Obama: I’d give myself a B+; Update: Video added
posted at 11:36 am on December 14, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
The problem that has afflicted Academia for decades has now moved to the White House: grade inflation. When Oprah Winfrey asked Barack Obama to grade his first year in office, to which Obama replied, a “good, solid B-plus.” Jake Tapper covers the story for ABC, while a local Fox affiliate in Rhode Island has a good roundtable discussion. Click the first image to watch:
On her Christmas in Washington special on ABC last night, Oprah Winfrey asked President Obama to grade himself.
“Good, solid B-plus,” the president said.
Explaining, he said, “we have inherited the biggest set of challenges of any president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
“We stabilized the economy, and prevented possibilities of a Great Depression or a significant financial meltdown. The economy is growing again.
“We are on our way out of Iraq. I think we’ve got the best possible plan for Afghanistan.
“We have reset our image around the world.["]
First, as one of the commentators notes in the clip, Obama doesn’t get to grade himself. That comes from the electorate, which will use the academically-nicknamed midterm elections as its first opportunity to grade Obama and his agenda. So far, the indications are that Obama is about to get a big failure notice, and the march of Democratic retirement suggests that some of Obama’s school buddies are already aware of that.
If anything, Obama gets an incomplete. His legislative agenda is still stuck at his first project, health-care reform. Obama himself has basically shoved responsibility for this shared project onto his lab partners Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, showing up only to do classroom presentations and hog the credit. Cap-and-trade has fallen off the table altogether. And only belatedly did Obama return to the issue that most concerns his actual graders, jobs.
And on math, Obama gets a big, red F. After all, it was his team that missed the 10-year deficit projection by over 22% and two trillion dollars. His Porkulus project was supposed to result in limiting unemployment to 8%, and his estimate that it would reach as high as 9% without out the stimulus turned out to be wildly incorrect.
Hot Air readers are more qualified to grade Obama than Obama himself. After all, he works for all of us. What kind of grade would you give Obama?
Update: Added the link to the video clip from the interview, courtesy of Mediaite and Allahpundit.
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He’s used to affirmative action grading scales.
SouthernGent on December 14, 2009 at 11:39 AM
What a Joke.
Firebird on December 14, 2009 at 11:39 AM
A smart man would have said that’s a question for the voters to answer, and that only a man with a swollen ego would presume to grade himself.
President Obama said B+.
BadgerHawk on December 14, 2009 at 11:39 AM
“present”
D2Boston on December 14, 2009 at 11:40 AM
B-plus = More than Bad.
Steve Z on December 14, 2009 at 11:40 AM
All of you called him a narcissist and this just demonstrates how humble he is.
Seriously, worst unemployment in decades, quadrupling of the federal deficit, and the fastest slipping in presidential approval index history, what does it take to get an A in his mind?
jukin on December 14, 2009 at 11:40 AM
Obambi: Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way…
Steve Z on December 14, 2009 at 11:41 AM
Flunks economics and still our dear reader says
Using the Tiger Woods model, and applying it to economics, Tiger says if he only had five more hos he could make amends with the wifey.
tarpon on December 14, 2009 at 11:42 AM
I agree. Signature legislation stuck in the first draft phase of completion.
ted c on December 14, 2009 at 11:42 AM
Well he had to hide some of his AWSOMENESS to make more people believe it.
eye roll
sonofdy on December 14, 2009 at 11:42 AM
If we liken the electorate to a college professor, a 44% rating is a failing grade.
Liam on December 14, 2009 at 11:43 AM
You know what I find exceptionally scary? The fact that he actually believes himself. Truly deep down, he believes that he has accomplished this stuff.
Johnnyreb on December 14, 2009 at 11:43 AM
That is why he gave himself a B+. He says if he had accomplished this already he would be an A. I’m going to go throw up now.
sammypants on December 14, 2009 at 11:44 AM
Hey Barry, can we see your Harvard transcripts? Please?
PimFortuynsGhost on December 14, 2009 at 11:44 AM
Isn’t that about the same grade that Bill O’Reilly gave him?
Hmmmmm….
UltimateBob on December 14, 2009 at 11:44 AM
He never ceases to amaze.
Seriously, Mr. President. When you’ve got the job, the time for campaigning is OVER. Drop the BS already.
bridgetown on December 14, 2009 at 11:44 AM
I’d give him an A++ if he would resign.
