Dr. Maccoby participates in a Weekly Forum on Washington Post.com called "On Leadership". I am compiling all of his responses to the weekly questions here.

Hard-to-please followers

Leadership is a relationship between the leader and the led. As a candidate, Barack Obama was followed by people who projected their hopes on to him. Those on the left expected him to change America so that it was less materialistic, more caring and egalitarian. They expected him to create peace in the Middle East. The independents hoped that he would bring the country together, ending the ugly partisan mud throwing. Those on the right who were not his followers expressed their fears that he was really an extreme liberal, a socialist who would take from the haves and give their hard-earned dollars to the have nots. His willingness to talk to leaders in Iran and North Korea indicated a dangerous softness that would make America more vulnerable.

Now those on the right feel fully justified in their concerns, while most of the others, even those who remain Obama's followers, are disappointed. He has been unable to change the minds and hearts of those on the right who consider government the problem, not the solution and who don't see why their taxes should pay for other people's health care. He has failed to be the Israeli-Palestinian peace maker, and he has expanded our military presence in Afghanistan.

Obama does not get the credit he deserves for improving America's image in the world, saving capitalism from further collapse, and taking significant steps to improve health care and education. The main reason is that his achievements have not met the hopes of his supporters, and they can be interpreted by the right, magnified by the angry voices of Fox News and talk radio, to confirm their fears. Nor is Obama's personality an advantage for him. He is neither a Reagan-like reassuring daddy or an affable Clinton or a Bush-like buddy. Only a minority of Americans can identify with his cool, detached analytic idealism.

Given this, I consider it a hopeful sign that 50% of Americans believe he is doing a good job. It remains to be seen whether Obama's initiatives will succeed. Will his rejected attempts to cooperate with Iran persuade the Russians to fully support strong sanctions? Will health-care legislation become a law that really moves the system in the direction of improved quality and cost control? Will the race to the top improve America's schools?

We'll know better the results of these and Obama's other initiatives on climate change and financial regulation in the months to come. We can wonder whether he would be more successful if he had different personality traits. However, I can't imagine anyone else in the political spectrum doing a better leadership job for this country. Some of the problems he faces, especially in the Middle East, can only be solved with the support of other countries. But progress in his domestic agenda depends on support from his American followers. Leadership is a relationship between the leader and the led. If Obama's leadership does not succeed, it will be as much or more our fault than his.

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