In the aftermath of Tuesday’s Massachusetts election, today’s
anniversary of President Obama’s inauguration has been all but
overloooked in the media, although some did start their analysis early,
like The Economist suggesting it’s time for Obama to get tough, after a year of
being….just adequate. And not altogether consistent with his promises.

“Mr Obama came to power proclaiming an end “to the petty
grievances…that for far too long have strangled our politics” and to
“the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long”. By
electing him, he said, Americans chose “unity of purpose over conflict
and discord”. Alas, this was balderdash.”

And MSNBC says one year on, Americans are skeptical.

“When Barack Obama entered office, the expectations that he and others set for his presidency couldn’t have been higher…

“But as Obama wraps up his first full year in office, the American
public has grown increasingly skeptical over his promises to change
Washington and his “yes-we-can” agenda, according to the latest NBC
News/Wall Street Journal poll.

“A plurality of Americans believe his health care overhaul is a bad
idea; fewer than one in five are satisfied with the economy; just 30
percent give him good marks on changing business as usual in
Washington; and a majority think he has accomplished “very little” or
“only some” of his goals over the past 12 months.”

Here’s how hope and change has evolved in that time, manifested most visually
in the stunning upset in Massachusetts placing Scott Brown in a seat
occupied by a Kennedy for over 50 years.

“Independents, who appeared to swing for Mr. Brown in Massachusetts,
tend to be more anti-incumbent than anti-Democrat. A new Wall Street
Journal/NBC poll shows nearly six in 10 independent voters think it’s
time to “give a new person a chance” rather than re-elect their
representatives. About half of all voters feel that way.”

One year into the Obama presidency. It’s been a tough year for everybody.