VegasRick on December 14, 2009 at 11:44 AM
Ah, but most important is his Citizenship grade. Does he get an E, an S, or a U for crowing “We won” within days of taking office? Somehow, I think the people he thinks he won against may well have the say on that.
unclesmrgol on December 14, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Not only should he get an “F”, he should be jailed for trashing and blowing up the entire effing school.
TXUS on December 14, 2009 at 11:45 AM
wow, even simplesimon could only manage a C for the Chairman. And the rest of the Axelturfers here gave him a D–hahahahahaha
james23 on December 14, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Did you happen to catch the quick reaction & look on Oprah’s face?!?!?!
THAT – says it all.
singlemalt_18 on December 14, 2009 at 11:45 AM
If Obama is trying to destroy the country, then I agree with him. He gets a solid B+. Obamacare will undoubtedly destroy the country totally so he will definitely have an A if it passes.
MobileVideoEngineer on December 14, 2009 at 11:45 AM
I wonder how many in his own party laughed out loud when he said that.
I can’t wait to see the ratings on that special last night. Considering the Eagles/Giants game was very good – it had to have just tanked.
gophergirl on December 14, 2009 at 11:45 AM
I give Obama a B, since beside Porkulus, he has failed to pass any of his domestic agenda. May that trend continue.
WashJeff on December 14, 2009 at 11:46 AM
To quote Rush: I want Obama to fail.
Grade: F
Status: Present
kingsjester on December 14, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Classic Ivy League grade inflation…
The only other person willing to give Barry a B+ would be Vladir Lenin
phreshone on December 14, 2009 at 11:46 AM
I’d help him pack. Heck I’d even buy his third book.
gophergirl on December 14, 2009 at 11:46 AM
do those look like the AGW grading scales–y’know, the kind that add like 2.5 points to each years avg temperature….
Affirmative action weather.
ted c on December 14, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Incompetent and delusional about his own incompetence.
Not a good combination.
AZCoyote on December 14, 2009 at 11:47 AM
Was this Barack’s nod to his “Biden-get-out-of-jail card?” As in Biden will do the same as Ford & Nixon?
MayorDaley on December 14, 2009 at 11:47 AM
To paraphrase from a good old country song:
“Oh lord it is hard to be humble
When you’re perfect in every way
Oh lord it’s hard to be humble
I get better looking each day
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a guy
Oh lord it’s hard to be humble
Even though I never do try.”
simkeith on December 14, 2009 at 11:47 AM
On this measure, he is perfectly consistent and clear–as he’s told us.
ted c on December 14, 2009 at 11:47 AM
As an academic, I can tell you that the thing that bugs me the most, especially near finals like we are now, is when a student who is getting a D or an F tells me that he/she can’t settle for that because he/she was “shooting for at least a B”. They say this with a straight face, even though they obviously have done none of the work to remotely suggest that they were shooting for anything!
Barack’s B+ is what he thinks he deserves, not what he earned.
DrStock on December 14, 2009 at 11:47 AM
Sorry Captain, you can’t give Barry an Incomplete… If he has any ‘success’ in his legislative agenda, he turns his F into an F-…
phreshone on December 14, 2009 at 11:49 AM
A soulless narcissistic empty suit…
d1carter on December 14, 2009 at 11:49 AM
He typed as if he didnt know the answer already… ;)
Dash on December 14, 2009 at 11:49 AM
Ed should’ve juxtaposed the boy picture in the knee high shorts from the Indonesian sculpture recently “erected”….
Hey Mommy, look a..a..a..a Butterfly…
Good boy Barack, I’ll give you a B+
ted c on December 14, 2009 at 11:49 AM
There truly is no end to Osama Obama’s arrogance.
Any self-respecting college would toss the Chicago Jesus out for his performance, or at an absolute minimum put him in remedial classes until he actually learned something and showed that he could apply it.
We should do the same. It’s time for the Totalitarian-in-Chief to go.
MrScribbler on December 14, 2009 at 11:49 AM
In defense of The One(and you’re rarely see me type those words), what else is he supposed to say when asked this question? “Oh yeah, Oprah, I suck.”
