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By HOWARD FINEMAN
JUST BECAUSE you beat Mitt
Romney — and John McCain before him — doesn’t mean you’re a
great president or even a particularly good one.
President Barack Obama has
proved to be brilliant at digital
organizing and winning elections.
But his presidency so far has been
less than meets the eye.
He has yet to improve the lives
and lot of average Americans; to
erect the edifices of health care and
banking reform; to enact immigration reform or implement strong
new environmental rules; to set a
consistent course for our role in the
world; or to soothe the corrosive
tone of public life in Washington.
Still, the public hasn’t abandoned him; he won a convincing
victory last November, after all.
A new Huffington Post/YouGov
poll shows voters modestly hopeful about his chances of being
more successful this time around;
a combined 64 percent of those
polled say they think he will accomplish as much or more in the
“Obama is in an unusually strong
position to deliver on the potential of
his second term — but only if he has
the will and wherewithal to turn ballotbox victory into real-life results.”
second term than he did in the
first term.
And, given the haplessness of
his Republican foes, Obama is in
an unusually strong position to deliver on the potential of his second
term — but only if he has the will
and wherewithal to turn ballotbox victory into real-life results.