The Obama Administration

[Andalusian girls]

as the man now appears to be the lamest of ducks it is perhaps time for brief reflection before venturing into the speculative unknown.

and so comrades, what are your thoughts feelings opinions on the Obama administration now that it is largely over? did he exceed expectations? disappoint? does he look better than ever knowing what is to come after?

a hastily scribbled timeline of major events and decisions to jolt the memory if anyone needs it

Spoiler: show

2009 -
- Signs $800 billion stimulus into law
- Signs an executive order closing Guantanamo Bay, unfulfilled to this day but the prison's population is less than 10% of what it was
- Afghanistan surge, troop levels increased by 50%
- Nominates Sonia Sotomayor to SCOTUS, replacing Justice David Souter
- The government assumes a controlling stake in a bankrupt General Motors
- Ends Bush's torture policies
- Signs credit card reform bill

2010 -
- Signs Obamacare into law
- Nominates Elena Kagan to SCOTUS replacing Justice John Paul Stevens
- Fails to stop LeBron James from televising the Decision
- Signs Dodd-Frank financial regulation
- Orders 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan
- The Afghanistan death toll under Obama surpasses the death toll there under Bush
- Extends Bush tax cuts
- Signs New START Treaty reducing American + Russian nuclear capacity

2011 -
- The Arab Spring begins, civil wars erupt in Syria, Yemen, and Libya. The U.N. Security Council authorizes military action in the latter to protect civilians
- A JSOC mission results in the death of Osama Bin Laden
- The U.S. led intervention in Libya results in the death of Muammar Gaddafi
- Following a failed attempt to renegotiate Bush's 2008 SOFA with Iraq the last American troops withdraw from the country. Troops also begin withdrawing from Afghanistan.
- Signs bill repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell
- Boosts fuel efficiency standards for automobiles, expected to double fuel economy for cars by 2025

2012 -
- Signs executive order preventing undocumented children from being deported
- Sets record for deportations of undocumented adults for a single term
- Militants attack U.S. Consulate in Libya, killing a U.S. Ambassador
- Announces red line in Syrian Civil War, declaring the U.S. will intervene if chemical weapons are deployed
- Ends Bush tax cuts for high-income individuals
- Following unscripted Biden declaration becomes first sitting president to come out in favor of same-sex marriage

2013 -
- Announces Climate Action Plan consisting of a series of pro-environment executive orders
- Chemical weapons are deployed in Syria, declines military intervention in favor of a Russian-backed chemical weapons disarmament plan for the Assad regime
- Federal government shutdown by House Republicans
- Budget deficit falls under $1 trillion for first time in Obama administration
- Edward Snowden leaks information of unconstitutional domestic surveillance. Obama administration seeks prosecution under Espionage Act, setting an administrative record for using it to go after whistle-blowers

2014 -
- Reestablishes political relations with Cuba, ends embargo.
- Group to be known as ISIS captures Fallujah and most of Anbar province, dismissed as the JV team relative to al-Qaeda
- Russians annex Crimea and fund separatists elements in Ukraine, Obama and European leaders orchestrate economic sanctions in retaliation
- Issues executive orders allowing millions of undocumented immigrants to apply for work permits
- ISIS overruns Mosul and much of northern Iraq. Obama announces to Congress he is deploying U.S. troops back to Iraq and authorizes air strikes in the country
- Declares an end to combat missions in Afghanistan
- Signs executive order raising minimum wage of federal contractors

2015 -
- Same-sex marriage legalized with both of Obama's Justices voting to do so
- U.S. and Iran strike deal on nuclear weapons
- Enters lame-duck presidency following Yeezy's announcement he will be the first black president in 2020
- Breakthrough in Paris on climate change accords largely as a result of China's unprecedented acquiescence. 195 countries agree to lower greenhouse gas emissions
- Vetoes the Keystone XL Pipeline bill

2016 -
- Nominates Merrick Garland to replace Justice Antonin Scalia. Nomination blocked by Republican Senate.
- Campaigns heavily for Hillary Clinton in presidential election
- Commutes the sentences of 300 federal inmates, largely victims of the government's war on drugs, bringing his total pardons to exceed those of the last eleven presidents combined
- Aggressively seeks passage of largest free-trade agreement in history, The Trans-Pacific Partnership, to pass Congress. Legislation likely dead because of the nomination of anti-trade candidate Donald Trump.

[BaneTheBrawler]

It is not unreasonable to say that I am alive because of Obamacare.

[Aerin]

For the most part I really liked his Presidency. Closing Guantanamo wasn't really a concern for me. I do wish we had done more once it was clear Assad used chemical weapons on his own people. I need to read more about Libya to better understand all that went on there, although I did like we didn't go that one alone, even though it didn't seem to be any more effective.

Will probably look more into it later.

[Roranora]

Damn Bane, coming in with the big guns right away.

[Niiro]

My uninformed opinion:

Dun goofed in Iraq but he wanted to keep his campaign promise to get out, people may have wanted it but it was the wrong move. I don't know enough about the nature of the SOFA negotiations to say what should have been done but the power vacuum left behind was a disaster that gave us ISIS. Going back in was very necessary.

Afghanistan is more complicated, but I think our efforts at nation building were in vain from day 1 (that's on Bush and Cheney). The Afghani people and the Taliban did not attack us and did not want us there, we've made far more enemies staying as long as we did and lost too many lives doing it. As with Iraq tho this was an inherited mess and I don't know what the best course of action would have been at the point it was handed off to Obama. If possible a more narrowly focused military effort against Al Qaeda and Bin Laden would have been preferable, but with a limited military presence I don't know how feasible or effective it would have been.

