Who had a rougher first year, Clinton or Obama?

[bluestateguy]

Poll question: Who had a rougher first year, Clinton or Obama?

I have to go with Clinton. Obama may have more on his plate, but the entire first year of the Clinton presidency was riddled with screwups---which were not quickly corrected.

[izquierdista]

1. By this time in '93

Health care reform was already torpedoed. Obama is using rope-a-dope very effectively, as the Repubs turn into teabaggers bashing each other on who is most constipated,...err, make that conservative.

[OHdem10]

2. Obama was met with the worst financial crisis and economy .

The Republicans went after each of them savagely. From the
get go Scaife and Conservatives had dispatched "investigators"
to Arkansas to dig up dirt on Clinton.

The same approach-- destroy Obama has been the Gop approach.

Obama had more on his plate but the GOP strategy is similar.

[Pirate Smile]

3. Obama has encountered much, MUCH more difficult problems but Clinton had a rougher time in a less

difficult environment.

[karynnj]

4. Your question can be parsed too ways - as you suggest

One way is who faced the tougher circumstances. That is not even close - Obama came in with 2 ongoing wars and the worst economy since the great depression. Obama also faced a far more radicalized Republican party. (He had a few less Democrats, but his Republicans included Specter, Chaffee, and Jeffords. )

The other is who had more difficulties putting any of their agenda in place. Here, I think it goes Clinton fared less well. Obama was able to pass the stimulus package that had funding for many things that our side wanted. He also is well on the way to signing the biggest increase in health insurance since the 1960s.

[fugop]

7. I concur!

I think Obama had tougher external factors at work, while Clinton had more internal challenges (not necessarily all self inflicted, but I think he was a little slower to get all his ducks in a row). Obama seemed to hit the ground running, perhaps because all the external insanity gave him no choice.

[Jennicut]

10. Totally correct. Obama has more to deal with, Clinton had less and had a harder time dealing with

what he had. However, Clinton did bounce back after the 1994 congressional elections that were a disaster for the Dems. He was resilient.

[uponit7771]

12. True

[Lord Helmet]

13. +1

[lumberjack_jeff]

5. Clinton. No comparison.

Jennifer Flowers, healthcare reform, Zoe Baird, Jocelyn Elders. It's no contest.

[Captain Hilts]

6. Gays in the military and a Senate that would not vote for his budget. nt

[NYC_SKP]

8. Rougher in terms of challenges faced, or rougher in terms of 'lack of smooth' in execution?

I agree with you in that Clinton's first year was rockier.

If we're talking about who had greater challenges going in, it's Obama.

[mkultra]

9. Obama: The recession save was pretty big

[uponit7771]

11. 2 wars and economic collapse and being black with our devisive M$M

[Drunken Irishman]

14. I'm with others when I say your question isn't clear.

Clinton obviously struggled more than Obama in his first year. That's why his approval mostly stayed below 50% throughout 1993.

However, the challenges were rougher for Obama than Clinton.

:shrug: