Our presidential report card graders seemed to be looking at two different Obama worlds this week, with John Zogby chortling at how President Obama appeared to be the only professional in the business and Jed Babbin describing Caesar’s broken Rome.
John Zogby
“How could the president look anything but good, or at least better, this week? Bill Clinton is looking tired, frail and weak. Chelsea Clinton throws a bash, gives away tickets, and still no one shows up. Bernie Sanders’ health is good ‘for the most part.’ Susan Sarandon trashes Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump turns a hissy fit into a major event. Fox’s Megyn Kelly forgets that she has posed for GQ. Roger Ailes, who has slaughtered people for whining, is whining.
“Are there any other people running for president? Hard to find them. Meanwhile, Mr. Obama’s numbers are up to 49 percent approval and 48 percent disapproval over the last four polls. Go to the head of the class because all the dunce seats have been filled.”
Grade: A
Jed Babbin
“President Obama played small ball this week, not saying much and acting on something people aren’t thinking about, while a lot of big things were falling apart around him. He gave a long interview to Politico’s sympathetic ear, saying that his “singular regret” was that our politics were more polarized than when he came into office, which of course he blamed on Republicans as he had in his last State of the Union address.
“The economy, on everyone’s minds, is very sluggish. The latest report says that GDP growth was only 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015. The stock market continues to be rocky and the president remains silent on the quasi-recession.
“The president acted to reduce the use of solitary confinement in federal prisons especially where younger offenders are concerned. Obama’s plan to close the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was dealt another blow when Defense Secretary Ash Carter said it’s illegal to move Gitmo inmates to the U.S. Our military leaders were reported this week as having given up on Obama’s strategy to pull out of Afghanistan. The president had wanted U.S. troops to be out of Afghanistan before the end of 2016 but our top military commanders have concluded that we’ll have to have troops there for decades. The president is content to punt this over to his successor.
And the Pentagon leadership is nearly in open revolt against Carter over his (Obama-dictated) spending cuts and revised spending priorities. In sum, a bad week for the president.
Grade: F
John Zogby is the senior analyst for Zogby Analytics and author (with Joan Snyder Kuhl) of “The First Globals: Understanding, Managing, and Unleashing our Millennial Generation.” Follow him at @TheJohnZogby.
Jed Babbin is an Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him @jedbabbin.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
