The Dark and Bright Points of Barack Obama's Presidency

Obama is among those presidents whose record is intertwined with issues related to racial relations and identity politics, similar to Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon B. Johnson. Racial tensions escalated during his presidency (from the Ferguson and Baltimore riots to protests in dozens of other cities on one side and the killing of dozens of police officers by African Americans on the other) and in the realm of LGBTQ rights, we witnessed key events (the legalization of same-sex marriage). His record can also be evaluated based on his promises and achievements in the areas of healthcare, the war on terror, immigration, employment, foreign policy, the environment, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. What were Obama's achievements and failures in these areas? What legacy will he leave behind? Racial Relations Given that Obama and some of his cabinet colleagues were of African descent (like the Attorney General), it was expected that racial tensions in the United States would decrease. However, this did not happen. The Obama administration swept many of the problems that fueled these tensions (which are not limited to police behavior with minorities and police are the last group to face these issues) under the rug. Democrats usually label these issues as racial while the solutions are not racial. The biggest problem for African American communities is the high unemployment rate among young people in this group, which did not see significant improvement during Obama's presidency. Obama's political maneuvering and the Democratic Party's strategies in general, and the Democratic Party's strategies during the 2016 election, were more focused on identity politics, while the issues of various classes were more economic and social in nature, which even fair coexistence of identities cannot remedy. Healthcare According to government officials, about 20 million of the 45 million uninsured people have gained insurance through the Obama healthcare law. This figure also includes millions who could have obtained insurance through Medicaid (insurance for low-income individuals) even without this law. This insurance had three serious problems: 1) the inefficiency of registration websites at the beginning and significant resource waste, 2) the increase in the share that insured individuals had to pay (like 75 percent in some states since the beginning of 2017), and 3) the decrease in individuals' motivation to have a full-time job of 40 hours a week given the benefits that part-time workers could gain from this insurance. This insurance also had benefits such as covering children of insured individuals until the age of 26 and removing insurance restrictions for individuals with a medical history. Donald Trump, while promising to repeal these insurances, has pledged to maintain these two conditions for the insured. Employment and Economic Growth During Obama's presidency, 16 million jobs were created, but government critics say that most of these jobs do not provide enough pay to sustain a living. The exit of industrial jobs continued during Obama's presidency. The unemployment rate dropped from over 9 percent in 2008 to 4.6 percent at the end of Obama's term. However, critics argue that millions of people have simply given up on finding jobs and therefore do not count as unemployed. The average economic growth during Obama's presidency was about 2.1 percent, the lowest rate in the years following World War II (the average growth during this period was 2.9). However, during this period, the country emerged from the economic crisis, and some industries, like automobile manufacturing, which were on the brink of collapse, returned to prosperity. War on Terror and Cybersecurity Critics of the Obama administration argue that this government made a strategic mistake by withdrawing all American forces from Iraq in 2011 (like the former ambassador to Iraq in the United States or some American military commanders), and the vacuum created by this withdrawal gave Islamist forces, who wanted to establish an Islamic caliphate in the Sunni regions of Iraq, the opportunity. The civil war in Syria caused the Islamic State to include part of Syria in its territory. The Obama administration was successful in eliminating bin Laden and numerous al-Qaeda members, but it did not achieve much success in the propaganda war against the Islamic State. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continued at the end of Obama's term, and the promise to close Guantanamo prison was not realized. In the cyber realm, the federal government, companies, and the Democratic Party were hacked by Chinese and Russian hackers. Foreign Policy Due to the lack of punishment for Bashar al-Assad's government after the use of chemical weapons against the declared red line by Obama, rival and enemy governments of the United States gained courage during his administration. Russia occupied Crimea and provided military supplies to separatists in Eastern Ukraine (which led to the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 with 298 passengers and crew). The Chinese government engaged in the construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea for military purposes. The Islamic Republic also fired at American ships in the Persian Gulf without receiving an appropriate response (other than labeling these dangerous behaviors as unprofessional). In the Syrian negotiations, the U.S. government was ultimately sidelined. Critics of the nuclear agreement with Iran argue that given the bankruptcy of the Islamic Republic's government due to sanctions (an empty treasury and about one thousand trillion tomans in debt), this agreement could have controlled Iran's nuclear program much better than it did (a longer period for imposing restrictions, more time before weaponization of this program, and fewer centrifuges). After the agreement, the Obama administration sent $1.4 billion in cash to a government that the U.S. State Department had placed at the top of the list of state sponsors of terrorism. Immigration In the area of immigration, everything the Obama administration did was through executive orders that the next government could easily revoke. One of these was the non-deportation of those illegal immigrants who had gone to school in the United States and wanted to go to college or serve in the military. One of the criticisms of Obama's immigration policy by Republicans was the acceptance of unaccompanied migrant children and teenagers sent to the United States (which was against U.S. immigration ethics and policy) and the acceptance of Syrian migrants while some of them could be members of Islamist groups and pose a threat to American society. Environment The Obama administration, in the area of the environment, fueled tensions between job creation and environmental issues rather than implementing policies aimed at thriving employment while addressing environmental issues. Disruption of the Keystone pipeline construction and banning oil extraction on the East and West coasts prevented thousands of people from being employed in these areas. The Obama administration joined the Paris Agreement, which somewhat reduces the carbon released into the atmosphere. Obama's Legacy Since a significant portion of the actions taken during Obama's presidency was based on executive orders or party votes, his legacy will quickly be erased by a few signatures from a Republican president and a few majority votes in Congress. Trump can swiftly revoke his executive orders, and Congress is also looking to quickly repeal laws based on the exclusive wishes of the Democratic Party (like the Obama healthcare law). What was achieved during Obama's presidency due to the favorable atmosphere and the majority of Supreme Court justices (like the legalization of same-sex marriage) will remain because it will be difficult for this court, even with a majority of conservative justices (with the appointment of a ninth justice by Trump), to annul the marriages that have taken place. However, it is unclear whether universal equality in marriage can be attributed to Obama's legacy since his administration played no role in this area other than appointing two non-conservative justices. The federal government's debt also increased from about $10 trillion to about $20 trillion during Obama's presidency. The Democratic Party is in a much more difficult position in 2017 than in 2009. This party has lost hundreds of seats in Congress, state legislatures, and governor's mansions under Obama's presidency as the head of this party. Obama's record can be instructive for the younger generation that voted for him in that "hope" alone cannot lead to the realization of demands; some hopes can be destructive (like the hope for a socialist society), some do not align with realism (like the hope for coexistence with those who want to destroy you), and some face serious obstacles to realization (like the hope for suitable employment for every citizen).