HALPERIN'S TAKE: Why Obama is Exceptionally Good at His Job

[Jackeens]

HALPERIN'S TAKE: Why Obama is Exceptionally Good at His Job



1. On major decisions, almost without exception, he does what he thinks is right, rather then what might appear to be the politically expedient thing to do; in the end, doing what he thinks is right actually turns out to be better politics.

2. He-- and his vice president, chief of staff, deputy chiefs of staff, congressional relations office-- are experts on Congress and know how to approach, manage, manipulate, finesse, and meld with the institution in virtually every respect. (Up to and as far as the considerable limits of three-branch government and multiple egos).

3. He is temperamentally suited to both the public and private aspects of the job.

4. His honeymoon with the media and the public continues unabated.

5. His political operation (and its closely coordinated allies) is modern, well-funded, and skilled at not leaving fingerprints.

6. He has vast reservoirs of charm.

7. He trusts his staff. Clear guidelines, no micro-managing, accountability, less back-stabbing than most governments.

8. He knows how to control his public image.

9. He is emotionally stable, and has a rock-solid support system of immediate family, close friends, and reliable advisers.

10. Criticism from his political opponents-- no matter how personal, vile, or off base-- bothers him no more than such things bothered Dick Cheney (which is to say, not at all).

11. He's not afraid of losing-- because he doesn't expect to.

12. He talks to his constituents as if they are adults who are willing and able to deal with complexity-- which is intellectually and practically satisfying to him, pleasing to elites, and gratifying to many citizens.

13. He has created a political organization that has unprecedented access to polling and focus groups, but he maintains a healthy distance from the up-down-in-out minutia, even as his advisers use the data to maximum effect.

14. The cyclical nature of economics, politics, and sociological trends seems to be on his side. For now.

15. He is rarely angry, intimidated, stressed, fearful, or joyless.

16. He likes the job - its challenges, its history, its resonance, its power, its perks.

http://thepage.time.com/halperins-take-why-obama-is-exceptionally-good-at-his-job/


Whatcha think?

[jkshaw]

1. Thank you thank you for this, Jackeens!

This has been a welcome respite from all the sound and fury.

[Mz Pip]

2. Sounds right

I think the combination of these ingredients also make it relatively easy for the public to trust him - both here and abroad.

I don't agree with everything Obama does and I never expected to. Truth be told my expectations were a lot lower than many, given the sorry state of politics these days.

But I am confident that Obama wants to do a good job. He's not lazy like the last guy who sat in that office and delegated the job to ideological crackpots.

Mz Pip

[MarjorieG]

3. A steep climb for Halperin. Pleasantly surprised with the respect, probably gained by seeing him in

action and overseas. Halperin has not been our friend or ally.

[hlthe2b]

4. Mark Halperin? Did he take a sanity pill,.... or

was this cribbed for him? ;)

[CTyankee]

11. I don't like the guy. I think he sees the handwriting on the wall and is throwing in his lot with

Obama and company. He sees the repuke train going nowhere and he wants to be with the "in" group. He's just a panderer and I don't believe his sincerity, however, I do agree with his points in the abstract...

[hlthe2b]

12. probably so... he's an opportunistic little weasel

[scheming daemons]

5. #12 is the biggest one for me

[FrenchieCat]

6. 4. His honeymoon with the media and the public continues unabated?

:wtf:

and #3 and #9 are the same thing.

Apart from that, I don't trust Halperin, period.

[Median Democrat]

8. ROFL! See below.

:rofl:

[Median Democrat]

7. Honeymoon with the media? Fox News ring a bell? Maddow and Olbermann?

In addition, even CNN and MSNBC give a lot of air time to Republicans to rant, so I don't see any bias or honeymoon in favor of President Obama. Heck, even liberal cable news gives him hell. What honeymoon?

[lamp_shade]

9. Item #1 says it all for me. It's for this reason I admire him most.

[pnwmom]

13. Bush always made that claim, too. He was the "decider," remember? n/t

[CakeGrrl]

10. I agree with a lot of this

#9 is pretty important - I think it's crucial for him to have that support system.

I don't completely agree with #4. The media 'honeymoon' is over if it ever actually existed, though he is generally liked by the public.

