Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the well-known "Hope" poster during President Barack Obama's first run for the White House in 2008, says Obama has not been all he had hoped for.
In an interview posted Thursday by Esquire, Fairey replied "Not even close," when asked if the president had lived up to his poster.
Fairey said Obama has had a "really tough time," but that he has compromised on things he wouldn't have expected.
"I mean, drones and domestic spying are the last things I would have thought [he'd support]," he said. "I've met Obama a few times, and I think Obama's a quality human being, but I think that he finds himself in a position where your actions are largely dictated by things out of your control."
Fairey said he isn't giving Obama a pass "for not being more courageous," but he believes money should be taken out of politics.
"We also need a public that isn't so uneducated and complacent," he said. "I hate to say Americans are ignorant and lazy, but a lot of them are ignorant and lazy."
He said he is frustrated by people who blame Obama for things they could have changed if they had bothered to vote.
"There's a lot of finger pointing and very little action and very little research into the dynamics that created the situation that they're unhappy about," he said.
As for the 2016 race, Fairey said he likes former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whom he said he agrees with on most issues, but added "campaign finance structure makes me very angry, because it means that politicians are going to have to raise a huge amount of money, which narrows the field dramatically."
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