Obama's Legacy - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

President Obama is a likeable guy, which is probably the reason his approval rating is around 50% or more at the same time when nearly 70% of the country believes that the United States is going in the wrong direction.   Obama sold himself as a change agent out to transform our country presumably into a European style Socialist democracy.  The only problem is that the United States is a center right country, which is probably the reason why during Obama's tenure, the American people have elected 33 Republican Governors out of 50, two thirds of state legislatures are now controlled by Republicans along with both Houses of Congress and the Presidency.  All of this is a complete repudiation of Obama's politically correct policies. 

As Obama leaves office, he is leaving the Democrat Party in shambles with no real bench for the future; though Trump proves that someone can come out of no where and run for the Presidency.  Rather than embrace Free Market Principles that are best at growing the economy, business and jobs, Obama supported Crony Capitalism rewarding big donors, raised taxes and added hundreds of job killing regulations that resulted in minimal GDP growth, nearly 50 million Americans on Welfare and Food Stamps, up 20 million since Obama was first elected and the highest poverty rate and the lowest labor participation rate in three decades.


In addition, Obama's weak foreign policy that began with his apology tour and the Russian reset has resulted in the spread of Terrorism around the world, the Middle East on fire, a resurgent Russia and an assertive China and North Korea.  The United States is not safer today than when Obama first took office. 

And, perhaps most important because Obama and the Democrats have used identity politics to win whatever elections they have won, the United States has never been so divided since the Civil War.  While Obama as the nation's first Black President could have been a unifying force for good, at every turn Obama and Hillary Clinton in the recent election have played to left wing interest groups and in the process not only turned off half the country; but created a genuine schism that could take years to heal.  

The result was the election of Donald Trump to the surprise of the Establishment of both political parties and the left wing media.  Every action has a reaction.   Trump is just the reaction to the politically correct world advocated by President Obama and other Democrats. 

While it will take many years for historians to analyze the Obama Presidency related to his rating in history, it is not looking too good today.  Of course, left wing historians will blame others for Obama's failures.  Obama had the makings of a great President.  However, Obama was probably too inexperienced and ideological to achieve his real potential.  Too bad, the Obama Presidency was a real lost opportunity to go down in history as one of our greatest Presidents.  Instead, the best that will be said of Obama is that he was our nation's first Black President.

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