2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: In the name of unity, can we agree that history will look kindly on the Obama Presidency? [View all]sofa king
(10,857 posts)The nuts-and-bolts of President Obama's political acumen will be studied by scholars for the next 200 years.
Getting tax cuts for the rich to expire, then luring Republicans into holding the government hostage to bring the tax cuts back, then using that to force the GOP to agree to cut a trillion dollars out of the defense budget was the most brilliant political maneuvering I have ever seen.
His ability to focus the hatred of his enemies back upon themselves is legendary and will surely form part of the American mythos from now on.
And he did it all while being personally above reproach, picking competent and scandal-avoidant underlings, and rarely if ever losing his composure in public. He is the model President of the modern age, and we are unlikely to get so lucky twice in my lifetime.
I wish he weren't such a moderate, though. But I can accept his centrism in exchange for his unflappable competence. He was the President we needed at the exact time that we needed it.