President Obama has now compared his accomplishments after three years in office to three other Presidents–Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson.
This comment will stir much reaction and commentary, and it requires analysis and judgment, which will go on forever!
Certainly, Obama’s time in office has caused tremendous controversy and turmoil, but one could argue the same for Lincoln, FDR, and LBJ!
Assuming that the Supreme Court does not declare Obama’s Health Care plan unconstitutional, that achievement will stand out as one of the most profound in American history!
Obama also has saved the auto industry, prevented a Great Depression, and has brought about more reforms in his time in office than anyone except FDR, LBJ, and possibly Woodrow Wilson! He also has been extremely impressive in his attack on terrorism and Al Qaeda, and in ending the war in Iraq.
It is certainly true that George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, and Ronald Reagan had a great significance in our history!
It is also true that even James K. Polk, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton had major accomplishments that will not be forgotten.
But in terms of pure legislative accomplishments, Obama must, at this point, rank with FDR and LBJ, and again possibly Wilson, and Lincoln always needs to be mentioned when talking about accomplishments, although for Lincoln, it was in time of the Civil War.
But it will be the whole record of Obama, not just the first three years, that will be part of the ultimate judgment on his tenure. If he is reelected, the odds of a favorable view of his Presidency will grow, while if he is defeated for a second term, his reputation will be dimmed, typical of one term Presidents.
Good comparisons. Obama achieved passage of a slightly larger percentage of his proposals than Johnson, although perhaps nothing as significant as the Civil Rights Act. Lincoln outdid them both, in the midst of the war: establishing the transcontinental railroads, land grant colleges, the homestead act, freeing the slaves, standing up for labor and unions, and establishing, more or less, a national bank against the opposition of the New York bankers. However, despite the Civil War, Lincoln had one tremendous advantage over Obama and all other presidents. There was no anti-progress Southern block in his Congress.