The Obama Legacy

[Moiraine]

Here's a very well written article regarding the perspective of a young American regarding the Hope and Change Obama promised in 2008. It's not a bitter partisan article but a nice read on why so many millennials and younger Americans are disillusioned with politics.

 

http://theweek.com/articles/629891/im-19yearold-democrat-heres-how-lost-faith-obama

Short version: A 19 year old who was 12 when Obama was elected discovers the President isn't all powerful.

[huKSer]

Obama's Legacy?

 

Well, his wife is hot

 

[krc1995]

History will be far, FAR kinder to Obama than his present-day detractors would have us believe. He hasn't been a great president, but he's been a very good president. Factor in the unprecedented opposition he's faced, and what he's accomplished almost single-handedly, and he'll be remembered well.

 

History will largely forget about this ridiculously obstructive congress. They're non-entities compared to Obama's legacy. But they'll be footnoted in as some of the worst, most embarrassingly partisan hacks in the last century.

 

And Obama will shine the brighter because of it.

and whether you agree with his policies or not, he did about every thing he said he was going to do in his election platform.

[HuskerNation1]

 

Here's a very well written article regarding the perspective of a young American regarding the Hope and Change Obama promised in 2008. It's not a bitter partisan article but a nice read on why so many millennials and younger Americans are disillusioned with politics.

 

http://theweek.com/articles/629891/im-19yearold-democrat-heres-how-lost-faith-obama

Short version: A 19 year old who was 12 when Obama was elected discovers the President isn't all powerful.

 

 

Slightly longer version-This 12 year old fell for the false promise of hope and change of which Obama failed to deliver.

[huKSer]

 

 

Here's a very well written article regarding the perspective of a young American regarding the Hope and Change Obama promised in 2008. It's not a bitter partisan article but a nice read on why so many millennials and younger Americans are disillusioned with politics.

 

http://theweek.com/articles/629891/im-19yearold-democrat-heres-how-lost-faith-obama

Short version: A 19 year old who was 12 when Obama was elected discovers the President isn't all powerful.

 

 

Slightly longer version-This 12 year old fell for the false promise of hope and change of which Obama failed to deliver.

 

 

On the first day in office he said Gitmo will be closed in a year. Or not

[Landlord]

 

 

Here's a very well written article regarding the perspective of a young American regarding the Hope and Change Obama promised in 2008. It's not a bitter partisan article but a nice read on why so many millennials and younger Americans are disillusioned with politics.

 

http://theweek.com/articles/629891/im-19yearold-democrat-heres-how-lost-faith-obama

Short version: A 19 year old who was 12 when Obama was elected discovers the President isn't all powerful.

 

 

Slightly longer version-This 12 year old fell for the false promise of hope and change of which Obama failed to deliver.

 

 

 

So just like every President and politician ever, then.

[zoogs]

Monarchs can be taken to task for not *giving* what they promised to give.

 

Presidents promise to push for things in a democratically negotiated society where they aren't always possible. Sometimes they don't know it's not. Sometimes they know they can only try. And sometimes the political climate changes, like maybe severe opposition gamesmanship in order to win elections.

 

And so we have a world where partisans will skewer Obama for failing to close Guantanamo while at the same time skewering him for overzealous executive orders. And, by the way, since it's been brought up in other threads lately:

 

Executive Order 13492

22 January 2009

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, in order to effect the appropriate disposition of individuals currently detained by the Department of Defense at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base (Guantánamo) and promptly to close detention facilities at Guantánamo, consistent with the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice, I hereby order as follows: ...

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ClosureOfGuantanamoDetentionFacilities

 

I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine how many days in office it took for President Obama to issue that.

 

Ref: https://www.quora.com/Why-hasnt-President-Obama-managed-to-close-the-prison-at-Guantanamo-Bay

[HuskerNation1]

As I pointed out at the start of this thread, part of Obama's legacy is that he has oversaw the worst economic recovery in the post World War II America.

 

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2016/07/29/seven-years-later-recovery-remains-the-weakest-of-the-post-world-war-ii-era/

 

Moreover, he's also the only President in US History to never have 3% growth in any of the quarters in which he was POTUS.

 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-30/barack-obama-will-be-only-president-history-never-have-year-3-gdp-growth

[knapplc]

How Obama’s Rising Approval Ratings Compare With Recent Presidents’

 

President Obama’s job approval ratings have been climbing of late. The president crossed the 50 percent approval threshold back in March for the first time since 2013, and he’s on track to finish his final term with a majority of Americans approving of the job he is doing. It’s only a slight majority, but that still looks pretty good compared with the approval ratings of other presidents since the end of World War II.

 

Presidents’ approval ratings tend to go up once they reach lame-duck status, after their successor is picked but before Inauguration Day. So it’s possible that Obama’s approval ratings, already pretty decent, will tick up several points before he officially leaves office.

 

With both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump historically disliked, it’s easy to see Obama’s recent popularity as a reaction to the candidates trying to replace him, rather than a change in how the public evaluates his performance. But, as the chart above shows, approval of Obama began to creep up in the summer of 2014 (a little over five years into his presidency), long before anyone but political diehards was thinking about 2016. Obama’s approval gains accumulated relatively gradually over the past two years. That doesn’t disprove the hypothesis that some voters are looking at their choices in 2016 and seeing Obama in a more positive light, but it does suggest that’s not the only factor at play.

[HuskerNation1]

 

How Obama’s Rising Approval Ratings Compare With Recent Presidents’

 

President Obama’s job approval ratings have been climbing of late. The president crossed the 50 percent approval threshold back in March for the first time since 2013, and he’s on track to finish his final term with a majority of Americans approving of the job he is doing. It’s only a slight majority, but that still looks pretty good compared with the approval ratings of other presidents since the end of World War II.

