Yes, but it’s not as if my complaints about him are particularly novel. I’ve been pretty consistent about how important I think managerial competence and experience are when selecting a President. I’ve praised Clinton’s competence at this part of the job and slammed Bush’s. I’m not really excited about the idea of Marco Rubio or Rand Paul for President at this point in their careers for that reason. It’s not a partisan thing.
I get that for many of you, he has legislative accomplishments, which makes him a success even if the government has become more dysfunctional under his watch. I just happen to think that this less glamorous aspect of the job is more important, and cannot judge Obama to be a success until the trains start running on time, so to speak.
So in my view, we’ll have deal with 16 years of the performance of our government going down the toilet when the next election comes up. The top priority should be electing someone who can improve the government’s performance in its day-to-day operations.