Generally everything else is on - he's a good manager and has a good problem-solving approach, he stays away from the daily media and cyberspace eruptions, and he has a good team with real grassroots reach. He also seems to have a method for shrugging off attacks.

ps - if Mount Rushmore really looked like it does in the OP, would the Freepers' heads collectively explode like the Martians listening to Slim Whitman?

:rofl:

[Aloha Spirit]

14. I think he wishes Obama was a Conservative.

I read his page at least once a week, during the election his main problem with Obama was that he wasn't specific enough on how to fix the economy.
But he fairly sizes up Obama's political success, has been doing so for a while.
At the same time, Halperin is a conservative and would prefer if there was a Republican figure with these same qualities, because Obama's success lends legitimacy to the progressive cause.

[CTyankee]

27. I don't think he's anything except being out for number one. His father

was a Republican working in the Nixon admin. and became a big antiwar hero, mostly for his own ego gratification, IMO. He raised his sons in the D.C. area and as far as I'm concerned, he and Mark have just been in Washington too long. They're going any way the wind is blowing. Now it's blowing toward liberals so here comes Markey doin' his "Obama is successful cuz he's smart and I know it." The problem with him is that we knew it before he did so we can see thru him. He's nothing but a little pretty boy of the pampered, self adoring Washington MSM. No substance. All puffery...

[Drunken Irishman]

15. I think #16 is important.

Because I do not believe George Bush liked being president, which showed. Obama loves it, you can tell.

[tblue37]

16. Bush didn't like the job, but he loved the attention and the perks. nt

[tridim]

19. Imagine how much more he'll love it after he cleans up Bush's mess!

I really can't wait for the second half of this term and the entire second term.

[tanyev]

29. Free clothes with pres'denshul seals! Kewl!

Oops! Meant to reply to post 16. :blush:

[Phx_Dem]

17. I think old Mark is spot-on. Good for him!

:D

[alsame]

18. That picture is

hilarious! :rofl:

[ErinBerin84]

20. some of this is true

others, like the media's honeymoon with Obama...uh, not so much. Then again, this IS the guy who said that McCain and Palin were treated very unfairly by the media, blah blah.

[CTyankee]

26. He's such a suck up. He's after kisses being blown at him so he can bask in glory.

I am NOT impressed.

[Oregone]

21. "he does what he thinks is right"

That contradicts his willingness and advocacy to compromise and work together on various issues. Is "what he thinks" is right compromise in itself? Does not the actual output of the compromise have any importance? Is it better to help facilitate compromise between Charles Manson and Jeffrey Dahmer, or implement your core values instead?

I didn't get to the rest.

I think it depends on what you consider his "job" anyway. Yeah, I think he is good at his job. I also think his only job is to make people feel good about their country, future, employment, etc. So, yeah, he is good at making people feel good.

[Median Democrat]

22. Obama Has Nothing On The Dude In The Dos Equis Commercial

The Most Interesting Man offers various "food for thought," such as:

* Advice on Careers - "Find out what it is that you don't do well, and then don't do it."

* Observations on "Packages" - "If you can see the coins in a man's pocket, he'd better use them to call a tailor."

* "He lives vicariously through himself."

* "He once had an awkward moment, just to see what it felt like."

* "His charm is so contagious, that they developed a vaccine for it."

* Feelings on "Mixed Nuts" - "Don't allow these to coerce you to drink, but if you do, choose Dos Equis."

Yup, Obama and Chuck Norris have nothing on The World's Most Interesting Man.

[Clio the Leo]

23. "He has vast reservoirs of charm." was my favorite one.

Not so much for what that sentence meant but the beautiful way in which it was written.

[Cha]

24. I don't know what

"MEDIA" he's talking about.

[Jennicut]

25. Halperin is correct on at least some of these

The knowledge of Congress (with Rahm and Joe around) is a big one, moving legislation along will be huge advantage.
He is even tempered and seems to love many aspects of the job. Obama IS a stable person (unlike that last guy, what was his name again?). Criticism does not appear to bother him, he does not seem to tolerate back stabbing. He does run a great political operation and does seem to make the decisions based on what he thinks is the right thing (no sticking his finger in the air).
What happened to Halperin...this is kind of weird.
The one thing he got wrong was the MSM...they are way past the honeymoon phase, but the public is not.

[tomp]

28. as if anyone had any doubt obama was an exceptional politician.

like it or not so was bush. the question is about the policies and the actions taken, not about the charisma or the machine.