The constant back and forth of pro- or anti-Obama diaries is growing tiresome. I generally consider myself a supporter, but not completely without reservations.
I do not support, for instance, his primary and secondary education policy in the form of Race to the Top. Whatever reservations he has about testing, he and Secretary Duncan have shifted education in that direction. At the same time, the student loan reform that was passed as part of the HCR reconciliation bill will save college students and the federal government a lot of money.
I do not know what we are doing in Afghanistan, so it's hard to support the quasi-surge there.
I do not support the decision to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed in a military court.
But, on balance, I think he's done a very good job. Health Care and Financial reform are admittedly incomplete but good starts. On the tax cut deal he cut with John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, there was plenty of good to go along with the bad, and, what is more, he didn't have much of a choice. (And other than some monday morning quarterbacking, I don't hear much about how, specifically, to get a better deal.)
I am proud of the recent steps he's taken to build multilateral support for limited intervention in Libya.
I am proud of today's veto threat, even if it means a government shutdown, as that's better than an unacceptable deal.
I am proud of the nominations of Justices Sotomayor and Kagan, and I admit a lot of my skepticism about the latter, in particular, seems unwarranted.
I am proud of the face of America he presents to the world.
And the GOP scares the crap out of me.
But the larger point is that I am not afraid to criticize or praise without going to extremes or demonizing those with different points of view (even though I do have a tendency to sarcasm). So, here's a challenge:
Supporters of President Obama (and you know who you are), say something he's done you disagree with. Opponents of President Obama (and you know who you are), say something he's done you support.
Maybe this can take the temperature down. And if you can't come up with one or the other, you are pitiable.