Barack Obama was elected as the 44th president of the United States one year ago today. Residents in the Tampa Bay area shared their thoughts on Obama’s performance over his first year.
Last November 4, Obama beat McCain by 52 percent to 46 percent with nearly two-thirds of the Electoral College. Even with a Democratic congressional majority, Obama’s performance has met with mixed reviews. Marcy Goss from Tarpon springs expressed dissatisfaction with Obama’s performance thus far.
Tampa resident Chrystall explained why she believes Obama’s lengthy consideration for an increase in Afghan troops is worth the time.
Chrystall also said that Obama is standing strong on his campaign promise of bringing Universal healthcare to the US.
Local barista Lesheta Lellie thinks that Obama still deserves more time to fulfill his campaign promises, given the burden he has inherited from the prior administration.
Rob Beckett did not vote for Obama, but is impressed with his performance since his election.
USF professor of political science Kiki Caruson described how Obama’s campaign promise of universal healthcare has been delegated to congress.
While Obama may have initially been vague about healthcare, Caruson said that congress has played an important role in how this plan is formulated.
According to http://realclearpolitics.com, Obama had a 63% approval rating, with a 22% disapproval rating in January. Now, 10 months later, his approval ratings have plummeted to 51% with a disapproval rating of 44%. President Barack Obama visited a middle school in Madison, Wisconsin today, linking student test scores with teacher pay; offering an incentive of $5 billion in federal grants.
