( Adam Kredo-washingtonjewishweek).A year ago, Barack Obama's fervent supporters predicted that the Democrat's darling would enter the White House with the wits to right the ailing economy, tackle comprehensive health care reform, negotiate peace in the Middle East and temper Iran's nuclear intentions, to name a few.
These days, those same supporters ‹ now much more tepid ‹ admit to being handed a hearty "dose of reality," as Rabbi Jonathan Maltzman put it.
"Reality has set in for everyone," said Maltzman, the spiritual leader of Congregation Kol Sholom in Rockville, who was one of some 400 to sign onto Rabbis for Obama. "Our expectations were completely out of whack with what he could accomplish over a year."
Jewish voters turned out in droves to vote for Obama, with 78 percent hoisting their hopes for change on the candidate's back. But as the limitations of America's political process become clear, many ‹ like many Democrats and Independents in general ‹ have expressed frustration with what they term the president's sparse list of accomplishments.
For Steve Stone, disappointment has replaced optimism. Asked where exactly the Obama administration had failed, the Fairfax resident shot back, "Oh gosh, let's make a list."
Candidate Obama, Stone continued, speaking just days before the president's State of the Union address this week, "came in preaching this change, but I don't see any of it. He seems to have spent a year just floundering, announcing all kinds of things, but getting nothing done."
Obama was beloved on the campaign trail for his rhetorical flair, but some Jewish supporters lament that the president's gift of gab has all but vanished. In the past year, they say, Obama has been plagued by a growing inability to deliver a coherent message.
In a WJW article published a week before the 2008 elections, Maltzman extolled Obama's "sensitivity toward the average working person," predicting that as president, he would be "more concerned with the average person in every possible way."
Asked last week if he thought Obama's economic policies had been a success, Maltzman timidly said, "I do think we've seen some improvement in the economy."
Stone adopted a harsher tone, saying, "I see the same fear and trepidation that existed a year ago." Worse, he said, Obama has aligned himself with Wall Street bankers and corporate interests. "He appears to have fallen into the Washington trap of taking care of the big boys."
While populist outrage over former President George W. Bush's two-term reign played a prominent role in Obama's election, younger voters were largely responsible for giving him the statistical edge. These days, though, several of them report feeling abandoned by an administration that so heavily courted their vote.
"I was someone who was enamored with [Obama] as a celebrity," said Matt Adler, a 23-year-old District resident who served as the Obama campaign's regional field director in Broward County, Fla.
Initially, Adler said, he believed Obama "would be more accountable to us, [that] young people would push him in the right directions." But as of late, "I don't think we've succeeded entirely in getting that accountability" on a range of progressive issues, such as the push for marriage equality and environmental initiatives.
Despite the formation of a much-vaunted nationwide grassroots network, the Obama administration has seemingly lost touch with its younger advocates, said Joanna Blotner, a 24-year-old District resident. "There's not been a great effort to keep people as motivated as they should be," she said, pointing out that "a lot of the people I've talked to have been very disenfranchised."
As for the president's policies abroad, both supporters and observers say Obama has taken several striking missteps, particularly in the Middle East.
"What American Jews are uncomfortable about is that for many years there was sort of an 'Israel is not criticized' public policy," explained Ron Halber, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington. Obama, however, "has shown a willingness to note policy differences [with the Israeli government] in public."
American Jews, Halber added, had grown "cozy with the notion" that Israel would not be publicly criticized, and ended up jarred by the Obama administration's loud chiding on issues such as settlements.
Stone expressed bewilderment over the administration's handling of the peace process.
"That was just stupid," he said, referring to the United States' initial calls for a complete settlement freeze. "Fine, pick a fight with [Israel]. What does it get you? He just shot himself in both feet with that. How's he ever going to get peace now?"
Others in the Obama camp staunchly defended the president's pro-Israel bona fides, as well as his recent policy decisions.
From the opposite side of the political divide, local Republican activists say that most of their initial fears have been realized.
"I have to say, I didn't think it would be this bad," said Larry Krakover, a GOP organizer from Burke who pointed to, among other things, "the debt, the bloated government Š [and] the demagoguery with regard to the banking industry."
