What I Like About Obama: His Long List of Practical Improvements

I have been wrestling with this post for some days because the list of Pres. Obama's practical achievements is so long, I have not known just which ones to lift up in a short post.  Here is one fairly current list, of many.

And the list itself is only half the story. Obama has succeeded as a practical reformer.  He is not the radical that either extreme paints him to be - and never was. 

He campaigned and government as a practical reformer. And in his first term, especially in his first two-year Congress, he had a list of achievements that only Roosevelt and Johnson can compare to in the past century. In his second two-year Congress he has continued to achieve practical good, especially in foreign affairs, despite an opposition party that is publicly committed to opposing him no matter what effect that has on the country.

Jonathan Chait makes the practical, moderate case for Obama very well.  I particularly like this summary:

"Obama can boast a record of accomplishment that bests any president since Roosevelt, and has fewer demerits on his record than any of them, including Roosevelt."

What I Like About Obama: Everyone is Better Off Than They Were Four Years Ago - Except bin Laden

The world economic system was collapsing in 2008, as the Bush administration waited to expire. They bailed out the mortgage banks, but not the mortgage holders.  They were ready to let the auto industry die, as Gov. Romney explicitly argued at the time.

The Obama administration acted quickly to save the banking system. They saved the auto industry. They stimulated the economy, as much as the intransigent Republican leaders would allow. They could have created jobs, which would have done the most to stimulate the economy, but the Republicans chose to cut jobs instead.

Four years later, the economy is steadily recovering. The auto industry is thriving. The banking industry is thriving.  Even housing is starting to come back.

Everyone benefits from this recovery.

Thanks to President Obama, GM is alive, and bin Laden is dead.