http://washingtonexaminer.com/zogby-report-card-too-cautious-to-be-fdr-but-winning/article/2553708Zogby Report Card: Too cautious to be FDR, but winning
BY PAUL BEDARD | SEPTEMBER 20, 2014 | 6:00 AM
Pollster John Zogby reports in our weekly White House report card that President Obama isn’t anything like the Roosevelts in Ken Burns' television special but is steadily winning his big battles.
"For those who may be riveted — like me — by Ken Burns' new series on the Roosevelts, Barack Obama is not Theodore, Franklin nor Eleanor. Faced with overflowing cups of crises nationally and worldwide, the Roosevelts not only acted boldly but also defined their response in ways easily understood by the American people.
“Theodore fought the trusts and set aside land for moral reasons; Franklin battled and overcame the greatest depression and the catastrophe of a world challenged by the worst people in the world; and Eleanor triumphed over her personal feelings of inadequacy and her husband's betrayal to launch and define the struggles for the rights of women and minorities.
“Mr. Obama is far too cautious, too willing to let events and opinion dictate his responses. But he is still in the driver's seat and he is winning: this week he secured passage from both houses for his intent to incur a U.S. presence into Syria. Despite criticism by former and present military leaders, he has held his ground on the issue of no U.S. boots on ground in the Middle East.
“And despite a battering from right on Obamacare, evidence suggests that it is both working and that opponents (governors) are either getting on board or (GOP candidates) that they are now dropping opposition as part of their campaigns."
Grade — B
Repeat of last week’s B
