CNNPolitics.com
By Ed Rollins
CNN ContributorNEW YORK (CNN) — Today is the 100th day of the Obama administration. Judging a president after 100 days is not realistic — and may be absurd.
After the first hundred days, President Carter was viewed as potentially great, and President Clinton was viewed as a one-termer. Obviously, it didn’t turn out that way.
No one can predict after a few months whether a presidency will be successful over the long four-year term, or eight years if he gets re-elected. We have no idea what lies ahead.
In a way, it is like judging a marathoner after he has completed the first few blocks of a race. You can tell whether he is running easy or smart or whether his stride and pace is correct, but you certainly can’t predict whether he will win or finish the race strong. …
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/29/rollins.hundred.days/index.html
Why would Mr. Ed Rollins frame his question the way he did? Perhaps additional information in the article will give a clue:
Editor’s note: Ed Rollins, a senior political contributor for CNN, was political director for President Reagan and chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Based upon the economic condition of the country, Ed Rollin’s question could have been:
Is Obama a Franklin Delano Roosevelt?
Or perhaps fearing that the country – already a mess, will remain a mess, the question could have been:
Is Obama a George W. Bush?
But seeing that President Obama is shying away from “voodoo” economics, that question might not be the right question. Would Mr. Rollins consider the question:
Is Obama a Ronald Reagan?
But the likelihood that President Obama would fire 11,000 American workers at one fatal swoop means this is probably a bad question. What about:
Is Obama an Abraham Lincoln?
Obama is certainly more like Abraham Lincoln than was George W. Bush like Abraham Lincoln. And Obama has certainly expressed admiration for America’s former President of GREAT STANDING in America.
No one could even imagine Abraham Lincoln or Barack Obama calling America’s Constitution an [EXPLETIVE DELETED] piece of paper.
Compared to: Jimmy Carter And Bill Clinton
And yes, Obama is more like diplomatic Jimmy Carter and treasury sensitive Bill Clinton than he is like Mr. George W. Bush. And yes, we are grateful!!!
Comparing Past American Presidents to: Mr. George W. Bush
What other American President, in America’s history, could Mr. Rollins have compared Mr. George W. Bush to? He compared the current president to past presidents. What past president would Mr. Rollins compare Mr. George W. Bush to? Name one! Where would Mr. Bush fit in that famous list of “America’s 10 worst Presidents”?
And judging an American President after 100 days may not be realistic or perhaps it may be absurd – especially if there are a lot of neocons hoping for an Obama failure – but instead have gotten a long lost view of competent rather than “train-wreck” job performance.
The far-right wing of the Republican party might move farther right – so far right that perhaps diversity would not have an impact in their organization. Whatever happened to the John Birch Society?
