I recently had an opportunity to discuss President Obama’s legacy during a segment on CNN. One of the questions centered on the kind of advice I would give him if he were a company CEO. While the comparison is specious at best, I flippantly responded by saying his board of directors would have fired him following the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi.
Barack Obama signing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at the White House (Photo... [+]
Truthfully, it is hard to compare Obama’s legacy to that of a CEO. For one thing, CEOs today are on a shorter leash and have powerful shareholders and customers that can vote them out of office with little notice. That said, leaders of modern-day companies – and countries – are in fact guided by new levels of transparency, accountability and responsibility – including Obama and by his own directive.
I found myself a little upset having to debate (pre-maturely) the legacy of our Nation’s first African-American president and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, a great, historical honor bestowed upon just three sitting Presidents.
It is arguably way too soon to make a call on his legacy, especially when he has three more years to preside and many more issues to address and manage, with the Obamacare implementation being at the top of the list. It is also fair to say that presidential legacies post-Reagan era, are still being cast.
Not a run-of-the-mill presidency
While no one presidency is like any other, Obama’s is turning out to be strikingly unique. His first term was spent addressing the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression and he is now presiding over the most divisive government since the Civil War. Both Obama and Congress have rock bottom approval ratings of 44% and 11%, respectively. He’s also our first “social media-enabled president” having to communicate in a perpetual, hyperbolic environment with the Tea Party and other adversaries attacking him at every turn.
While Obama was able to play the hero card in his first term by blaming the previous Administration for our nation’s issues, he can no longer play the blame game around these issues and will need to “own” what is becoming a long list of “unforced error” scandals, such as: the AP phone records debacle; the IRS scandal; Operation Fast and Furious; the attack on Benghazi; NSA snooping scandals; failed attempts at gun control and immigration legislation; and the Affordable Care Act launch. All too often, Obama appears to be caught off guard and unknowing around these unforced errors and has flat-footed responses. If he continues down this path, these issues will absolutely cast a shadow over his legacy.
At this point, I don’t think his legacy can be salvaged in the same way that there are few Presidents throughout history with pristine legacies that don’t also include some “misses” in addition to “hits.” Reagan was known for being a great communicator, Reaganomics and ending the Cold War. But he was also known for the Iran-Contra scandal and for being a Teflon president. Nixon was infamous for his crimes, true, but he was also credited for his foreign relations accomplishments with China.
Obama must make the Affordable Care Act successful or he risks having a Lyndon Johnson-like legacy. L.B.J’s main legacy was Vietnam, which overshadowed his Administration’s establishment of Medicare and Medicaid.
All hail to nation’s “marketer-in-chief” – now let’s see him translate his point of view into successful policy and fewer unforced errors.
