A Disappointing Consumer Report Card for President Obama and the Congress in Year One

by Tom Hinton

With one year under their belts, the Consumer Report Card grades are in for President Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress. Frankly,consumers are twitching nervously over the slow progress President Obama and the Congress have made to jump-start America’s sluggish economy. Promises have been made and the president and his party have underwhelmed most consumers in delivering results. From the perspective of the American Consumer Council, a non-profit, non-partisan consumer education organization, the president fairs no better than a C+ while the Congress barely earns a passing grade of D for its lackluster performance during the past year.

Despite all the posturing, politics and rancor on Capitol Hill, not much has been accomplished to give consumers hope that a new era is upon us. The expression “herding cats” comes to mind when one thinks of the challenges Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) faces in getting his Democrats lined-up to support vital consumer legislation including Financial/Banking Reform, Consumer Protection, Health Care Reform and Mortgage/Foreclosure Relief.

These issues should have been a slam dunk for the Democrats, but a lack of leadership and lax discipline -- combined with blind loyalty to the contributions of lobbyists and special interests -- have allowed a minority of self-serving representatives and senators to muddle the process and paint Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senator Reid into a very uncomfortable corner best labeled non-performance. At least that’s how a majority of consumers responded when asked recently about the performance of President Obama and the Democrats for the past year. Certainly, the president and his party must do better if they expect to win the hearts and votes of concerned consumers.

Despite his gift for oratory, his persuasive personality and political charm, it appears Mr. Obama drifted from his Change theme in the 2008 election and allowed Congress to derail his legislative agenda. These are tough times and they call for strong-arm tactics similar to what LBJ used to push through his Great Society legislation and Civil Rights reform. Instead of wasting his time trying to build a consensus with Republicans, President Obama needs to produce results. As demonstrated by the stunning senate election of Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts, voters have a short memory and will always vote their pocketbook, especially when suffering through tough economic times. Make no mistake, these remain very difficult times for most Americans.

From a consumer perspective, the president needs to get out in front of the band and start leading the change he promised to deliver. He cannot rely solely on Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to do the job. They are perceived as weak leaders. If consumer confidence is any indicator, Americans remain seriously concerned about three issues: the lack of jobs and high unemployment; mortgage delinquencies and foreclosure rates; and, the rising cost of health care. With the exception of giving our military what it needs to win the fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, everything else can wait. It may be important, but it’s not vital to our economic recovery.

Trying to win the hearts and minds of the opposition is a waste of the president’s time. With all due respect to the opposition, I would say the same thing if the Republicans occupied the White House. Of course, when Mr. Bush was president, he was deferential to Democrats, but plowed ahead to get his legislative issues passed by Congress. And, the Democrats controlled both chambers!

So, my advice to the president and the Democrats can be summed up in the words of California's Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who said in one of his movies, “Sorry. No more Mr. Nice Guy!”

There’s much work to be done and the time is now for President Obama to refocus his priorities and redouble his efforts to put Americans back to work, solve the mortgage and foreclosure problems in favor of struggling homeowners and get health care reform approved. If he can accomplish these three things in 2010, his Consumer Report Card grade will improve significantly. But, the clock is ticking!

About the Author: Tom Hinton is America's Expert on Business Excellence. He is a popular speaker at business and association meetings on Consumerism, Customer Service, Leadership, Sustainability and Managing Change. He can be reached at tom@tomhinton.com