arabian government in U.S. courts for damages sustained in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers were Saudi citizens. Many experts have, for years, alleged Saudi government complicity in the attacks.
Secretary of State John Kerry threatened to withdraw U.S. cooperation with Russia in negotiations to settle the Syrian war. That must have made Russian prez Vladimir Putin chuckle. His air forces have joined (again) with those of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad in bombing attacks that literally blew up the past cease-fire deal.
The Treasury Department’s “judgment fund” is a nearly-bottomless money pit created to pay judgments against the United States. The Obama administration raided it for about $1.7 billion to pay ransom for hostages held by Iran. It’s planning to raid it again, this time to prop up Obamacare. It is reportedly planning to pay about 175 healthcare plans for money they say they are due from the government and without which they can’t continue to participate in the Obamacare “exchanges” through which people are enabled to buy health insurance. Meanwhile, the cost to patients of Obamacare continues to rise dramatically.
Grade F
Jed Babbin is an Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him @jedbabbin
John Zogby is the senior analyst for Zogby Analytics and author of We Are Many, We Are One. Follow him at @TheJohnZogby
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