 

Presidents’ approval ratings tend to go up once they reach lame-duck status, after their successor is picked but before Inauguration Day. So it’s possible that Obama’s approval ratings, already pretty decent, will tick up several points before he officially leaves office.

 

With both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump historically disliked, it’s easy to see Obama’s recent popularity as a reaction to the candidates trying to replace him, rather than a change in how the public evaluates his performance. But, as the chart above shows, approval of Obama began to creep up in the summer of 2014 (a little over five years into his presidency), long before anyone but political diehards was thinking about 2016. Obama’s approval gains accumulated relatively gradually over the past two years. That doesn’t disprove the hypothesis that some voters are looking at their choices in 2016 and seeing Obama in a more positive light, but it does suggest that’s not the only factor at play.

 

 

I think this Real Clear Politics Average shows the exact moment (this past spring) when Obama's approval rating turned slightly positive overall. I would argue that his numbers have everything to do with Hillary and Trump being such bad nominees.

 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html

 

I would also add that Americans continue to remain very unhappy with the direction of the country under Obama's leadership.

 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/direction_of_country-902.html

[QMany]

 

 

 

How Obamas Rising Approval Ratings Compare With Recent Presidents

 

President Obamas job approval ratings have been climbing of late. The president crossed the 50 percent approval threshold back in March for the first time since 2013, and hes on track to finish his final term with a majority of Americans approving of the job he is doing. Its only a slight majority, but that still looks pretty good compared with the approval ratings of other presidents since the end of World War II.

 

Presidents approval ratings tend to go up once they reach lame-duck status, after their successor is picked but before Inauguration Day. So its possible that Obamas approval ratings, already pretty decent, will tick up several points before he officially leaves office.

 

With both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump historically disliked, its easy to see Obamas recent popularity as a reaction to the candidates trying to replace him, rather than a change in how the public evaluates his performance. But, as the chart above shows, approval of Obama began to creep up in the summer of 2014 (a little over five years into his presidency), long before anyone but political diehards was thinking about 2016. Obamas approval gains accumulated relatively gradually over the past two years. That doesnt disprove the hypothesis that some voters are looking at their choices in 2016 and seeing Obama in a more positive light, but it does suggest thats not the only factor at play.

I think this Real Clear Politics Average shows the exact moment (this past spring) when Obama's approval rating turned slightly positive overall. I would argue that his numbers have everything to do with Hillary and Trump being such bad nominees.

 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html

 

I would also add that Americans continue to remain very unhappy with the direction of the country under Obama's leadership.

 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/direction_of_country-902.html

Obama's approval rating is 52, while Congress is 12. Apportion blame regarding "direction of the country" how you see fit.

[HuskerNation1]

 

 

 

How Obamas Rising Approval Ratings Compare With Recent Presidents

 

President Obamas job approval ratings have been climbing of late. The president crossed the 50 percent approval threshold back in March for the first time since 2013, and hes on track to finish his final term with a majority of Americans approving of the job he is doing. Its only a slight majority, but that still looks pretty good compared with the approval ratings of other presidents since the end of World War II.

 

Presidents approval ratings tend to go up once they reach lame-duck status, after their successor is picked but before Inauguration Day. So its possible that Obamas approval ratings, already pretty decent, will tick up several points before he officially leaves office.

 

With both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump historically disliked, its easy to see Obamas recent popularity as a reaction to the candidates trying to replace him, rather than a change in how the public evaluates his performance. But, as the chart above shows, approval of Obama began to creep up in the summer of 2014 (a little over five years into his presidency), long before anyone but political diehards was thinking about 2016. Obamas approval gains accumulated relatively gradually over the past two years. That doesnt disprove the hypothesis that some voters are looking at their choices in 2016 and seeing Obama in a more positive light, but it does suggest thats not the only factor at play.

I think this Real Clear Politics Average shows the exact moment (this past spring) when Obama's approval rating turned slightly positive overall. I would argue that his numbers have everything to do with Hillary and Trump being such bad nominees.

 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html

 

I would also add that Americans continue to remain very unhappy with the direction of the country under Obama's leadership.

 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/direction_of_country-902.html

Obama's approval rating is 52, while Congress is 12. Apportion blame regarding "direction of the country" how you see fit.

 

 

Congressional approval has been low for years, even when Bush was POTUS and his approval rating was relatively high until his final year in office. There were many times in Bush's 2nd term where his approval was 20 to 25 points higher than Congress, and this was during his lowest approval years when the country was tired of Iraq. Also, when the Dems controlled Congress in Obama's first term (March, 2010), the Congressional approval was down to 16% as well. Prior to Hillary and Trump making Obama's ratings go up, his approval rating was in the low 40s while his approval rating was in the low to mid 50s. I would argue that Bush would have seen a bounce in his approval rating in 2008 (prior to the international financial crisis) had Trump and Hillary been the nominees back then.

[QMany]

You would argue a lot of things.

[HuskerNation1]

Another example of the poor foreign policy decisions made by the Obama administration. The US has had a long-standing policy of not paying ransom for Americans captured by other countries, yet Obama approved paying $400 million to Iran for the release of our Americans. I know we have many Obama supporters on this forum...do you really approve of the US paying ransom?

 

http://nypost.com/2016/08/18/state-department-400m-cash-to-iran-was-contingent-on-us-prisoners-release/

[zoogs]

Here we go with the NY Post again.

 

Do you fact check yourself before posting virulent claims, bnilhome? You should.