Most people here are happy to see Obama be elected as our next president.
But every president makes mistakes, major ones. And these are often seen, in retrospect, as because of some inherent flow in the man himself.
We can generally look back and see the flaw as apparent, even during the capaign. Clinton’s libido lad him astray, which surprised no one. Bush’s stubborness of seeing only what he wanted to see probably led to the Iraq debacle.
So what are Obama’s flaw that will most likely lead to errors down the road?
ETA: Obama talks a lot about reaching across the aisle, and bridging the gap - I just hope that he doesn’t sacrifice actually getting things done, in lieu of that (i.e., realize when you’ve got about as good a compromise as you’re going to get).
This, in my opinion. Frankly, I have my doubts that the Republicans are going to be willing to compromise at all. I think that they’ll either demand that Obama do everything their way or they’ll oppose every proposal, or that they’ll concentrate solely on trying to sabotage his Presidency. Cooperation and compromise needs to be two ways for it to work.
The flaw being that I think he’ll go along with it; that he’ll essentially concede to most of what they demand. Because that’s what happens when you “compromise” with people who refuse to compromise themselves.
Given his history in both Senates, I have a great deal of confidence in his ability to recognize when a deal is acceptable to him and both sides in Congress, and when he’s not done negotiating yet.
While I think his desire for consensus is legit, I don’t think he’s so stupid that he doesn’t know his own bargaining position.
There were a handful of times on the campaign trail where Obama got a little full of himself. It didn’t sink his campaign but it lead to a few missteps, like “You’re likeable enough, Hillary,” which came across as dismissive. He’s an intellectually curious guy, seems very stable and doesn’t have any big personal vices that the public is aware of right now, so that’s about all that stands out.
He can’t get Clintonized in his first few months in office. Don’t pick gays in the military as an issue. Make sure you don’t have an attorney general who has an illegal nanny. Also, don’t put Michelle in charge of reforming health care.
You really have to scratch to come up with something. But the clinging to guns and religion episode and calling a female factory worker “sweetie” (a self admitted bad habit") is indicative of being out of touch with the core feelings of the lower middle class who are sensitive to how they are spoken to by higher ups. So far no problem,but I expect this issue might come up several times in the next four years and start getting spun relentlessly by the media after the honeymoon.