When Obama ran for office, I had certain expectations for him. I expected that he'd get the economy growing again, and then give us a long run without another recession. I expected incomes would rise, poverty would fall, deficits would decline, the stock market would surge, and crime rates would come down. I expected that he'd keep us safe, while pulling us back from Bush's monumental blunders in Iraq and Afghanistan. I expected he wouldn't start another major war. I expected that he would help lead America back to a position of global respect. I expected that he would make moves to make our economy more carbon efficient, to address climate change. I expected he'd set a good example to our children, in the form of a dignified and hard-working leader. I had other hopes that were a bit of a long shot, like the hope that he would finally do something about our mass incarceration problem, after decades of rising incarceration rates (something not even Clinton managed, despite otherwise across-the-board improvements). I also hoped that he would manage to accomplish a lot economically without high inflation. And I hoped that he'd succeed where Clinton failed, in getting a major improvement in our healthcare system.
In retrospect, both my expectations and my hopes were fulfilled with Obama. Needless to say, I don't think many people who voted for him regretted it.
Bookmarks