Andrew Sullivan on Obama So Far

Conservative commentator Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic on Barack Obama's presidency so far.

It looks to me like relentless, detailed, reasonable pragmatism. It is what I hoped for. The Geithner package is neither right nor left: it's about solving the problem within the existing structures as far as possible. Will it work? I cannot know. But it is not dividing one half of the country against another; it is resisting the most radical and irreversible move; it is part of an entire package designed to move the world economy out of a dangerous abyss; if it fails, nationalization remains a list-ditch option. I see it as a good faith effort, and prepared meticulously in the time-table dictated by the crisis and simple human competence - not a political product to be wheeled out as marketing. It is a serious project that the president asks us to keep close track of and for which he will remain accountable. What more can we ask for at this point?

Sullivan expresses understandable concerns about the effect Obama's spending plans will have on our deficit and urges us all to hold the President accountable. In a refreshing change, Obama is asking for the same thing from us.

--Ballard Burgher