Misstep in Syria yielding to Russia's intervention, if you're going to draw a hard line you have to mean it. Should have taken a harder line with Russia in general.

Publicly lead from behind on gay rights but he knew what he was doing and ultimately got us there. In the past I may have criticized him for only embracing same sex marriage when it became politically convenient but I think that's just being overly idealistic.

Baby steps on climate change efforts but still probably more than any other administration. There's still a lot to do but we live in a country where half the population thinks it doesn't exist.

He inherited 2 disastrous wars and the biggest financial crisis since the great depression. He did a good job of getting us out of the hole the '08 meltdown left with positive economic and job growth for almost the entirety of his administration. Was too weak on foreign policy and allowed ISIS to rise and gave Russia too much of a comfort zone to wave their dick where it didn't belong. In a perfect world Hillary would have stayed on as SoS and Obama should have actually listened to her, presidential run be damned.

The ACA was his biggest accomplishment, as flawed as it was. Aside from providing health care for 20 million people it had the potential to pave the way for a public option which would have continued with Hillary's proposed public insurance, I think that is the most important thing that will be lost (or at least greatly delayed) because of Trump's victory.

[Zetanio]

He was OK. We've had worse.

[tyven]

Barry O forever a legend

Terrible deal maker

[thetruepandagod]

For the most part I really liked his Presidency. Closing Guantanamo wasn't really a concern for me. I do wish we had done more once it was clear Assad used chemical weapons on his own people. I need to read more about Libya to better understand all that went on there, although I did like we didn't go that one alone, even though it didn't seem to be any more effective.

Will probably look more into it later.

We came, we saw, he died.

[Cream Soda]

ACA didn't affect me personally. Only interaction I had with it was being poor enough not to have to pay the yearly fine. Been in 4 accidents under this administration and told the ambulance to go away 4 times, as I am still licking my asshole to get the taste out of my mouth from the bill from my first accident (which was in the Bush administration)

[Tyche]

Barry O forever a legend

Terrible deal maker

I think he tried to play both aisles way too early. He didn't get jaded enough quickly enough. I think if the congressional layouts were flipped between his two administrations, and he had democratic control in the 2nd run, it would have been much more effective. I don't think he expected how awful congressional republicans were going to be.

[Deftscythe]

I think his lack of political experience and his natural tendency to be a peacemaker/compromiser kept him from adequately executing his agenda and he failed to make the American people see the GOP as they have really been during his administration, more interested in playing political games than actually doing their job of governing. Had he done so he might have had the political capital to overcome obstructionism in his second term.

Unfortunately for him, I suspect in 20 years if he's looked up in a history book he'll be remembered as having been the first black president, as having passed a well-intentioned but short-lived attempt at universal health coverage, and y'know... drones.

[Tyche]

I think in 20 years, drones will be long forgotten as some other faceless weapon of war has made its way into the fray.

[Khajit]

I mostly remember Obama trying to pass something and then the GOP tries to stop him while blaming (or threatening to blame) him for stuff that they personally did. This gets rinsed and repeated for 8 years while random members of congress occasionally admit that it's entirely because he's black. I was very disappointed in him when he didn't prosecute those guys for their involvement in torture/etc.
He spent almost the entire term trying to be diplomatic and basically had to shove his remaining stuff in generally via executive orders at the end. Now 8 years of work is probably about to mostly go up in smoke.

[Deftscythe]

I mean, we've had a dozen people walk on the moon, but everybody still remembers Armstrong first.

[Twilight Sky]

All I was say is he was better than Bush, and I think Romney would have been worse. He was far from perfect and definitely let Putin scare him into submission..

ACA didn't affect me personally. Only interaction I had with it was being poor enough not to have to pay the yearly fine. Been in 4 accidents under this administration and told the ambulance to go away 4 times, as I am still licking my asshole to get the taste out of my mouth from the bill from my first accident (which was in the Bush administration)

$664, and 768$, never again. I share your pain.

I mean, we've had a dozen people walk on the moon, but everybody still remembers Armstrong first.

Slightly off topic but while everyone remembers him being the first(in the US), no one seemed to care when he died. I remember our newpaper had a small tiny column of his death. Let that been anyone else, they would PLASTER the front page, flood search engines. I was quite pissed that day.

[ThreeOneLead]

Democrats lost more each election since he was first elected and I think that should, at some level, reflect on him and his ability to rally for down ballot and mid term turnout.


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[Buffy]

Maybe true but this happens to every incumbent president. Can anyone name a president who had his party's representation in the house and senate go UP after six years in office? Didn't happen to Clinton/Bush/Obama. And Clinton was pretty darn popular and presided over a nice chunk of economic growth.

[kuronosan]

It is not unreasonable to say that I am alive because of Obamacare.

We saw a patient the other day, before the election, who said the same thing.

Wonder what they're thinking now.

[myreality]

We saw a patient the other day, before the election, who said the same thing.

Wonder what they're thinking now.

I could be dead under a Trump presidency.

[BaneTheBrawler]

Pretty much.

I mean, realistically, it's unlikely he can touch me because I'm on disability and I'm pretty much who-welfare-is-intended-for personified, but the welfare queen narrative is pretty goddamn powerful with the barely-aware masses, so it could happen. Fortunately, the medication I'm on has associated charity programs to help people pay for it, and I'm poor enough that "I am never going to be able to pay that back, sorry." is a legitimate response to a bill collector. Plus, Mayo Clinic has several charities associated with IT that have assisted me in the past.

So while Obamacare may have saved my life, it's unlikely Trumpcare can kill me... but I am not overly fond of "unlikely" when it comes to threats on my life. Further, quality of life is closer to being within his reach.

A far more realistic result of his fumbling is, ironically, to keep me on welfare.