Obama's Year-end Evaluation

I'm sure President Obama, in the snatches of quiet time he has, is trying to assess 2010 and his performance as president of the United States.

What will he find?
 - a revolutionary health care bill passed after mighty opposition in Congress and in the streets of America.
 - a jarring mid-term election that lost him a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives and reduced his Senate majority.
 - a December compromise with the Republican congressional leadership that netted him the middle class tax rate he so much wanted and a reduction in Social Security taxes for 2011.
 - a trip to India and Asia that led to some business deals and a warming of America's relationship with India.
 - a defiant proclamation from both North Korea and Iran that they will pursue their nuclear enrichment programs, no matter what Mr. Obama and the rest of the world thinks about it.

What did he pay for these sometimes victories?
 - the health care law is under attack in the federal courts and will almost certainly have some of its provisions related to individual and state mandates struck down. The US Supreme Court will most probably decide that the federal government reached beyond its constitutional rights when it forced taxes and payments onto individuals and states, without their consent or ability to change anything. This is a blow for a man who fancies himself a constitutional law expert. He should have known better, but his leftist view of the US Constitution got in the way. He thought he could ram through one more intrusion into the ground of constitutionally protected states' rights, all for the greater good, under the Commerce Clause. The courts will say "not so fast."
 - the mid-term election debacle was predicted far in advance and the President had time to soften it. But, he chose to rally support only for those Democratic candidates running in states which will be important in his own 2012 presidential re-election bid, if he chooses to run. This left middle America open territory for the conservative Tea Party movement that is spearheading the effort to turn the United States federal apparatus back into a manageable form with lower expenditures and more power sent back to state and local governments where it belongs under the Constitution. Obama will regret his selfish short sightedness.
 - the December tax compromise came at the expense of abandoning his own Democratic Party, hurt and bleeding after the rough mid-term losses. It almost seems that the President decided they were no longer useful for his goals, so he tossed them aside for the more fertile GOP ground. This is another mistake because the Democrat Party lives and dies with the left wing of American political thought. Obama may court and cosy up to the GOP and conservatives, but when the time to vote comes in 2012, they will head for the GOP barn and leave him outside in the cold.
 - India is polite to everyone, especially those who take time to visit her. But, a month after Obama's successful visit, Russia's Putin signed a deal with India that will include joint nuclear plant development for peaceful purposes and other commercial deals that out-shine Obama's. I hope he enjoyed his visit, because India is a marvelously unique sub-continent, but he was out-classed by the Russians, who have always been the "friend" of India.
 - The nuclear problems thrust onto the world's plate by North Korea and Iran are not solely the fault or the responsibility of Mr. Obama. But, if he had the guts to be tougher, and the commitment to spend the time required to build a real world coalition, he might make a difference. He has shown neither propensity so far.

The team he favored lost the NCAA basketball national championship, but hey, we won't hold that against him, will we.