ObamaNation: The first year

Porkulus, 10% unemployment, massive mulit-trillion $ deficits, radical appointments; socialized health care debacle; cap & tax/trade proposals; Bush did it; projecting weakness abroad; "the system worked" anti-terrorism systemic failures; civilian trials for KSM and other terrorists; terrorism as a criminal matter; Bush did it; Iran; dithering in Afghanistan; and, oh, yeah, all these problems I inherited from those other guys.


Charles Krauthammer: on 2009

It began with this wonderful festival of inauguration day, where I think the pride people felt across the country was near universal. Electing the first African-American was a transcendence of our history, a vindication really of the American experiment.

One other reason why the joy was universal — a more cynical one — was it wasn't until a month later, at his address to a joint session of Congress, that Obama revealed how much of a leftist he is. Remember, in the transition, his appointments were rather centrist — his economic advisors and his national security team. But he made a remarkable speech to Congress in February in which he basically said: I am here to do something. I want to remake American health care, education and energy, which meant turning America into more of a European social democracy than the America that we had known.

It was the most radical speech I think a president has given in our lifetime. It was a bold, courageous declaration. He's not hiding his intentions but that's why we have had such a clamorous year with so much discord and high, high decibel debate.