Mega Roundtable - Issues 2010

And now it's time to return to our "Mega Roundtable" where a moderator and two commentators representing a cross section of opinions debate all of the issues facing our country today.

Issue #1 - Obama's Performance

Moderator: Obama's performance has been the subject of much debate in his first year. Given all the problems he inherited, and all the sheer obstinance by the so-called "opposition" party, who have done nothing but attempt to derail his presidency by any means necessary, how do you think he is doing?

Commentator #1: I think anyone with any legitimate insight would have to admit that he has handled his troubles exceptionally well. Are there things he could have done differently? Sure. One is that he gave Republicans too much opportunity to influence his administration and policies. But this is easily one of the best first years by a President going all the way back to George Washington.

Commentator #2: One of the best first years by a President going back to Washington? Are you crazy? It's simply the best first year by a President going back to Washington. It only makes you wish there were more than 42 Presidents to compare him to, because even with 10,000 or so other presidents, it's obvious he would eclipse them all.

Commentator #1: I don't know about all of them. Out of 10,000 other presidents, you figure there might be other people in there who are more pragmatic, and even less beholden to the interests of the opposing party. You figure there might even be one or two other Obama's in there. What do you do then? How would you compare him to another Barack Obama?

Commentator #2: I don't think you could fairly compare him to another Barack Obama. For now, you would have to say he is better than any clone of himself, because he is the original, and the original is always best. But if the Obama clone was all you had, then of course, the clone would still be better than anybody else. Barack Obama and the Obama clones reign supreme as the most amazing Presidents in the history of this country. Nay, the world.

Commentator #1: But let's look seriously at this for a minute. You would really have to say that any Obama clones would at least be equally as good as the original. That's the definition of a clone. An exact copy. It's not fair to the clones to contend that the original would inherently be best. An Obama is an Obama is an Obama. All are incredibly awesome, especially when it comes to presidenting in the first year.

Commentator #2: Sure, as clones of Barack, by definition all are instinctively awesome. But the clones have yet to prove themselves, where the original has had a year to be the most utterly fantastic President the world has yet seen. You can't say that about his clones, unless we look hypothetically at a situation where the clones have each sat in office for at least a year. In that case, it is fair to say that all would probably at least be equal. I will concede your point that an Obama clone is probably as good as the original, but you have to concede my point that the original Obama is unbelievably awesome.

Commentator #1: I concede that he is unbelievably awesome. In fact, I think I was the first to bring that point to the table.

Commentator #2: Well, even if you were, I was the first to put the exclamation point on it.

Moderator: Well, that's all the issues we have time for on this edition of Mega Roundtable. I think one thing we can be sure of is that, no matter our differences of opinion, we can always find common ground somewhere. Thanks to both of you and we'll see you next time on Roundtable.