Obama's presidential leadership and early policy achievements

Presidential Leadership Issues

Difficulty of the Task at Hand

The tasks facing President Obama when he assumed office were monumental: the nation was heavily committed militarily in two foreign theatres and the nation was on the verge of a serious economic depression. The previous presidential administration left office with the nation facing a $1 trillion national deficit, the largest in proportion to the economy since World War II; and the political climate in Washington was heavy with dogmatic partisan biases, minimal bipartisan cooperation, predominant influence from special interest lobbyists, and a seeming never-ending list of major ethical transgressions on the part of publicly elected officials.

Some of President Obama's stated objectives in taking office related to addressing those issues; others had to do with equally important national concerns such as improving the education system, reforming the national healthcare system that threatens to bankrupt the nation, and reversing various unwise decisions of the previous presidential administration, such as with respect to the personal civil rights of gays and lesbians and to federal restrictions on stem cell research.

Leadership Characteristics

In some respects, the capitulation of President Obama to Republican demands demonstrate a lack of leadership, particularly where bipartisan support would not have been necessary, irrespective of the fact that bipartisanism may very well be desirable in principal.

To be fair, it is difficult to know with any certainty how much of the President's obvious reluctance to make the fullest use of the political capital at his disposal in the form of Democratic control of Congress. Without the benefit of knowing the President's mind, it would seem that he may be relying too heavily on elements of charismatic leadership when the nation needs him to assert more control for the benefit of the people regardless of possible perceptions about giving up too soon on his pledge of bipartisanship. Finally, in some respects, the President's initial choices for several cabinet positions could also be ascribed to lack of leadership, only in that the President's commitment to ethics in government should have prevented the embarrassing nomination of individuals who had failed to pay federal taxes. Ultimately, the leader is responsible for ensuring against such failures.