I Miss Barack Obama David Brooks FEB. 9, 2016 As this primary season has gone along, a strange sensation has come over me: I miss Barack Obama. Now, obviously I disagree with a lot of Obama’s policy decisions. I’ve been disappointed by aspects of his presidency. I hope the next presidency is a philosophic departure. But over the course of this campaign it feels as if there’s been a decline in behavioral standards across the board. Many of the traits of character and leadership that Obama possesses, and that maybe we have taken too much for granted, have suddenly gone missing or are in short supply. The first and most important of these is basic integrity. The Obama administration has been remarkably scandal-free. Think of the way Iran-contra or the Lewinsky scandals swallowed years from Reagan and Clinton. We’ve had very little of that from Obama. He and his staff have generally behaved with basic rectitude. Hillary Clinton is constantly having to hold these defensive press conferences when she’s trying to explain away some vaguely shady shortcut she’s taken, or decision she has made, but Obama has not had to do that. He and his wife have not only displayed superior integrity themselves, they have mostly attracted and hired people with high personal standards. There are all sorts of unsightly characters floating around politics, including in the Clinton camp and in Gov. Chris Christie’s administration. This sort has been blocked from team Obama. Second, a sense of basic humanity. Donald Trump has spent much of this campaign vowing to block Muslim immigration. You can only say that if you treat Muslim Americans as an abstraction. President Obama, meanwhile, went to a mosque, looked into people’s eyes and gave a wonderful speech reasserting their place as Americans. He’s exuded this basic care and respect for the dignity of others time and time again. Let’s put it this way: Imagine if Barack and Michelle Obama joined the board of a charity you’re involved in. You’d be happy to have such people in your community. Could you say that comfortably about Ted Cruz? The quality of a president’s humanity flows out in the unexpected but important moments. Third, a soundness in his decision-making process. Over the years I have spoken to many members of this administration who were disappointed that the president didn’t take their advice. But those disappointed staffers almost always felt that their views had been considered in depth. Obama’s basic approach is to promote his values as much as he can within the limits of the situation. Bernie Sanders, by contrast, has been so blinded by his values that the reality of the situation does not seem to penetrate his mind. Take health care. Passing Obamacare was a mighty lift that led to two gigantic midterm election defeats. As Megan McArdle pointed out in her Bloomberg View column, Obamacare took coverage away from only a small minority of Americans. Sanderscare would take employer coverage away from tens of millions of satisfied customers, destroy the health insurance business and levy massive new tax hikes. This is epic social disruption. To think you could pass Sanderscare through a polarized Washington and in a country deeply suspicious of government is to live in intellectual fairyland. President Obama may have been too cautious, especially in the Middle East, but at least he’s able to grasp the reality of the situation. Fourth, grace under pressure. I happen to find it charming that Marco Rubio gets nervous on the big occasions — that he grabs for the bottle of water, breaks out in a sweat and went robotic in the last debate. It shows Rubio is a normal person. And I happen to think overconfidence is one of Obama’s great flaws. But a president has to maintain equipoise under enormous pressure. Obama has done that, especially amid the financial crisis. After Saturday night, this is now an open question about Rubio. Continue reading the main story Fifth, a resilient sense of optimism. To hear Sanders or Trump, Cruz and Ben Carson campaign is to wallow in the p*rnography of pessimism, to conclude that this country is on the verge of complete collapse. That’s simply not true. We have problems, but they are less serious than those faced by just about any other nation on earth. People are motivated to make wise choices more by hope and opportunity than by fear, cynicism, hatred and despair. Unlike many current candidates, Obama has not appealed to those passions. No, Obama has not been temperamentally perfect. Too often he’s been disdainful, aloof, resentful and insular. But there is a tone of ugliness creeping across the world, as democracies retreat, as tribalism mounts, as suspiciousness and authoritarianism take center stage. Obama radiates an ethos of integrity, humanity, good manners and elegance that I’m beginning to miss, and that I suspect we will all miss a bit, regardless of who replaces him. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/09/opinion/i-miss-barack-obama.html
Excellent article, I do not think Obama is a great president, but he is an above average president. I sure hope he is not replace by crazies like Ted Cruz or Donald Trump or Sanders(the liberal version of crazy). Hillary maybe shady, but she is at least sane and competent. If it has to be a Republican, I pray it is someone like Christie or Kasich.
