President Obama Gives Himself a B; He Talks Too Much

Grading himself on Oprah Winfrey's White House Christmas special last night, President Obama gave the first year of his term a "solid B-plus."

According to the New York Daily News:

"Passage of health care reform would boost his grade to an A minus," he said. Until Americans get back to work, he said, "I can't give myself the grade I'd like."

I think the president has done a good job so far. He inherited a country in complete disarray. The economy was on the verge of collapse, the nation was at war, and everyone from North Korea to Iran had issues with us. The United States' standing in the world had been seriously eroded by former President George W. Bush.

Obama has taken steps to correct those issues, as well as tackle some of this country's most enduring problems, such as health care reform. President Obama made it known to the world that he was willing to at least engage in dialogue, thereby regaining some of the respect we had lost around the world.

Despite his ambitious start, President Obama should have never answered a question about how he would grade himself.This has hubris written all over it. It's like giving your enemies a free shot. Unfortunately, it has become a pattern for this sometimes overexposed president. From answering questions about Harvard scholar Skip Gates during an important press conference about health care to commenting on the Kanye West-Taylor Swift controversy, (even if it was supposed to be "off the record"), President Obama talks too much sometimes.

"It was probably not well thought out to grade himself. The political answer would have been: 'We still have a lot going on,'" Joseph Marbach, dean of the college of arts and sciences and a political science professor at Seton Hall University told Aol Black Voices in an interview. "It leaves him open to criticisms from the left and the right who are dissatisfied with his centrist approach. He's almost omnipresent when it comes to cable television and public appearances. We haven't seen a president as exposed in the media as President Obama. The question is will Obama fatigue set in?"

While Obama has taken some important steps, it's unclear how his initiatives will play out. That clip from the Oprah Winfrey special will be played 1 million times per day if the health care bill fails to pass or if troop casualties in Afghanistan increase exponentially.

"These issues are outstanding issues, and we don't know what shape they will take. How does health care reform look? How long will our troops be in Afghanistan?" Marbach asked. "It's too early in the presidency to give him a grade or rate him, even though he has had an ambitious agenda. I think the grade is more like an incomplete."

Obama's poll numbers have already dipped below 50 percent. That's not surprising given the state of the economy and the number of Americans without jobs.

The president should give himself the time and space to reconsider his policies and account for miscalculations and the unexpected. In short, the president should keep his critique of himself to himself.