President Obama might want to take a page from former New York Mayor Ed Koch and ask, “How am I doin’?”
Then again, maybe not. He might not like what he hears.
History News Network, a website for professional historians, asked the question anyway, and the results are back: The president gets a B-.
Asked to grade Obama’s performance as president, on a scale of A-to-F, 203 American historians from 56 “top colleges and universities” gave him the B-, with his highest marks for “communication ability” (A-) and his lowest for “relationship with Congress” (C).
“Barack Obama was a promising presidential candidate and possesses sterling personal leadership qualities, but his administration has merely been adequate in delivering results,” say the editors of the website, summing up their admittedly unscientific poll results. “The most highly-praised achievement of President Obama’s first term, the Affordable Care Act, was acknowledged in comments by many participants, but nevertheless many expressed disappointment that it did not go far enough.”
The only aspect of Obama’s presidency for which he received universal praise from historians was his Supreme Court appointments. He got rave reviews for putting Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor on the Court.
We’re gonna guess this crowd leans left.
The poll was conducted beginning in April, so views of his performance, especially after his rocky road in the Syrian crisis, may have changed.
Check out how Obama did on all 16 performance measures.
