Obama needs to reconnect with the American people

I voted for President Barack Obama with a great deal of enthusiasm and hope for the future like many other Americans. Although I still support the President and still hope that his administration will advance a progressive agenda, I have to say that I have been disappointed by the President’s seemingly unwillingness to fight for such an agenda. He seems to predisposed to compromise and to look over his shoulders at his right-wing critics.

The American people want a President who seems to stand for something and to fight for those goals. The President must articulate a vision of where he wants to take the country but he can’t or shouldn’t try to be all things to all people. There is no question but that the biggest mistake this past year by the administration was to focus so heavily on healthcare reform.

While such reform is much needed especially covering the millions of uninsured, the fact is that the President didn’t seem to realize that was not where most Americans were in a steeply declining economy. Most were concerned about their jobs and their declining wages. This is what President Roosevelt understood when he took office in the midst of the Great Depression. This is what President Obama failed to understand in the midst of the Great Recession. Hopefully, the administration will shift priorities and reconnect with the American people.