Barack Obama’s inauguration seemed to hold a meaning greater than the sum of its historic parts. It was about more than just a change of party. It was even about more than just having our first black president. It was as if, somehow, all the old divisions – racial, ideological, spiritual – would be healed the moment Obama took office.

This summer, two major debates presented themselves to Obama, giving him a chance to prove that he meant the end of Washington’s usual politics. Instead, this will be known as the summer the hope died.

Health care, Obama’s top legislative priority, has stalled. Part of this has to do with Republicans’ knee-jerk reaction against anything Obama. A lot more has to do with legitimate concerns held by ordinary Americans. The Democrats in Congress are proposing a massive new government program, one that will place a gigantic portion of the economy in the hands of bureaucrats and that will, despite the protestations of the left, represent one of the biggest steps ever taken in this country toward European-style socialism.

There are strong counter arguments to these criticisms. In a country as rich as the United States, it is appalling that so many people -especially children – are unable to afford health care. Government intervention in the health care market, if done efficiently, may be able to right this imbalance.

But Obama hasn’t stuck to that line. He’s insisted that the plan, through increases in preventive care, might lower health care costs. Countless institutions, including the Congressional Budget Office, say he’s wrong. When arguing for a government-funded insurance option, he hasn’t addressed the fact that government-run services are far less efficient and therefore, far more costly than those provided by private firms. He also hasn’t really dealt with Republicans’ strongest criticism: that his plan will lead to rationing of health services. The president was elected on a promise of straight talk that should answer these objections head-on. Americans deserve that honesty.

Our first minority president also stepped into the quagmire of racial politics this summer when he said that Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge, Ma. police department “acted stupidly” by arresting Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

It’s not clear what happened in Gates’s home. Maybe Crowley was wrong for arresting Gates. Maybe Gates was overly antagonistic. My guess is that it was a little of both. Obama’s comment that Crowley “acted stupidly” may or may not have been accurate, but it still shouldn’t have been said. It was far too crass, more worthy of Bill O’Reilly or Keith Olbermann than the most gifted orator of our lifetime.

Team Obama recognized this and backtracked, inviting Crowley and Gates to share a beer at the White House. Everyone agrees that the meeting was cordial, and, just like that, the whole issue was swept under the rug.

There’s nothing wrong with how Obama diffused the situation; most politicians would be lucky to handle such an explosive issue with such diplomacy. But Obama is not most politicians. His great appeal rests on his willingness to talk about difficult subjects with candor and honesty. The Obama of the campaign trail tackled racial bitterness in his now-famous speech in Philadelphia, bringing the nation closer together and giving us hope that we’d found a leader willing to talk to us like adults. The Obama of the White House tried to pretend nothing had happened.

Obama coasted into office on a wave of bipartisan support. Many independents and Republicans voted for him more for his eloquence and honesty than for any specific policies. The hope he engendered was real, hope that this was a man able to confront enormous obstacles and lead us through them as one nation. That’s the candidate we elected. Let’s hope that’s the president he becomes.

Nat French is a junior theater major. He can be