Yes, I would’ve liked to see him not use the word “inherited” again. And BS’ing us about the economy and foreign policy being hunkydory was frustrating. But that’s a “damned if you, damned if you don’t” question for any politician.
Doughboy on December 14, 2009 at 11:49 AM
Yeah, I’d give him a B+.
“Black plus affirmative action”
Daggett on December 14, 2009 at 11:50 AM
A B+ now that is bending the grade curve.
fourdeucer on December 14, 2009 at 11:51 AM
You know, a grade for your own performance usually reflects an impact that you’ve had on yourself alone.
There is no grade low enough to assign to the utter disaster Obama has brought upon millions of people.
Midas on December 14, 2009 at 11:51 AM
B+ Baloney. When I fill out my own self-appraisal I know better than do grade myself like he does. My boss pulls out my previous apprasal and looks at what I was expected to do BASED ON MY OWN WORDS. If I do not accomplish any of them there is no way I could give myself a B+.
Look at Obama’s campaign promises. How many of them has he come through with? SNL had it right .. ZIP, NADA.
If he were to truly grade himself based on his accomplishments he’d have to give himself an F.
Instead he grades himself based on the perception of the previous president.
“Remember the third term you didn’t want. I’m living up to that standard.”
But Obama shouldn’t be held to any standard. Not even his own because “He won”. Don’t forget that.
shick on December 14, 2009 at 11:51 AM
He was referring to his abilities to party, spend money wildly, drink beers with the boys, shoot hoops and play golf all day. On that, he gets a B+.
Thunderstorm129 on December 14, 2009 at 11:54 AM
I’m the one who gave him an A. His Alinsky agenda is well underway.
a capella on December 14, 2009 at 11:54 AM
LMFAO!! Woohoohoo… pathology confirmed. Reminds me of my lefty business law professor who asked the students in his class to write down the grade that they think they deserved on a piece of paper and hand it in. Which we did, and of course, he duly recorded the grade each of us had written down as our final grade for the class.
WordsMatter on December 14, 2009 at 11:55 AM
44% approval Rasmussen today and B+. Call it a non sequitur.
technopeasant on December 14, 2009 at 11:55 AM
77% Fail.
Well, no surprise here.
Count to 10 on December 14, 2009 at 11:56 AM
Alright-Who gave him an ‘A’?
Babino on December 14, 2009 at 11:56 AM
Grade? How about a downhill 15% with an S-curve at the bottom. He’s driving with a loose load so the truckers reference is better than academia to me.
DanMan on December 14, 2009 at 11:56 AM
Any imbecile would know the only correct answer is…”That’s up to the voters”…
He is an idiot…period.
winston on December 14, 2009 at 11:57 AM
The filthy lying coward has audited his Presidency so far (the academic equivilent of voting present).
He’s blamed GWB for most of the problems where there is no easy solution.
He’s delegated healthcare reform to Congress which is probably the magnum opus of stupidity so far in his term.
He lets his staffers, unelected and unconfirmed Chicago street thugs, essentially run the day-to-day operations while he goes out and plays President in front of the cameras.
You simply cannot give a grade to an intellectually inferiour slacker who has essentially done the political version of cutting class for the last eleven months.
highhopes on December 14, 2009 at 11:57 AM
He has already admitted to giving more than receives. In this case he gives himself more than he deserves.
fourdeucer on December 14, 2009 at 11:57 AM
I didn’t know Chris Matthews was a commenter here.
sammypants on December 14, 2009 at 11:57 AM
WordsMatter on December 14
Exactly
Daveyardbird on December 14, 2009 at 11:58 AM
America is not completely destroyed yet, so Barack gives himself a B+.
Now we know what has to happen for Obama to give himself an A.
booter on December 14, 2009 at 11:58 AM
I think his grade will go up when Osama (Usama) Bin Laden is killed. But it still won’t be a B.
I do think he will be hard to stop though, once he kills OBL. Forget huge gains in Congress and forget killing obamanation care.
