What Grade Would You Give Barack Obama?

What grade would you give President Barack Obama for 2013?  If it's an "A" you'll really enjoy the thoughtful and detailed blog article by my friend Steve over on the peripateticblogger.com

Sadly I can't agree with Steve. My reply is printed below:

Whoa! I'm shocked to say the least.  It's one thing to be an Obama supporter and a strong and unyielding supporter of the Liberal agenda, it's quite another to give Obama any marks for success.

His signature accomplishment, The poorly named Affordable Care Act (to which he contributed absolutely nothing beyond overblown sales hucksterism) should be an F---.  The program will leave more people uninsured than ever before, will destroy the middle class (who will carry the financial weight of the program) and will quickly collapse into dust.  Unfortunately it may also destroy the actual health care system as it collapses.  Let us hope that doesn't happen.

Over the next four years it will be largely replaced.  Unfortunately the program is so tainted it might result in a rebound toward the Republican models rather than the single payer plan we all originally envisioned.  It certainly will cost Democrats control of the Senate in 2014.

Barack Obama is ill suited to be President and has been proven unable to accomplish the job.  None of this had to happen.  It was all avoidable and a more able politician and manager could have given us the Affordable Health Care Act we all desired and deserved.

My Reply to Steve

Thoughtful, calm, intelligent and reflective are qualities that my friend Steve has possessed the entire time I've know him.  It's likely he's been this way all his life.  And, he has great balance in his life, able to separate politics from his family and personal life.  He keeps things in balance.  I urge you all to read his blog, The Peripatetic Blogger.  He generally posts only once a week,and only after great reflection and analysis.  He loves the Oklahoma Sooners and the Dallas Cowboys.

He wrote a blog this week which, in part, chastised some Democrats for breaking ranks with the President over the Affordable Care Act.  He feels they should "all hang together."  Indeed I'm tempted to agree with him, especially on the "hanging" part.  But, hey, I don't want to be accused of pulling a Martin Bashir, so please disregard that last comment.

I wrote a short response to Steve that I felt deserved repeating here.  In short I don't ever feel that Party Loyalty should ever interfere with good judgement.  Here is my response to Steve:

Dear Steve, 

I believe the President Obama had the very best of intentions.

And I know that our Congress is badly broken and that caused The ACA to be written in back rooms and passed late at night by a Congress that never read the bill or had the time needed to resolve potential defects.

And, even though not a single Republican voted for the act, they deserve equal blame for the dysfunction that forced Pelosi and Reid to act in a hurried and secretive manner.

Regardless of all this, the bill is nothing short of a disaster. Forget the website as that will get fixed. It’s not the problem anyway. As a result of the ACA more people, not fewer, will be uninsured. Most people will pay substantially more for insurance, not less. The blow to the middle class, financially, will be nearly unimaginable. Meanwhile the rich, who had Cadillac Plans to begin with, will be virtually unaffected.

This will all get fixed, eventually. But, in the meantime, the ACA doesn’t deserve the support of any self respecting Democrat (or Republican). Let’s admit our mistakes, avoid placing blame, and get on with the job of repairing the system.

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Here is just one of the first (and certainly the most ironic) examples of the financial disaster awaiting the middle class: Woman Hailed by President as Obamacare Success Story Now Can't Afford Obamacare