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During the presidential transition, Brookings scholars wrote a series of policy recommendations in 12 memos to incoming President Barack Obama. In January 2010, one year into the new presidency, our experts rated the progress of the new administration on those same issues in The Status Report, a series of daily commentary and video.
Each of the items below provides an assessment of President Obama's performance in light of recommendations made during the Presidential Transition.
Darrell West, January 4, 2010
Darrell M. West gives President Obama a B+ on his ability to reposition government as a solution rather than a problem and for making good progress in a situation of extreme political polarization and unusually large policy challenges.
William J. Antholis and Charles K. Ebinger , January 5, 2010
William Antholis and Charles Ebinger give President Obama a B+ on taking mostly positive steps internationally, but some missteps domestically, on building a secure energy future for the United States.
Ron Haskins and Isabel V. Sawhill , January 6, 2010
Isabel V. Sawhill and Ron Haskins give President Obama a composite score of B-, applauding his fast action to create more opportunity in the recession but questioning the fiscal sustainability of the safety net.
William Gale and Benjamin Harris , January 7, 2010
William Gale and Benjamin Harris give the administration a B, for their handling of tax and fiscal policy in meeting the challenges of the global economic crisis. However, they remain concerned in the lack of progress on efforts to reform the tax and fiscal system.
Noam Unger, January 8, 2010
Noam Unger gives the administration a B- for its record of leadership in global development. Unger says that improved effectiveness in this area would help reduce global poverty, support the emergence of more capable partners and mitigate transnational threats.
Karen Dynan and Martin Neil Baily, January 11, 2010
Karen Dynan and Martin Baily give the Obama administration an A- in its effort to restore U.S. economic confidence, offering credit for deft handling of the economic crisis but raising questions about whether the president has laid the foundation for sustained growth.
Vanda Felbab-Brown, January 12, 2010
Vanda Felbab-Brown gives President Obama a B for laying out the right strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan but doing it too late in 2009 to stem the insurgency, corruption and apathy.
Martin Indyk and Kenneth Pollack, January 13, 2010
Martin Indyk and Kenneth M. Pollack give the president an overall grade of B for confronting big challenges in a region that includes Iraq, Iran, terrorism in Yemen, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. That reflects an A for effort, they say, and a C for results that have so far not matched the promise of the administration’s ambitious agenda.
Kemal Dervis and Eswar Prasad, January 14, 2010
Kemal Dervis and Eswar Prasad give President Obama a B+ for what the new administration accomplished on global economic policy during the crisis, but temper the high grade with an incomplete for the big tasks that lie ahead, partly the result of problems created by the very policies that got us out of the crisis.
Bruce Katz and Robert Puentes, January 15, 2010
Bruce Katz and Robert Puentes give the president and his administration an A- for boosting infrastructure spending and for initiating policy reforms and innovations in the first year. On the bigger effort to rebuild American prosperity, however, they feel that the work is, thus far, incomplete.
Steven Pifer and Strobe Talbott, January 19, 2010
Steven Pifer and Strobe Talbott give President Obama an A- in tackling the transnational threats posed by nuclear proliferation, the arms race with Russia, and climate change. They are taking into account the difficulties that Obama faces in four respects: the sheer magnitude and complexity of the agenda, a difficult Russian negotiating partner, the burden of the Bush legacy of unilateralism, and the intensity of political opposition.
Henry J. Aaron, January 20, 2010
Because Congress has not yet enacted legislation to reform health care, Henry Aaron assigns a grade of ‘incomplete’ on this issue, noting that history will judge the president depending on whether the effort succeeds or fails in the long run.
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