So how will history judge Obama?

[Abertawe]

What did he actually achieve that was any good? I'm struggling. His healthcare thing had good intentions I suppose but it ended up pretty crap. Same sex marriage was a plus but I'd put that down to natural social progression than some divine presidential intervention. Under his administration the world has seemingly fell to shit, the flames were lit before he took office but foreign policy under him has been a clusterfuck.

He got elected off the back of $2bn worth of donations so it was naive to believe he'd be anything other than a puppet. It's a shame because people really thought change had come but ultimately the assumed benefactors of the change got the opposite to what they were expecting. Daily videos of black men getting shot & killed by police wasn't supposed to be part of the script. He was pretty fucking anonymous in sorting that shit out.

I'd like to think he was a good guy undermined by the system but that would be stupid. One of the sickest PR inventions of the 21st century, no doubts about it he was slick, the ultimate statesman in that sense, just a shame he was a rubbish president for the majority.

 

[G-Dragon]

First Black president of the United States of America.

 

[NorfolkWomble]

Massively expanded the powers of the NSA and other security agencies, extended the global war on terror, killed hundreds from drones.

 

[TubularBells]

Depends if you're Republican or Democrat. Got friends on both sides over there and the review of him could not be more different. You have to remember. He is just a figure head. Most US Policy, as with ours; goes via diplomatic and civil service means. I.E: It's them who make the decisions, he takes the blame. Do you think Trump will get any of his crackpot ideas through Congress etc? Nah!
Notice he's backtracked on most of his proposals.Don't judge him as much as the comedy circus that is Congress and the Senate.

 

[SALTIRE]

First Black president of the United States of America.

He's as much white as he is black!

Could've been an important President, and he is a pretty good statesman and orator; but he's been pretty meek in his leadership at every turn.

 

[TubularBells]

He's as much white as he is black!

Racist

 

[Abertawe]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/09/barack-obama-legacy-presidency

 

[Abertawe]

 

[G-Dragon]

tbf Obama did well to handle all the shit left by Bush.

 

[AFCB_Mark]

Unfortunately he will go down best remembered A) a brilliant orator who got little of substance done, and B) as the bloke who preceded / set the stage for Donald Trump to get elected. The issue of relations between the police and urban African American communities will also be a stain on his legacy, as if anything it only worsened during his time in office.

In reality he's had a really shit time of it with his hands being constantly tied by republican majorities in the houses. Not really his fault that.

 

[Red]

Failed to get the Guantanamo bay detention centre closed down, don't know to what extent his hands were tied on this though.

 

[Bilo]

Failed to get the Guantanamo bay detention centre closed down, don't know to what extent his hands were tied on this though.

This is mentioned a lot as a failure, which is a highly contestable narrative to say the least.

Obama's first order as a president was to close down Guantanamo within one year. It was one of his leading promises in his campaign, and he did everything in his power to close it down. He failed, but that had very little to do with him. It was instead an unholy alliance in the congress of republicans and democrats blocking the money needed to build a high security prison as a replacement for Guantanamo bay. In simple terms, Guantanamo couldn't be closed down without a replacement in place, and that was way out of Obama's hands.

However, and this is somehow concequently overlooked: in total Guantanamo bay has held 779 prisoners since its opening in january 2002. Obama's tactic, due to the situation in congress, has instead been to empty the prison (for the lack of a better word). Today there are 55 prisoners left, which is 55 too many but nonetheless as good a result as anyone could expect from a president with tied hands.

So while he has failed to close down Guantanamo, he identified and largely succeeded with his alternative tactic. The criticism shouldn't really come to that he didn't close it down, he couldnt; but rather that his work is easily undone. It's a much more fair narrative, but one that gives some credit to the Obama administration.

And by and large, looking at Obama and his successes and failures, that's my take on his administration as a whole. A lot of good things were done in a ridiculously hopeless situation, financially and politically. The problem is that most of these good things will be undone. Possibly because Obama expected to be succeeded by a democrat, possibly because he has no responsibility for the following administration's actions. I'm not sure and I don't really care which way.

In conclusion, Guantano is a good example mirroring much of what Obama has done. He tried and he failed, but much good came from trying alone. It's only through focusing entirely on the goals he set and didn't reach that you can come to the conclusion that his administration was a failure. It's not a view I support, but I can see its appeal. For me though, it's a bit like criticising the manager for not signing a badly needed striker when the board gives him no money whatsoever.

 

[SALTIRE]

 

[johnnytodd]

He did fuck all and the dicks that voted for him did it out of pity.

 

[Red]

This is mentioned a lot as a failure, which is a highly contestable narrative to say the least.

Obama's first order as a president was to close down Guantanamo within one year. It was one of his leading promises in his campaign, and he did everything in his power to close it down. He failed, but that had very little to do with him. It was instead an unholy alliance in the congress of republicans and democrats blocking the money needed to build a high security prison as a replacement for Guantanamo bay. In simple terms, Guantanamo couldn't be closed down without a replacement in place, and that was way out of Obama's hands.

However, and this is somehow concequently overlooked: in total Guantanamo bay has held 779 prisoners since its opening in january 2002. Obama's tactic, due to the situation in congress, has instead been to empty the prison (for the lack of a better word). Today there are 55 prisoners left, which is 55 too many but nonetheless as good a result as anyone could expect from a president with tied hands.

So while he has failed to close down Guantanamo, he identified and largely succeeded with his alternative tactic. The criticism shouldn't really come to that he didn't close it down, he couldnt; but rather that his work is easily undone. It's a much more fair narrative, but one that gives some credit to the Obama administration.

And by and large, looking at Obama and his successes and failures, that's my take on his administration as a whole. A lot of good things were done in a ridiculously hopeless situation, financially and politically. The problem is that most of these good things will be undone. Possibly because Obama expected to be succeeded by a democrat, possibly because he has no responsibility for the following administration's actions. I'm not sure and I don't really care which way.

In conclusion, Guantano is a good example mirroring much of what Obama has done. He tried and he failed, but much good came from trying alone. It's only through focusing entirely on the goals he set and didn't reach that you can come to the conclusion that his administration was a failure. It's not a view I support, but I can see its appeal. For me though, it's a bit like criticising the manager for not signing a badly needed striker when the board gives him no money whatsoever.

Cheers B. Good post

 

[NorfolkWomble]

To his credit he stopped the US being drawn into another Middle Eastern war against Assad which would have resulted in hundreds of US soldiers dead and a full blown re ignition of the Cold War

 

[johnnytodd]

To his credit he stopped the US being drawn into another Middle Eastern war against Assad which would have resulted in hundreds of US soldiers dead and a full blown re ignition of the Cold War

So he's a shithouse, not a very good record that a proven runner.

 

[Red]

So he's a shithouse, not a very good record that a proven runner.

Racist.

 

[Abertawe]

To his credit he stopped the US being drawn into another Middle Eastern war against Assad which would have resulted in hundreds of US soldiers dead and a full blown re ignition of the Cold War

He did?