“It’s not as if we didn’t see some of this coming,” said Barack Obama, a note of bleak humour in his voice. “I will admit it’s worse than even I expected, but I did warn y’all!”
The crowd at a sports arena in Norfolk, Virginia, half-laughed and half-groaned. “I did,” Obama added. “You can run the tape.”
Now Obama is back on the campaign trail, for Democrats running for governor in New Jersey and Virginia. It gives him a platform to deliver an alternative State of the Union address. And the gloves are off.
To hear the expectant buzz of the 7,000-plus crowd in Norfolk as candidate Abigail Spanberger promised that Obama’s entrance was just moments away was to be reminded that Democrats did once have a president who could match Trump’s superstar charisma.
Obama wasn’t a great president. He was a good source of hope which made his weakness worse.
He pulled the US out of a financial crisis only to to go complwte centrist, folding on healthcare (which might have been the right strategic choice), folding on peace in the middle east, folding on socual support, folding on Russia, folding on the SC.
Obama contributed to Democratic decline in the world (through loss of trust in Democrstic instituions) during his term, and then lead to borh Trump and Biden.
Biden was a better president than Obama, despite being half there, and funneling the States towards Trump 2.0.
My point wasn’t how good each president was, just that they actually won, and social causes advanced under their administrations.