At the beginning of his Presidency, I was happy the Bush years were over and proud of my country for electing him--the first African American President and a man that seemed to be the reverse image of George W. Bush's Presidency. He was articulate, every day seemed to bring a new policy, and he had a hopeful vision of tomorrow. For 8 years, we ignored domestic policy. September 11, 2001, happened just short of 9 months into George W. Bush's reign. Everything seemed to be about fighting terrorism, except for the tax cuts in 2001 and 2003. This showed in the 19 million jobs, lost in both Presidencies, during the Great Recession, the lack of effectiveness in the response to Hurricane Katrina, banning stem-cell research in the United States, and this President promised to do as much for the American people, as was done in iraq or Afghanistan.
I was disappointed in how the Affordable Care Act was negotiated. It took 11 months to get through the bill. That is an awful long time, and most of it, was trying to get Republicans on-board with Universal Health Care. I applaud him for his conviction to be bi-partisan, but I thought he wasted too much capital on a policy that hasn't seen much change in results for the American People. Yes, 20 million more are insured. But that doesn't mean that they have full-coverage, can afford prescriptions, and utilize that insurance when they get sick. I have my frustrations with his crowning achievement, and when Bernie Sanders said he was replace it with a single-payer system, I held my breath. He wouldn't get through the Congress and it would do the same thing to his Presidency when there is too much to do.
I am happy that the economy started to recover after the Stimulus Package was implemented, that he saved the Auto Industry in 2009, and we have grown for basically 7 years, although GDP growth has been lackluster. I am frustrated that income inequality has continued to grow, as the top 1% has seen their pockets lined in this recovery, while the rest of us live off of scraps. I do not blame him for this, as his policies have been DOA with this Congress. His Jobs Bill, for instance, killed before it even was debated. "We don't need another big-government spending program," then-Speaker of the House John Boehner, on debating this.
According to Bob Woodward, in "The Price of Politics," President Obama himself, killed Joe Biden's secret negotiations by announcing basically a photo-op with John Boehner, that they would come to a deal over a meeting at the White House. If he had not done this, the US would be in a better position financially. Congress and Joe Biden were actually making some progress, and egos, walking away from the negotiations because the President and Boehner were starting their own negotiations, ended the months-long back-and-forth over what to cut, how to pay down the debt, and concessions had been made on both sides of the aisle. The negotiations were secret because to expose that a Democrat wanted to cut Medicaid, or a Republican wanted to cut Defense, would leave them vulnerable in re-election.. If true, it may be the greatest mistake of his Presidency because it would've ended some of the animosity, not build more, between him and Congress. And it would've been a huge accomplishment for this President, individually.
My favorite part of this President's Administration, was the progress made for my community--LGBT rights. He "evolved" on the issue and started the DNC's "Love is Love" campaign. In the last 8 years, we have gotten marriage equality across the land. Thank you, Edie Windsor. But a host of policies--ending DADT, allowing Transgender soldiers, extending domestic partnership benefits to all Federal employees--happened as a direct action by President Obama, and for that, I thank him. To the 30% of Americans that changed their mind on this issue since 2004, thank you, as well.
Is there more work to be done? Income Inequality, Climate Change, Infrastructure funding, Election and Redistricting Reform, Defeating ISIS and Al Qaeda, Closing Guantanamo Bay, Debt Reduction, just a couple I would like Hillary Clinton to take up in her first 100 days. His Presidency was stalled by a fierce opposition, more gridlock in Washington, than anything I have seen in my lifetime. And for that, I carry some ire for the other side. They continue to put politics above what is right for the American people, which is why I think Donald Trump is the head of the snake, not a pariah leeched onto the party and sucking it dry.
I would say, about the man, he seems to be decent and even-handed, intelligent, and a good father. That is my impression of him. I am inspired when he speaks of American values and character. His 2009 Inaugural Address was regular viewing as a part of my daily routine before I went back to college. At the beginning of the Great Recession, I was homeless, without income and turning in job application after job application without any bites, and without medical treatment. In the last year, I have returned to work, gotten a bigger apartment, and started working towards my goal of being a Social Worker. So, when asked, have you improved in the 8 years of this man's Presidency? I have FELT the economy recovering. I have seen it in my life. My income has grown by over 20,000 dollars a year.
As for how I think history will perceive him--his popularity will continue to grow. I will miss him from day one, but I think Americans will look back on him with nostalgia for the time we had a competent, sane, decent and moral, man in the White House. He has exposed that we have a race problem in this country. That man--a child born of two continents, who was fed with food stamps by his mother, never had his father in his life, and becomes the leader of the free world--is the American Dream. Instead, we have told him to "Go back to Kenya." Someone actually said we were "Post-Racial," after his election. HA! Michelle Obama applauds America for going from a slave-built mansion to letting her intelligent daughters play on the front lawn of that mansion, and she is chastised by certain elements, who think I am calling racism simply because I want to discredit them and that I am the real bigot, that she shouldn't have pointed out the White House was built by slaves, because the slaves were well-treated.
What?
Going forward, we have to tackle THIS ISSUE by the horns, or risk becoming an ordinary country. By 2029, the first generation of majority-minority voters will be able to vote. That's only 13 years from now. Black men are killed by law enforcement at a higher rate than at anytime since the 1960s. Unemployment for Black men is still 10 percent in a lot of communities. This has to end, or the majority of Americans will be out-of-work. This has to end, or we will be a country that has Apartheid--ruled by elite whites and everyone else suffers and is seen as inferior. Morality aside, out of self-preservation, we must fix this problem, and soon.
Start it at 14:00 mark (this is the part that was played before every day at college)
