How Is He Doing?

From Andrew Sullivan at Atlantic:
"I remain...extremely bullish on the guy. There is a huge amount to come - finding a way to bring down long-term debt, ensuring health insurance reform stays on track and reformed constantly to control costs, turning the corner on non-carbon energy, reforming entitlements, finding a new revenue stream like a VAT, preventing Israel from attacking Iran, preventing Iran's coup regime from going even roguer, withdrawing from an Iraq still teetering on new sectarian conflict, avoiding a second downturn, closing Gitmo for good, ending the gay ban in the military ... well, you get the picture.

Change of this magnitude is extremely hard. That it is also frustrating, inadequate, compromised, flawed, and beset with bribes and trade-offs does not, in my mind, undermine it. Obama told us it would be like this - and it is. And those who backed him last year would do better, to my mind, if they appreciated the difficulty of this task and the diligence and civility that Obama has displayed in executing it.

Yes, we have. And yes, we still are the ones we've been waiting for - if we still care enough to swallow purism and pride and show up for the less emotionally satisfying grind of real, practical, incremental reform."
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/12/meep-meep.html

TW: It is never easy, never has been, never will. In talking to my more independently minded friends, most of whom voted for Obama but also had voted for W. Bush at least once; I get the feeling they agree with the sentiments above. Who else would be doing better given the circumstances? Certainly no visible Republican. His opponents are loud and obnoxious but loud and obnoxious is just that.