I think it’s only a matter of time before OBL is killed.
matthew26 on December 14, 2009 at 11:59 AM
I think it’s pronounced “plusgood”.
pifactorial on December 14, 2009 at 11:59 AM
I’d only give him a passing grade if it means he doesn’t have to repeat a
gradeterm.shick on December 14, 2009 at 11:59 AM
Deluded, but somehow comforting. That’s the Obama I’ve come to know and trust.
rrpjr on December 14, 2009 at 12:00 PM
You can see in his own face he is not buying his own grade! LMAO he does a large swallow and blinks his eyes 9 million times. At the end of the video he realizes he just made a HUGE mistake by grading himself. Kudos Oprah she set him up for a big failure! ROTFLMAO!!!
xler8bmw on December 14, 2009 at 12:00 PM
The filthy lying coward in the White House is not just any kind of imbecile!
I’m sure the voters didn’t even cross his mind as he gave his response- the highest grade possible without giving himself an A which would seem overly cocky and would not give himself room to grow when the same stupid question is asked of him at some point in the future.
highhopes on December 14, 2009 at 12:01 PM
Who’s the doofus who gave him an “A”?
MarkTheGreat on December 14, 2009 at 12:01 PM
Obviously he is using the USDA grading scale for chicken…
Horatius on December 14, 2009 at 12:01 PM
In the words of highhopes, (I think), if we graded the number of times the filthy lying coward has told the public a FILTHY LIE, and the media has swallowed his tripe, then the grade is indeed a B+
If we grade him on his effort to promote social engineering through government intervention, an “E” for effort must be assigned.
If we grade him on his ability to understand this nation does not accept his big government policies that are bankrupting an entire society—-you get “THE BIG F” Mr. President.
Rovin on December 14, 2009 at 12:01 PM
The closest Obama comes to a B+ is his blood type.
portlandon on December 14, 2009 at 12:01 PM
B+=BS with extra helping of BULL
xler8bmw on December 14, 2009 at 12:02 PM
Just by continually to string out this “inherited” bull, puts Obama with a “D”. The rest he’s done pulls him down to an “F”.
And I’m not partisan when it comes to grading any politician. I really wish I, for one, could give him the credit of a passing grade. He’s done the right thing a handful of times, but the severity of his wrongdoing puts Obama’s grade at a huge FAIL.
JetBoy on December 14, 2009 at 12:02 PM
Jimmy Carter’s just thrilled to have him as POTUS, since presidents are graded on a curve.
Cicero43 on December 14, 2009 at 12:03 PM
That happened years ago. Besides, it won’t mean a thing- let alone bump up the filthy lying coward’s poll numbers. He dithered too long for anybody to take him seriously as a “war president.” Especially after last night’s pacifist pap on Sixty Minutes.
highhopes on December 14, 2009 at 12:03 PM
Indeed.
The course he is taking is “Destroying the Nation-101″.
I’d give him a solid B+.
justltl on December 14, 2009 at 12:03 PM
B+?
Reminds of this article about grade entitlement – if you try, you deserve an A, or something.
landshark on December 14, 2009 at 12:03 PM
A good strong F for F**ked Up.
klickink.wordpress.com on December 14, 2009 at 12:05 PM
As much as Chicago Jesus would like to blame the “illegimate” concerns of “teabaggers” and Republican “mouthpieces” (i.e., Foxnews) for his fall from political grace, fundamentally it is his words and his deeds (and those of Congress) that are sinking his agenda and his political prospects.
WordsMatter on December 14, 2009 at 12:05 PM
Unemployment was at 7+% when you took office. It’s 10% now.
TARP did that. Before you took office.
Holiday sales are down 21% from last year.
I blame Bush. If Iraq was going down the tubes, you’d be blaming him, too.
You get 1/2 point. Surge-good. Definite withdrawl date-bad.
Yes. Now even the Queen of England hates us.
===================================================
My grade: Foreign affairs – C
Economy – F
Deficit Reduction – F
Healthcare – F
Citizenship grade – F
Grader’s Comments: Tries to force other students to hurry through assignments (“this issue is so important, we need to do something – anything – even if it doesn’t take effect for years, and will make things worse”)
bullies investors
doesn’t work or play well with others not in his party
Avoids taking responsibility for his own actions
Always needs attention
Cannot take criticism
Whines
Bobbertsan on December 14, 2009 at 12:05 PM
At what point do the trolls say, “Ya know what. We phucked up!”
