A McClatchy Newspapers article about the lame duck session of the 111^th Congress quoted one of my favorite historians, H. W. Brands from the University of Texas at Austin. Brands has written biographies of Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Jackson and Franklin Roosevelt as well as an excellent Texas History, “Lone Star Nation.” He says:

“There’s no way you can credibly say anybody could have delivered more. Obama to me is basically a centrist, a pragmatist.”

Sure doesn’t sound like the guy you hear about on Rupert’s news channel, does it. I’ve long thought that a good president is one who pisses people off on both sides of the aisle. Well, I’ll give him that. I wanted out of Iraq and Afghanistan, single-payer healthcare, re-regulation of Wall Street and a carbon tax. He has delivered none of those things, maybe because they’re impossible today. Maybe next year, or the next term..