Op-ed pick: Revisiting the promises of Obama’s first inaugural speech

It's been five years since President Barack Obama's first inauguration. E.J.Dionne writes in the Washington Post that Obama's promise to change how business got done in Washington didn't come to fruition:

...politics has strangled many of those hopes. For those who say there can be a separation between politics and policy, between aspiration and grubby reality, the results of the 2010 midterm election stand as a rebuke. Hope and change of the sort Obama had in mind suffered a hard blow when Republicans assumed control of the House of Representatives, enhanced their blocking power in the Senate and won themselves the ability to draw generally friendly legislative boundaries.

Dionne goes on to argue that Obama could gain momentum and fulfill some promises he made on the campaign trail in 2008 as the national conversation turns to poverty, immigration and social mobility.

Read Dionne's column here. How do you think Obama fared over the past five years? What have been his biggest accomplishments?

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.