Barack Obama

America's first black president, Barack Obama represents an important milestone in the history of race relations within the US. The last non-white person to hold a prominent role in the executive branch, outside of cabinet members, was Charles Curtis, the Native American vice president of Herbert Hoover's administration. Obama's entry into the White House was a crucial moment that showed America's black, Asian, indigenous, Latino, Pacific Islander, and Indian populations that they had the potential to reach the upper echelons of the country's society and government. But his inauguration, race, and the symbolic importance of those things are irrelevant to Obama's actual performance as president. Logically, that begs the question: Was Barack Obama a good president? Yes.

Obama took office amidst the Great Recession. One of his first actions as president was to sign a series of bills that granted large sums of money to American businesses, especially those in the automobile market. These programs were quite successful and helped dig the US out of the pits of economic despair. Obama also signed the Dodd-Frank Act, an important law that prohibited banks from investing in hedge funds. This is a great policy, as the absence of this regulation would allow banks to invest people's deposits in risky hedge funds that ultimately go nowhere, hence losing that money. The Dodd-Frank Act also established government agencies that let people anonymously report irresponsible financial practices and that worked to make sure no corporation became so large that its collapse would jeopardize the whole economy.

The Dodd-Frank Act wasn't Obama's only important economic reform. On March 23, 2010, he signed the Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as "Obamacare". This law prohibited health insurance companies from denying coverage to people on the basis of pre-existing conditions. People with those sorts of conditions are those who need health insurance the most, so this is absolutely a positive regulation. The statute also provides tax cuts to corporations that give their employees health insurance and requires health insurance companies to dedicate at least 80% of their profits to actually paying for their clients' medical needs.

In the introduction to this post, I mentioned that Obama, merely by nature of being a black man in the White House, represents an important step forward in America's history. Not only is he significant from a symbolic perspective, but his administration also instituted various important reforms in terms of civil rights and the people's liberties. For example, one of Obama's predecessors, Bill Clinton, instituted a policy called Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Under this provision, gay people were allowed to serve in the military but were prohibited from being open about their sexuality while in the military. Obama signed a law repealing this rule. In dismantling Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Obama allowed gay people to openly work in the military. In one of his last acts while president, he also pardoned 1,900 nonviolent drug offenders. He also repealed much of George W. Bush's PATRIOT Act.

Foreign policy proved to be yet another strength of the Obama Administration. Throughout his tenure, Obama worked to improve America's relationship with Cuba, Russia, China, Venezuela, and Iran. While all of these governments are authoritarian and awful, for the sake of their citizens, it's better to maintain healthy relations.

Regarding Obama's approach to Iran, he also brokered the Iran Nuclear Deal. Under this agreement, the Iranian government agreed to reduce its nuclear weapons program. In exchange, Obama lifted all sanctions against the country. This terrific statute both lessened the threat of nuclear war and drastically improved life for the average Iranian, as the US was no longer harming their country with barbaric embargoes and sanctions. Obama also ended the Iraq War by withdrawing the last American soldiers from that country. While both of these are great things, Obama does deserve criticism for his excessive use of drone strikes, eventual restoration of the American presence in Iraq, and support of the Saudi Arabian government's genocide in Yemen.

Yet another thing the Obama Administration warrants criticism for is its response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. On April 20, 2010, an explosion took place off the coast of Louisiana, destroying a nearby collection of oil barrels. Their containers having literally been blown to bits, the oil at that facility quickly spilled all across the surrounding waters. It was one of the worst oil spills in recorded history, and Obama did very little about it.

While Obama's response to this incident was absolutely atrocious, his policies benefitted the environment in many ways. For example, Obama initiated one of the first campaigns to reduce carbon emissions in American history. Similarly, Obama signed the Paris Climate Accords, a document in which all signing countries agreed to reduce their carbon emissions by 25% before January 1, 2030.

Barack Obama, despite his flaws, was a great president. He fought pollution and climate change, allowed gay people to openly serve in the military, ended the Iraq War, attempted to improve America's relationship with countries it had previously been closed off to, implemented an effective response to the Great Recession, signed the Affordable Care Act, instituted numerous logical economic reforms, was a champion of civil liberties, and showed America's minorities that they will eventually break the chains of oppression.