3billion - Scholastic

suspects and illegal domestic wiretapping, to the invasion of
Iraq—that hurt America’s image around the world.
But “undoing the damage”—the theme of this White
House—is quite tricky, whether it’s foreign affairs or repairing
the nation’s economy. And now that the new President is no
longer so new, he can’t afford to complain that every problem
is one he inherited.
“When a President tries new policies to deal with old problems
and then new policies appear to be failed policies, then he
owns it,’’ says George C. Edwards III, a presidential scholar at
Texas A&M University. “That’s the challenge for a President.’’
Obama’s biggest success and best grades so far go to his
management of the economy, and even there he has yet to
turn the corner. The country is still in a recession with unem-
ployment around 10 percent, the highest level in decades.
But the banks that Obama rescued—with huge injections of
taxpayer funds that many of his critics decried as socialism—
did not fail as many feared. Several have even paid back their
bailout money early. And public investment restored confidence
that the government would not let key financial institutions collapse,
which has since begun to lure back private investors.
10 Upfront • Upfrontmagazine.com
resilient to face those future crises that inevitably await us.’’
FDR didn’t have to face one of Obama’s other big challenges:
Restoring America’s image abroad—particularly in the Muslim
world, where attitudes toward the U.S. were at a low point
when he took office. Obama has put a great deal of effort into
this area. The first TV interview he did from the White House
was for an Arabic-language news channel, and he sent Iranians
a Persian New Year greeting in March. He visited Turkey in
April, citing the Koran in his speech to the Parliament. And in
June, he went to Cairo, Egypt, and gave a major address aimed
at finding common ground with Muslims worldwide.
He seems to have made progress. But while many in the
Muslim world love the messenger, they continue to question the
message. “Egyptians still think that this one-of-a-kind American
iran: Protesting the results of the presidential election north Korea: Hostile, unpredictable, and nuclear? iraq: Can iraqis maintain security as the u.S. steps back?
President can do great things,’’ wrote Egyptian author Alaa Al
Aswany after the speech. “Young Egyptians’ admiration for
America is offset by frustration with American foreign policy.”
Much of the enthusiasm overseas for Obama stems from his
historic role as America’s first black President—a fact that has
touched off debate, from France to Southeast Asia, about whether
other countries could elect a minority as their head of state.
Add to that Obama’s extraordinary gift for communication.
If Roosevelt soothed a jittery nation with his fireside chats,
Obama has helped restore confidence by carefully explaining
his policies and candidly discussing America’s shortcomings.
And whether he’s filling out his NCAA bracket on ESPN or
dashing out of the White House to grab lunch at Ben’s Chili
Bowl in Washington, the President projects an air of calm
and confidence. What’s more, his young, attractive family has
brought some glamour back to the White House.
Whatever his successes so far, the President’s in-box is still
IRAQ)
IMAGES AL-RUBAYE/AFP/GETTY AHMAD
anOtHeR fdR?
(KOREA);
Will that be enough? President Franklin D. Roosevelt is
credited with leading the country out of its worst economic
crisis, the Great Depression. Can Obama steer the nation out
NEWS/REUTERS
of the Great Recession?
KYODO
“To warrant comparisons with Roosevelt,’’ writes Stanford
(IRAN);
historian David M. Kennedy, “he will be judged not simply on
whether he manages a rescue from the current economic crisis,
IMAGES
but also on whether he grasps the opportunity to make us more GETTY