Obama's Spectacular Presidency
I just wanted this to get some air. Obama is officially the best President the U.S. has had in a long, looong time. From finally cracking the health insurance nut, to getting the Iran deal, his Presidency has been one of cool, clear headed forward thinking. Follow below squiggle for a quick roundup of his achievements, courtesy of Vox.
From the article: Barack Obama is officially one of the most consequential presidents in American history
On the Iran deal and Obama's focus on diplomacy:
Obama has reestablished productive diplomacy as the central task of a progressive foreign policy, and as a viable alternative approach to dealing with countries the GOP foreign policy establishment would rather bomb. He established a viable alternative to the liberal hawks that dominated Democratic thinking during the Bush years, and held positions of influence on Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign.In comparison to the foreign policy wins of yesteryear:
Obama, by contrast, achieved two huge openings to countries the US had previously counted as enemies for decades. They are achievements more like Nixon's opening to China than, say, the SALT accords. And, of course, Obama has a major Russian arms control deal under his belt in the form of New START, as well.On Obamacare
Brian Steensland, a sociologist who studies American social policy at Indiana University in Indianapolis, agrees. "The main thing it does, I think, is establish the expectation in the public’s mind that access to basic health care is a right," he says. "It’s going to be hard to go back to a time when access to health insurance, and the subsidies to help pay for it, wasn’t near-universal."And on and on and onTo pay for it all, the Affordable Care Act cut back on Medicare spending and hiked taxes on rich people's investment income and health plans. It effected a massive downward redistribution of income. It's one of the most startlingly progressive laws this country has ever enacted.
He used executive action to enact bold regulations to curb greenhouse gas emissions, and to protect nearly 6 million undocumented immigrants from deportation. He ended the ban on gay and lesbian service in the military, made it easier for women and minorities to fight wage discrimination, cut out wasteful private sector involvement in student loans, and hiked the top income tax rate. He reprofessionalized the Department of Justice and refashioned the National Labor Relations Board and the Wage and Hour Division of the Labor Department into highly effective forces for workers' rights.We've never had anyone like him - and I would be very surprised if we ever did again. No man has carried the office, through joy and struggle, as well and as dutifully as President Obama.His presidency holds massive symbolic value as proof that the reign of white men over American government can be halted and America as a whole can be represented. And while he was too slow in announcing support for same-sex marriage, he appointed two of the justices behind the Supreme Court's historic decision legalizing it nationwide, and enlisted his Justice Department on the side of the plaintiffs.
There are definite points of disagreement I have with him, but it's still a damn shame we can't get a third term out of him.
By P. Calith
