Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, served two terms from 2009 to 2017 and was the first African American to hold the office. A former U.S. Senator from Illinois, Obama campaigned on a platform of “hope and change,” inspiring millions across diverse demographics. His election marked a pivotal moment in American politics, and he took office amid the Great Recession, facing significant economic challenges.
Obama’s administration responded to the financial crisis with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which aimed to create jobs, stimulate economic growth, and provide relief for struggling families. His signature legislative achievement, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aimed to expand healthcare coverage to millions of uninsured Americans, though it faced substantial opposition and legal challenges. Obama also enacted financial reforms with the Dodd-Frank Act to regulate the banking industry and prevent a future economic collapse.
In foreign policy, Obama sought to repair alliances and pursued a strategy of multilateral diplomacy. He withdrew U.S. troops from Iraq, intensified the military campaign in Afghanistan, and oversaw the operation that killed Osama bin Laden. Obama’s approach to international relations also included landmark agreements, such as the Iran Nuclear Deal and the Paris Climate Agreement, reflecting his commitment to global cooperation on nuclear nonproliferation and climate change.
Obama’s presidency faced challenges, including partisan gridlock and rising political polarization. His administration’s response to the Syrian Civil War and racial tensions at home were subject to debate, and while Obama was widely admired internationally, he faced significant opposition domestically, especially in his second term. His presidency left a lasting impact on American society, particularly in healthcare, climate policy, and progressive social reforms.
My problem with the President as his term finally draws near the end, is that this isn’t the last we’ll see of him. His bad policies and indifferent nature even toward his position wasn’t enough to stop a second term, but the blurry line between presidential and celebrity will carry on. It seems like he’s been on late night television more times than he has done state of the union addresses.
I would prefer these behaviors and skewed priorities be taken into greater consideration when electing top government positions. I don’t want a buddy who talks about his golfing average on television, I want a leader who is up for the challenge to make decisions and sacrifices for the country that I live in.
I think Obama has done an OK job, but his administration and some of the policies that have come out of it have affected Americans that live abroad in a terrible way. There are new rules in place that make it difficult to be American and a customer of a bank in a foreign country. New rules in the US are forcing banks in non-US territories to report information on their American customers to the US government. I can understand the need to try to prevent a lot of the tax evasion that goes on by big targets, but this affects the little people that are living abroad. I also don’t want to have my American banks refuse to continue my service because I live outside of American soil.
There are so many issues from the Obama that I could talk about, but the main one that I care about are the policies affecting people living abroad.
Like any president, Obama has done good things and bad things. He has made some impressive progress with developments such as Obamacare, maligns the status of gun control in America, rescinded his proposal to attack Syria, wants to make changes to the post-secondary education system, made progress at climate Summits, taken troops out of Afhganistan, reduced the national debt, and helped to finalize the Iran nuclear deal. There are problems with all these projects, but he has contributed to at least making the public aware of them, as well as making a many positive changes. However, he has also authorized more drone strikes than Bush, gone after marijuana dispensaries even though he said he wouldn’t, prosecuted whistle-blowers even though he said he wouldn’t, approved of the NSA government surveillance program for citizens of the United States, proposed attacking Syria in the first place, removed not just troops from Afghanistan, but also foreign aid, causing further turmoil between the Sunnis and Shiites, not done much to change gun control in America, organized Obamacare poorly, not done much to change the education system, not reduced debt or helped the environment enough, failed to address that Islam is a part of the problem with ISIS, and didn’t fix many problems that may become more potent with the Iran nuclear deal in the future. Again, like all Presidents, he is a politician, so he has to try to please everyone, which makes it impossible to do everything right, and makes it hard to be completely honest about certain issues. He is also human, so while I’m sure he has good intentions, he sometimes makes mistakes, and his are more costly than those of almost all other people. Additionally, it must be phenomenally difficult to actually get anything accomplished, even as the President. There are so many layers of approval that have to be attained, so many loopholes that have to be circumnavigated, and so many relationships that have to be maintained that I’m sure it’s exceedingly difficult to make any progress at all, let alone significant progress of which everyone approves. I think Obama is much more good than bad overall, and he is certainly better than Bush on the vast majority of issues.
It’s difficult to tell what effect some of his administration’s major policies will have on the US and the rest of the world until some time has passed. If the effect is positive, then the next president will have an easier job than President Obama. If they are negative, then the next president will continue the trend of inheriting, and trying to manage, a mess.
On a different note, President Obama is much more charming and likeable than former President Bush, unless you like that cocky John Wayne-esque swagger that characterised President Bush’s personality. But, Obama has a bit of a swagger himself, but it is combined with a charm and eloquence that was lacking in the Bush administration. Now, I know it sounds trite and superficial to mention these things, but they are extremely important considering the President is the person we choose to represent us to the rest of the world.
ellyjude,
1. Obama is not Kenyan – he is an American citizen who was born and raised in America. His father is from Kenya, but that honestly doesn’t mean much of anything. It’s a moot point.
2. It doesn’t matter if he’s a good speaker if he can’t be bothered to fact check himself or actually put actions behind his words.
3. He was the lesser of two evils twice – if McCain hadn’t been taking crazy pills or Romney hadn’t be a worthless, out-of-touch, cartoonishly evil jerk – I would have never voted for him. I don’t really like Obama as either a person or a politician, I just don’t hate him either. He’s more of a disappointment then anything else.