The Historians and Barack Obama

Edward Klein, the author of The Amateur: Barack Obama in the White House, takes a look at the presidency of Barack Obama through the eyes of America's foremost historians.  He writes that at the first of what would be three dinners, Obama told the dinner guests (Doris Kearns Goodwin, Michael Beschloss, Robert Caro, Robert Dallek, Douglas Brinkley, H. W. “Billam” Brands, David Kennedy, Kenneth Mack, and Garry Wills) that

“The weird thing is, I know I can do this job. I like dealing with complicated issues. I’m happy to make decisions.…I think it’s going to be an easier adjustment for me than the campaign. Much easier.”

Never known for his humility, President Obama has gone on to find that the exact opposite is true.  (But I wonder what about campaigning was the hardest for him:  was it the implementation of strategies and plans or was it meeting, talking with, and swaying the average voter?)

But after the third dinner -- which occured in July 2012, right after the debt ceiling fiasco --, Klein met with one of the historians who told him the following:

“There’s no doubt that Obama has turned out to be a major enigma and disappointment,” the historian told me. “He waged such a brilliant campaign, first against Hillary Clinton in the primaries, and then against John McCain in the general election. For a long time, I found it hard to understand why he couldn’t translate his political savvy into effective governance. 

“But I think I know the answer now,” he continued. “Since the beginning of his administration, Obama hasn't been able to capture the public's imagination and inspire people to follow him. Vision isn't enough in a president. Great presidents not only have to enunciate their vision; they must lead by example and inspiration. Franklin Roosevelt spoke to the individual. He and Ronald Reagan had the ability to make each American feel that the president cared deeply and personally about them.

“That quality has been lacking in Obama. People don’t feel that he’s on their side. Obama doesn't connect. He doesn't have the answers. The irony is that he was supposed to be such a brilliant orator. But, in fact, he’s turned out to be a failure as a communicator."

[...]

"More than that, Obama might not have the place in history he so eagerly covets. Instead of ranking with FDR and Reagan and other giants, it seems more likely that he will be a case-study in presidential failure like Jimmy Carter." 

Apart from a lot of nostrums about the president having to show that he cares deeply and personally about each person (is that really the president's job anyway?) this is very interesting.  Obama, the most liberal president in our nation's history, has apparently not been able to act with the necessary liberal virtues needed to be a "great" president.  Also, and I may be really stretching this, this realization may get the historians to open their eyes and re-evaluate what defines a good president.  They should start by reading this.