President Barack Obama is not President Franklin D. Roosevelt. And never will be. And I’m sure Japanese-Americans are pleased with that part. I’m so tired of people always trying to compare him with FDR or past presidents. He is nothing like them just like previous presidents are nothing like him. The comparison made by some between Barack Obama and FDR is just laughable considering that they both rose in two different eras. There is a reason why Barack Obama's name is Barack Obama and Franklin D. Roosevelt's name is Franklin D. Roosevelt. Because they are two different persons with different persona.
They don’t share the same history or past, for Barack Obama to be like FDR. Just like Presidents Clinton and Carter were different from FDR. Same for LBJ, JFK and Truman. They came from two opposite worlds. So it’s just ridiculous to sit here and expect for Barack Obama to be like someone who was born in 1882, rose in the 30s and died in 1945. The “Obama should be like FDR” meme is getting old already. He can’t be like FDR. And never will be. Because that isn’t what he is. FDR wasn’t a saint either. Just because many historians are singing his praises that doesn’t mean that he was perfect.
I’m sure that people wanting Obama to pull a FDR wouldn’t like him to start to intern Americans based on their ethnicity just like FDR did with Japanese-Americans. Right? Just like Obama, he had his shares of flaws as well. Flaws that could have been damaging for a primary if President FDR was president in our time. For example, He appointed Hugo Black to the US Supreme Court despite his ties with the Ku Klux Klan. He even faced a strong opposition within the Democrat Party when in his second term, FDR proposed a law allowing him to appoint up to six new justices because he didn’t like that the Supreme Court ruled one of his bills unconstitutional.
You have also to keep in mind that FDR was president in the 30s and Barack Obama is president in a modern era. The context was completely different from the one we are in now. Back then, FDR had four terms giving him plenty of time to accomplish as many projects as possible with a strong democrat presence in congress. President Obama also has less power than FDR used to have, I believe. If I recall correctly, Republicans later made sure to pass legislations limiting the President’s power. Unlike FDR, President Obama will only have one to two terms to implant changes with a weak democrat presence in congress.
Just like Ronald Reagan wouldn’t be able to win a GOP primary in 2011 because of his moderate stances, I doubt that (despite all the praises) FDR will be able to win a Democrat primary in 2011 based on his foreign policy stances or on his views on Presidential power. We are in two different eras. And we need to accept that.
Keeping comparing FDR to all recent democrat presidents is just as ridiculous as Republicans comparing every GOP presidents or Presidential candidates to their Saint Ronald Reagan. FDR was a great president in many instances and a man of his time. Nobody can deny it. He was perfectly fit for his era just like Ronald Reagan was fit for his time (if you’re republican). But we are in 2011, not in 1933 or 1981. President Barack Obama is a man of his own. He is not the new FDR nor the new JFK nor the new LBJ nor the new Carter nor the new Reagan nor the new Clinton. He is what he is. He is Barack Obama. I’m sure many voted for him because they knew that he would be like other past presidents.
President FDR was a great democrat president (if not the greatest) despite his flaws, just like the rest of the democrat presidents. Even President Bill Clinton, despite signing DADT or DOMA or NAFTA, turned out to be a good democrat president. And I’m sure that even if President Barack Obama isn’t the Ideal Progressive-Democrat president (He isn’t a progressive so don’t expect him to be the clone of Dennis Kucinich), he will be remembered for accomplishing some important parts of the Democratic Agenda.
As my sister says “I prefer a DINO president than a Real Republican President”. So you better be careful before screaming “I’m not going to vote in 2012”, because a President Romney won’t make progress concerning gay rights, abortion rights, health care or Social Security. And I don't even want to think about a President Bachman or President Perry.
President Barack Obama may not be like FDR but shares the same values: democrats’ values.
Maybe he isn’t the perfect President, maybe he isn’t the perfect democrat President but he is who he is. Only history will tell us if he was a great President or a bad President based on his legacy at the end of his one term or two terms if he is re-elected come November 2012.