Bradley Wine, a Bethesda resident and member of the Republican Jewish Coalition's board, recounted several tales of Democrats and Independents "who say, 'Boy, I really didn't think it was going to be so bad.' "
These days, those same supporters ‹ now much more tepid ‹ admit to being handed a hearty "dose of reality," as Rabbi Jonathan Maltzman put it.
"Reality has set in for everyone," said Maltzman, the spiritual leader of Congregation Kol Sholom in Rockville, who was one of some 400 to sign onto Rabbis for Obama. "Our expectations were completely out of whack with what he could accomplish over a year."
Jewish voters turned out in droves to vote for Obama, with 78 percent hoisting their hopes for change on the candidate's back. But as the limitations of America's political process become clear, many ‹ like many Democrats and Independents in general ‹ have expressed frustration with what they term the president's sparse list of accomplishments.
For Steve Stone, disappointment has replaced optimism. Asked where exactly the Obama administration had failed, the Fairfax resident shot back, "Oh gosh, let's make a list."
Candidate Obama, Stone continued, speaking just days before the president's State of the Union address this week, "came in preaching this change, but I don't see any of it. He seems to have spent a year just floundering, announcing all kinds of things, but getting nothing done."
Obama was beloved on the campaign trail for his rhetorical flair, but some Jewish supporters lament that the president's gift of gab has all but vanished. In the past year, they say, Obama has been plagued by a growing inability to deliver a coherent message.
In a WJW article published a week before the 2008 elections, Maltzman extolled Obama's "sensitivity toward the average working person," predicting that as president, he would be "more concerned with the average person in every possible way."
Asked last week if he thought Obama's economic policies had been a success, Maltzman timidly said, "I do think we've seen some improvement in the economy."
Stone adopted a harsher tone, saying, "I see the same fear and trepidation that existed a year ago." Worse, he said, Obama has aligned himself with Wall Street bankers and corporate interests. "He appears to have fallen into the Washington trap of taking care of the big boys."
While populist outrage over former President George W. Bush's two-term reign played a prominent role in Obama's election, younger voters were largely responsible for giving him the statistical edge. These days, though, several of them report feeling abandoned by an administration that so heavily courted their vote.
"I was someone who was enamored with [Obama] as a celebrity," said Matt Adler, a 23-year-old District resident who served as the Obama campaign's regional field director in Broward County, Fla.
Initially, Adler said, he believed Obama "would be more accountable to us, [that] young people would push him in the right directions." But as of late, "I don't think we've succeeded entirely in getting that accountability" on a range of progressive issues, such as the push for marriage equality and environmental initiatives.
Despite the formation of a much-vaunted nationwide grassroots network, the Obama administration has seemingly lost touch with its younger advocates, said Joanna Blotner, a 24-year-old District resident. "There's not been a great effort to keep people as motivated as they should be," she said, pointing out that "a lot of the people I've talked to have been very disenfranchised."
As for the president's policies abroad, both supporters and observers say Obama has taken several striking missteps, particularly in the Middle East.
"What American Jews are uncomfortable about is that for many years there was sort of an 'Israel is not criticized' public policy," explained Ron Halber, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington. Obama, however, "has shown a willingness to note policy differences [with the Israeli government] in public."
American Jews, Halber added, had grown "cozy with the notion" that Israel would not be publicly criticized, and ended up jarred by the Obama administration's loud chiding on issues such as settlements.
Stone expressed bewilderment over the administration's handling of the peace process.
"That was just stupid," he said, referring to the United States' initial calls for a complete settlement freeze. "Fine, pick a fight with [Israel]. What does it get you? He just shot himself in both feet with that. How's he ever going to get peace now?"
Others in the Obama camp staunchly defended the president's pro-Israel bona fides, as well as his recent policy decisions.
From the opposite side of the political divide, local Republican activists say that most of their initial fears have been realized.
"I have to say, I didn't think it would be this bad," said Larry Krakover, a GOP organizer from Burke who pointed to, among other things, "the debt, the bloated government Š [and] the demagoguery with regard to the banking industry."
Bradley Wine, a Bethesda resident and member of the Republican Jewish Coalition's board, recounted several tales of Democrats and Independents "who say, 'Boy, I really didn't think it was going to be so bad.' "
