The Barack Obama presidency, despite eight years of irrational and vicious clamor from his detractors, will likely get good marks in the pages of history.
First of all, he inherited an economy on the brink of catastrophe caused mainly by reckless, greedy investors (let’s use the proper name – “crooks”) on Wall Street. In his economic-recovery plan, Obama insisted on bailing out the banks, despite howls of what seemed like justified outrage. But that, along with other emergency measures, worked, and the banks paid back the money. He also saved America’s car industry from virtual collapse. In what was the worst recession since the 1930s, the Obama administration saved not only America’s economy but indirectly also the world economy. Yes, the road to recovery was slow, but in Obama’s eight years in office, 11.3 million jobs were created. The unemployment rate fell from close to 10 percent to below 5 percent. Too bad, though, the crooks didn’t go to prison where they belong.
Second, Obama brought us the Affordable Care Act, the first bill passed toward the goal of universal health-insurance coverage in American history. Thanks to the ACA, there are now at least 20 million more people insured who couldn’t access health insurance before. Millions more just recently signed up. The law also brought scores of other guarantees, such as no denial for pre-existing conditions, no discrimination in women’s health policies and children being able to stay on their parents’ policy until age 26. Contrary to the uproar from its critics who only want to howl about the ACA’s drawbacks (and yes, it needs to be improved), the ACA has been a success, overall, not a “train wreck.” Even if ACA enemies repeal the law, it will stand as a landmark for future forms of health-care policies, such as a one-payer system, which the United States is going to have to adopt, like it or not, in the not-too-distant future, just as all other civilized nations have.
As promised, Obama also drew down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; Osama bin Laden was killed under his watch and orders; he enhanced fuel-efficiency standards; he increased supports for returning veterans; he tightened sanctions on Iran and a deal to compel that country to quit its nuclear-bomb production; he improved the food-safety program; he expanded and protected wilderness and watershed protection; he improved school nutrition, he expanded hate-crimes protections; he helped push for legalizing same-sex marriage, and allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military; he boosted the size of AmericCorps, the national-service program; he pushed for green-energy programs and tirelessly worked for an international recognition that man-made climate-change is, in fact, happening, which is now recognized via a treaty by almost every country on Earth.
Those are just some of the Obama achievements created by him or led by him during his years in office. What’s so discouraging is all of those accomplishments have gone unnoticed by so many Americans because of all the nonsense, noise, lies and propaganda perpetrated by the Obama-haters who were so obsessively determined to deny him any credit at all – for anything at all.
Last but not least, President Obama, his wonderful wife Michelle and their two intelligent, lovely daughters brought constant grace and dignity to what was a refreshingly scandal-free eight-year residence in the White House.
