EDITORIAL: Obama's first year

Just one year since he was sworn in, U.S. President Barack Obama is facing a fierce headwind. One cannot help but wonder where all the enthusiasm about "change" has gone.

Obama's approval ratings have fallen to around 50 percent from nearly 70 percent immediately after he took office.

Symbolizing the change in the political climate is the defeat of the Democratic candidate in a recent by-election in Massachusetts to fill a vacant Senate seat. It was the seat held by Edward Kennedy for 47 years until he died last year. It was supposed to be a solidly Democratic seat.

The Democrats were stunned by the defeat in the overwhelmingly Democratic state, which followed losses in the gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia last autumn.

The Democrats no longer hold the 60-seat super-majority in the Senate needed to overcome filibusters, and the fate of the bill to overhaul the health insurance system, which was close to becoming law, has become uncertain. The Democrats will have to make further concessions to the Republicans to pass the legislation.

The reason for the backlash against the Democrats is clear. U.S. voters are becoming increasingly frustrated about the fact that there is no end in sight to the economic doldrums.

Since Obama's inauguration, more than 4 million people have lost their jobs. The unemployment rate has surpassed 10 percent and there are growing concerns about the ballooning fiscal deficit.

Obama came to the White House amid a harrowing financial crisis triggered by the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers. He should be given some credit for saving the U.S. economy from a catastrophe with bold fiscal expansion. But this line of argument appears to cut little ice with Americans, who are feeling the pain of the recession.

The Obama administration has been making flat-out efforts to push through health-care reform. The universal insurance coverage has been a long-held goal of the Democrats. The administration of President Bill Clinton tried and failed to achieve the goal.

Obama's health-care reform plan has met with vehement opposition from the conservatives because of its "socialistic" nature and the expected increase in the burden on taxpayers. The nation is divided on the administration's initiative.

A swelling chorus of criticism argues that the Obama administration is not doing enough to tackle the problem of rising unemployment. This feeling of discontent seems to be behind dwindling support for Obama among non-partisans. Many Americans still hold a favorable view of Obama as a person, but his policies are becoming unpopular.

With midterm elections for both the Senate and the House slated for November, the political climate is bound to heat up in the coming months.

What is especially worrisome is the possibility that eroding public support for Obama over domestic policy issues could undermine his leadership on the diplomatic front as well. It would be very unfortunate if he succumbs to the temptation of protectionism to put priority on securing jobs at home.

Obama has shifted U.S. foreign policy away from the unilateralism promoted by his predecessor and set out in the direction of international cooperation. He has also displayed a zeal for arms control and eliminating nuclear arms, pledging to pursue his vision of "a world without nuclear weapons."

Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his commitment to nuclear disarmament. The government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is seeking to cooperate with the Obama administration in this quest.

International efforts to remove nuclear arms and stem global warming face a crucial juncture in the near future. While countries are becoming more interdependent, they are hard-pressed to deal with domestic policy issues.

Can Obama ride out the harsh political winds without losing sight of his original political agenda? This is a real test of his political leadership.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 21