Presidential Typology

     Base upon Barber's theory, President Obama falls in line between an Active Positive, and an Active Negative.  From the start of his presidency he was extremely eager to start making change and tackling the big problems.  He knew what he wanted to get done, and actively followed his own choices and ideas.  A person falling within the 'passive' category would never have been as aggressive as Obama had proven to be while lobbying the Republicans.  Also, his many meetings with John Boehner further reveal his aggressive and active political character.  A  key point of a passive president is the fact that their approval rating is extremely important.  For Obama, this is one of his smallest priorities.  As he went to pass Health Care Reform, he got many warnings from his staff saying it may not be a good idea, and that it would kill his approval rating.  He responded basically by saying it would be unintelligent to be so obsessed with this number that he would be reluctant in making change he wanted.  So, he made the change and fought for his beliefs, ignoring the few bad things that came of it.  Obama was chasing the change without being driven by his thirst for power and good approval ratings.  Looking at is actions with Health Care clearly depict him as active.  On the other hand, Obama has been hanging on the fence of Positive and Negative his whole presidency.  When he began, he was extremely hopeful and excited to make change, posing him as Positive.  By now, and at many times along the way, he has of course experienced issues that made him hate the position he's in, but for the most part he appears to have a positive outlook.  This portion of the Theory is a bit grey because it's rare to find someone that's completely one way or the other, generally people would fall in the middle of the road.  As of right now, i would describe him as falling more towards the negative side of the spectrum based upon actions he's taken.  The infamous Executive orders show he may not be content and maybe angry with how things are happening, with gridlock in congress, and a split government.  He seems to be trying to work more on his own, which to me says hes not happy with his work and relations with the rest of the government as of right now.  In the end, I would say Obama is Active, and depending on the times, can be Positive or Negative.  

     I believe this typology does make him effective for this political climate.  With the gridlock and split government its very important to have and active president.  This is necessary to ensure legislature is going t be pushed head-on and a tough fight will be fought to ensure change happens.  As for the negative/ positive aspect its better for him to be positive on his outlook on things.  This is so it can be reflected by the people and we will be hopeful that he is going to be able to lead us to a better tomorrow.  

     In the coming election, voters will be expecting someone who acts in a similar manner if we fall into another position with a lot of gridlock and a continued split government.  If we fall into a position where we have less gridlock because we have a government with a majority in congress that's in line with the presidency, then people would expect someone who's more Positive/Passive.  This is because we would need someone who is as aggressive to get change.