PappaMac on December 14, 2009 at 12:06 PM
Any one of the trolls want to own up to that? I can’t imagine any of them would give him an “A” — he’s failed to ram through enough leftist legislation thus far.
fiatboomer on December 14, 2009 at 12:06 PM
Yep. that would create a major problem, although it might not be enough to overcome the fiscal and ideology issues. He’d be loved by hawks and doves alike.
a capella on December 14, 2009 at 12:06 PM
I’d say B, mostly because he brought us back from the brink of economic collapse. Pass healthcare reform and it’s a B+.
crr6 on December 14, 2009 at 12:08 PM
That’s not the only thing he’d give himself if he could.
Patrick S on December 14, 2009 at 12:09 PM
You forget. The filthy lying coward is an affirmative action hire. He’s automatically bumped up a grade or two because, as we all know, affirmative action hires are incapable of operating on an even playing field and need special help to accurately assess them in comparison with white Presidents.
highhopes on December 14, 2009 at 12:09 PM
If I had money, I would give it to whoever says that in 2012.
aikidoka on December 14, 2009 at 12:10 PM
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
B+, thats pretty funny……if it wasnt so tragic
what an f-ing moron this pantywaste is
what president would even answer that question? what a loser
in the aol poll grading him, 75% give him a D or and F.
sidewinder22 on December 14, 2009 at 12:10 PM
I don’t think OBL’s death will help Congress. The people aren’t mad at Congress b/c OBL hasn’t been killed yet. And stopping the President’s agenda is about gains in the House and getting more than 40 solid conservative Repub. votes in the Senate. Once those things can be achieved, Obama’s agenda will come to an end. I think the healthcare debacle is the highwater mark for statism for the foreseeable future.
WordsMatter on December 14, 2009 at 12:10 PM
A C in foreign affairs? You’ve got to be kidding. Seriously, there is no way you can defend that rating.
highhopes on December 14, 2009 at 12:11 PM
A+ for this post. Made me laugh.
shick on December 14, 2009 at 12:11 PM
Hey, dude. You don’t get graded on a curve anymore.
Vashta.Nerada on December 14, 2009 at 12:11 PM
Barry, sans butt-kissing “affurmatif akshun” and spineless pass-everybody teachers, you’d do well to get an F-.
Dark-Star on December 14, 2009 at 12:11 PM
Did you plant a wet one on your Obama poster before or after you typed that?
I’m sorry, that’s not fair.
I should have included the option: before and after you typed that.
aikidoka on December 14, 2009 at 12:11 PM
Lost 7 million jobs with 10% unemployment, spent 800 billion to prevent such loss equals an F.
Of course, he can drop even lower by passing the healthcare crapola, cap and trade, leaving Iraq and Afghanistan before the troops work is complete!!!
No doubt, he will be on tv again telling us how great he thinks he is.
dthorny on December 14, 2009 at 12:12 PM
He must be including grade points saved and/or created in order to reach that B+…….
JoeinTX on December 14, 2009 at 12:13 PM
C’mon. That’s easy. It’s a combination of:
starfleet moron
crr6
grown brains
proud rino
getalife
drywall
lorien1973 on December 14, 2009 at 12:14 PM
It’s such an easy question to sidestep…if one is not a dangerously narcissistic egomaniac.
BlueStateBilly on December 14, 2009 at 12:15 PM
Only a B? Uh oh… you just contradicted your messiah… I think you’re gonna get a nasty phone call from Rahm today.
WordsMatter on December 14, 2009 at 12:15 PM
11 months, not one year under Jan 20.
slp on December 14, 2009 at 12:16 PM
what kind of incoherent crap is this?
FORGET HUGE GAINS IN CONGRESS? YOUR DELUSIONAL
forget killing obama(crap)care? your delusional once again
obama bin ladens probably been dead for 5 years already
even if he wasnt and was killed, that will do nothing for president pantywaste
he’s in complete free fall and no matter what happens, that wont change……..BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE REALIZING WHO HE REALLY IS – A RADICAL MARXIST, SURROUNDED BY OTHER RADICAL MARXISTS
sidewinder22 on December 14, 2009 at 12:16 PM
I wonder if Harvard allowed him to choose his grade.
poppieseeds on December 14, 2009 at 12:17 PM
LOL. How about if he promises a few billion dollars of money borrowed from the Chinese to the Copenhagen group? That should be good for something.
a capella on December 14, 2009 at 12:17 PM
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