The Left May Come to Loathe Obama

[Geee]

Commentary Magazine:

As we glide with trepidation into another presidential election year, the American mood might be best characterized as apprehensive. The right, which has for nearly seven years eagerly anticipated the last moments of Barack Obama’s presidency, is suddenly no longer certain that the next president could, at least, be no worse. Liberals, too, have their misgivings about the end of the Obama era; about Hillary Clinton, about the current president’s legacy, and about the stability of the electoral coalition Democrats cobbled together in the last two presidential elections. This is familiar territory. Conservative activists today generally regard George W. Bush as a well-meaning figure that nevertheless betrayed his party’s core supporters, deviated from ideological purity, and ultimately set their movement back. The notion that activist Democrats may soon similarly regard Obama seems on its face to be unfounded. After all, the president is entering 2016 with almost the same average job approval rating he took with him into 2015. The trajectory Barack Obama is on would appear roughly equivalent to that of popular former presidents like Bill Clinton. The indications are already clear, however, that Democrats will come to see Barack Obama’s presidency as a misguided failure – particularly if a Republican takes the White House in November.