As Sarah Palin once infamously said:
How's that hopey changey stuff workin' out for ya?
Well, Madame Quitter, quite well, thanks.
In September 2008, before Barack Obama was even elected, I was laid off from my job due to a contracting economy in freefall. The stimulus had yet to kick in, and we were bleeding jobs all across the United States at an alarming rate.
I was able to get by over the next few months with EDD (unemployment insurance) benefits, as well as selling some possessions. I had to move out of my reasonably expensive (but not hugely so) apartment downtown and move in with a friend temporarily, after which I had to rent a room in a house out in the sticks (a nice neighborhood in the suburbs, but, from my perspective, in the sticks, far away from the vibrant urban center where I had enjoyed living for five years).
In May 2009, I was fortunate enough and qualified enough, to get another job in the same profession with a decent wage. It even had somewhat decent health insurance as part of it. I still have that job today, and have had uninterrupted health coverage since then.
So, yes, I personally have done well. My story is not nearly universal, but neither is it unique. The stock market has climbed back to historic highs under Barack Obama's stewardship, so many members of the 1% (and some below them in income, who have pensions that invest in stocks) have made out remarkably well. Unemployment has gone down to some extent. In certain states, like Ohio, it has dropped to 6%, a level near that prior to The Great Recession. Is it any wonder that Obama's approval rating has jumped up in Ohio based polls?
If this election is all about The Economy, Stupid, as the Romney campaign has contended for so long, there are many, many people who simply will not agree with the narrative that they have suffered under Barack Obama's adminstration. There are certainly some who will agree with that contention, and rightfully so, in their particular cases. But those people are not sufficient in number to win an election.
Beyond the simple selfish considerations of economic matters, there are plenty of accomplishments that a person could point to as hallmarks of the first Obama term. Repeal of DADT, Lilly Ledbetter, ACA, and others. This list may not be as extensive as some had expected, or, appropriately, hoped. But looked at on its own terms, and compared to other Presidential adminstrations' lists of accomplishments, it IS damned impressive.
He promised hope and change.
He delivered change. No doubt about that. And me, I surely do have hope. I can't possibly feel any other way about a second term.
Always satisfying when a marketing slogan turns out to be right on the money.
