It has been nearly a year since Barack Obama was (sort of) sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. So what can his first year in office tell us about the next three?
Everything, most armchair historians say: The first year of a presidency is a make-or-break opportunity for an administration to assert control of Congress, achieve its legislative priorities and impress the American people with its effectiveness.
Many of Obama's supporters also buy into this idea. They can be heard comparing the president's first year in office to that of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and otherwise describing the year's achievements in effusive terms. ("By any measure -- domestic, legislative or foreign -- this has been a historic year for America," White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said in a recent interview.) Meanwhile, the president's critics gleefully compare his job approval numbers, which have steadily dipped during this first year, to those of past presidents. They say these numbers show that the more people get to know Obama, the less they like him -- and the less they will like him in the years come.
But a closer look at history suggests that both too much and too little can be made of a president's first year in office.
Continue reading to learn the 5 myths:
- Congress is your willing handmaiden.
- Nothing gets done legislatively after the first year.
- Your party's base abandons you.
- The first 100 days don't really matter.
- After the high of winning the election, your approval ratings have nowhere to go but down.
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