‘Cheesecake Factory’: Obama trashes Trump despite numerous failures
The "Cheesecake Factory" jab is a telling detail. It's a cheap, funny line, the kind that plays well at a Democratic fundraiser but probably doesn't move anyone who isn't already in the room. Obama is a sharp speaker, and he knows how to land a punch. But the article's counterpoint has some weight behind it: if you're going to go after a president's record, it helps to have a spotless one of your own, and Obama's legacy includes plenty of open questions, from the economy's slow recovery to drone policy and the limits of his signature healthcare law.
I think the deeper issue is that former presidents attacking each other in public is a relatively new and unflattering trend. There was a time when ex-presidents mostly stayed above the fray, and their criticisms were measured. Now it's all cable-news fodder. Both men have records that can be picked apart, and neither side is going to convince the other. The real question is what voters make of this spectacle. Do they see it as honest criticism or just two egos clashing? I'd want to know what specific "failures" the article is referring to, because vague accusations don't help anyone form a clear opinion.