Barack Obama will be remembered primarily for one thing: being the first African- American president, and that is a shame. Presidents should be judged by how they perform during their time in office, and how successfully they follow the previous president.
To break down his presidency, we need to evaluate his social impact as well as his actions on national security and immigration. These were not only major topics during his time in office, but also continue to carry great importance with the new administration.
In certain respects, Obama made a positive impact during his time in office.
This includes his work championing women’s rights. Obama created a specific administrative role known as the “Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues,” and signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act which gave women a longer window in which they could file suit under wage discrimination claims. He also created the White House Council on Women and Girls, worked to empower young women and addressed issues such as campus sexual assault. These are three of his most memorable achievements for women’s rights and they must be commemorated.
Additionally, Obama broke barriers by being the first African-American president. While I don’t think that automatically means that he was successful while in office, it still was a major accomplishment.
And finally, Obama was peaceful. Presidents who keep us out of war will always get my thumbs up. He was peaceful through adversity, too. Iran, North Korea and Russia all posed significant national security challenges, and to Obama’s credit, he handled them all well enough to the point that I felt safe.
But in other instances, Obama’s overly-cautious approach to national security was nothing short of a disappointment.
America is the largest superpower in the world, making it essential for us to assist in places of need. Rather than take decisive action when the time called for it, Obama often delayed or took partisan stances on important issues.
For example, between April and September of 2015, the African Jihadist group Boko Haram committed 106 attacks on the nation of Cameroon, including suicide bombings and kidnapping.
Obama’s response of sending 300 armed troops to perform reconnaissance and intelligence missions in Cameroon proved to be “too little, too late,” according to Landry Signé of the Washington Post. In this instance, immediate and aggressive military troops should have been deployed right away.
Obama talks a good game on immigration, but did virtually nothing to increase border security and diminish the illegal immigration rates in America. Some may say that deportations actually increased under Obama, but this is because apprehensions near the border were redefined during the Obama administration as deportations.
DACA was one of Obama’s most famous programs, giving immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children the ability to apply for amnesty from deportation.
Obama talks a good game on immigration, but did virtually nothing to increase border security and diminish the illegal immigration rates in America.
This sounds like a fantastic thing for those entered into this program, but this downplays the need to enter legally into the U.S. by suggesting to families that their children will be safe if they enter the U.S. illegally or overstay their visas.
Additionally, DACA was established by a Department of Homeland Security memo, meaning it never received the approval of Congress. Making such a significant policy decision without the approval of Congress is clearly contrary to the spirit of democracy and deserves criticism.
Obama did do some good during his eight years as president, but as someone who weighs his whole time during office, I can come to the conclusion that Obama did not positively impact America enough for him to be considered a good president.
