Will surveillance, IRS scandals tarnish Obama's presidential legacy?

By Lee-Anne Goodman

WASHINGTON - Not so long ago, a bad week for U.S. President Barack Obama was one that sparked comparisons to Jimmy Carter, a popular whipping boy for the right who was considered weak and ineffectual by many Americans.

Seven months into his second term, and the Carter comparisons are a distant memory: now Obama's being likened to former presidents Richard Nixon and George W. Bush, popular targets for the commander-in-chief's liberal base.

Revelations about the Obama administration's sweeping surveillance practices, as well as the ongoing investigation into the IRS's targeting of Tea Party organizations, have resulted in a litany of comparisons to both former presidents in recent weeks....

Obama's presidential legacy is not at risk from either controversy, said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

It's meaningful legislation that largely determines a presidential legacy, not "distractions," Jillson said.

"The key thing on the table in Obama's second term is the immigration bill," he said.

"If that gets through, it will be a huge signature piece of legislation for Obama, similar to health care reform in his first term. And it would result in substantive policies that would impact people's lives in a significant way."

The scandals, meantime, are something of a tempest in a teapot, Jillson said.

"There is nothing that is anywhere near being impeachable offences, let alone criminal. They won't result in a single charge against the administration other than political arrogance."