The Pros And Cons Of President Obama

When Obama was elected, he inherited the issue of the economic crisis from the Bush presidency. Unfortunately, he had to solve this issue before moving into some of the promises he had made to the American people during his campaign. Some of the decisions he made just to lighten the blow of the economic crisis were somewhat contradicting to his initial promises. Although Obama knew of the upcoming battle he had to face with the economic crisis, he made grand promises to the public, promises such as when he is elected he will change the world, cure cancer, increase graduation rate, create millions of new jobs, and tackle the issue of global warming. These promises created unrealistic expectations amongst the voters. But these expectations are
catered to what the American people want from their President, no matter how these expectations may be. The American people expect their President to save them in every disaster, whether economic, natural or war. And realistically speaking, the President does not hold all that power. But in order to get the votes candidates must feed the American citizens that persona. And the American people expect that candidate to keep true to their promises. According to Peter David of The Economist, Obama’s promises and agenda, as well as his charm, appealed to some right, left and independent voters, he was able to gain the people’s trust and votes. In the transition period from presidential election to presidency, high expectations, especially without a successful transition, can lead to a disappointing presidency. This is why Presidents try their best to get some of their agendas translated into actual laws before a certain time period. It shows that the President is staying true to his promises. But without the right team (campaign, transition, and White House staff) and preparation before entering the actual White House, a lot of policy making wouldn’t be possible.
This team goes above and beyond during the time of the transition to infuse the suggestions and concerns of the public with the Presidential agenda. Unfortunately, if expectations are not delivered, people tend to feel indifferent towards the executive branch, as well as deceived by their President. And when voters feel this way, the popularity of the President can be greatly affected, so much so, that it risk their chances of being re-elected. But because certain candidates, like Obama, develop strong backings from dedicated supporters, as The Economist describes them his “cult”, he was still successful when re-election came around. The only difference was that during his second term presidency, many people did not have many expectations from the executive administration because of the lack of accomplishment many voters saw in his first term. Expectations can play a big role in getting to the white house but once those expectations are set too high, they can come back to ruin a candidates chances of remaining in the White House, as well as having the public’s
support.