...or Obama is just really good at keeping things close to the vest and out of the public eye, something that the winning candidate will probably have an easier time with once the fierce competition of the campaign is over. (Well, maybe not Trump)
Not a bad piece and agree with much of it. I will though point out that if Brooks is going to take a swipe at the Clintons and defend the Obama Admin. that Hillary Clinton was part of his Admin.. I still stand by that the Obama Admin. has been good but not great. I give him tons of credit for helping to shepherd the country out of recession, finally getting some sort of national health care reform passed and continuing to keep the country going when it seems like Congress is more interested in closing it down. That said his style is often too aloof and detached and while this comes off as coolness under crisis it also hasn't helped him connect with the country as a whole and also deal with many of the highly charged emotional issues that has plagued his time in office. Also his for someone who came in to office largely as a rebuke to the Neo-Con world view of the previous admin. it does seem like he often lacks a clear vision of what his foreign and national security policy is. He clearly recognizes the complexity of the World and is trying to deal with it which is refreshing compared to the prior 8 years but at the same time I don't think he's articulated a very clear vision for both the US and the World even as he's kept many aspects of the Bush Admin. in place. I've been reading back some of the stuff that I was saying about Obama in 2008 and during the primaries I was critical of him as that little was really known about him. He certainly hasn't turned out to be the disaster that many said he would be but he definitely hasn't been the transformative President that his ardent supporters thought he should be. It was a mistake to think that he could be and I think that those, particularly liberals, who have been expressing buyer's remorse over Obama should've have been surprised that vague campaign rhetoric often falls flat when it meets the reality of trying to deal with a hostile Congress and running a superpower. This is one thing I agree with Brooks and give props to Obama. Obama learned quickly about what was possible and showed that he really wanted to get stuff done rather than just hope for things to change. He didn't count on his personal charisma or believe that he really was heading a revolution that would sweep away the GOP and others as many of his supporters thought. Instead he got into the messy and complicated dealing of getting legislation passed and governing. If Sanders wins I'm guessing this will be a lesson that he and his supporters will find out too.
Based on the numbers he has been a great president. If he had passed universal healthcare he would have been GOAT.
Does anyone still consider David Brooks a conservative? Anyway, most of the people who will vote for Ted Cruz or Donald Trump in this cycle will strongly disagree with Mr. Brooks' position that Obama has been scandal free.
I only followed him since ~2010 and I remember he was always like this. I think he very much admire Obama the person, but of course not the ideology. And I was typing this up when I saw your post --- "I knew it. David Brooks is a closet Democrat (and so is pretty much all RINO)."
Yes, like Rahm Emanuel - the kingpin of Chicago's most corrupt organized crime family. This revisionist piece is pretty high on idealism and low on actual historical reality. Sure, Obama may be a dignified man with good moral integrity and values, but his judgement comes into question when he picks a guy like Rahm for the most important position in his administration.
Me too. :/ Going to be a downgrade either way. Maybe Clinton will get indicted and Biden will step in at the convention.
Haha, well Rahm Emanuel has had a lot of trouble as Chicago Mayor recently no doubt, but an allusion to his prior career as a head of an organized crime family is pretty awesome- here I thought he was more or less a legislator/political operator prior. Do tell the story of Rahmbo's rise to Boss of the South Side Mafia
8 year of presidency, time for a change. Those qualities make him a guy you want to live next door to.
Not fair to say just Obama, John McCain and to an extent even Mitt Romney are completely different from this bunch---had they ben elected.. Its sad to see this circus.
Hah! "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him." --Brutus, Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene II
I hold much respect for McCain for refusing to stoop to the depths some Republican strategists wanted him to go to win the presidency. Never was one for his Maverick Myth, but he was a solid maverick on that one. Anyway, this election is a worldwide joke. The Republican field is just an embarrassment.
Not sure why it matters here. He could be Obama's sister and the article would be just as valid. It's funny though that David Brooks' name can no longer be published without someone following up that he's not a true conservative.
It's just unfortunate that Obama happens to be black because that is the only thing that is stopping him of being unanimously recognized as a great president.
