Inside Obama's Presidency - Essay Example

Inside Obama’s Presidency President Obama did not have it easy in the first term. A lot was expected from him by the electorate. Having completed the first term, the Frontline went into analyzing Obama’s first four years and how he had performed. This paper is an analysis of Obama’s performance.The first challenge that Obama faced was the depreciating economy and the loss of jobs. To deal with this, he had to work with the republicans. Using the package of $800 billion, he had to work on what the republicans loved; tax cuts.

This, unfortunately, did not work as they could not agree with him.The second challenge was the huge bonuses awarded as compensation to the banks; .the public was angry. When Obama met with the top banks C.E.O’s, most people expected that he would take on a hard approach against them, but this was not the case to the dismay of many. The banks seemed to have gotten it all on silver Plata.Another challenge was the reforms on the health care. Again he tried to take a bipartisan approach, but there came the problem; dealing with the congress that often slows down processes.

The republicans were on his case: they did not vote for the motion.When faced with the issue of terrorism and handling Osama Bin Laden, he had to make the verdict to send U.S troops to Iraq. Leon Panetta, the CIA director, had information that Osama lived in a compound in Pakistan. The American troops went for the raid, and that reported that Osama had been killed.Another obstacle came which Obama had not foreseen. During the mid-term elections, his party lost to the republicans. Most of his supporters had been ousted, and he now had to take another approach to get things done.

To take care of the debt crisis, he met John Boehner, who let him down when he needed him the most.My Reflection on the ScriptTo Obama it seemed that he had total confidence in his governance. He was so sure that his bipartisan approach would work. But if we would gauge his performance on this, I’d say that he was not successful. In all instances, he had to look for a second option. For example, looking at the stimulus bill, it passed without the votes from the republicans. Clearly, his promise to offer bipartisan solutions did not see the light of day.

This was not because he was not willing to do so, but because the republicans were not ready to cooperate.From the first term’s performance, Obama tried too much to change how things worked: he had too many expectations that there wouldn’t be politics. He ought to have taken it as it is. In politics, everybody tries to be better than their opponents for the future. This became clear when his party members lost. Throughout the period, the republicans were selling their ideas.His fight against terrorism was applauded and criticized in equal measure.

Some did not believe that indeed Osama was killed. The stern decision that he took in this issue, I would say, is what was required. He had promised to fight against terrorism, and he did his best. The biggest obstacle he faced was the republicans who had their own interests at heart rather than thinking about the American people. This was unfortunate and in his second term, Obama has to device a way of fulfilling his promises to the Americans.Work Cited “Inside Obama’s Presidency.” PBS. PBS. n.d Web. 2014http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/inside-obamas-presidency/