Current Events > So now some time has passed. What are your thoughts on Barack Obama?

(+) Yeah! (+)

He was in Madden. It was amusing/fun how he'd have the presidential bracket and talk about sports so much.

Yes, a good president. Obviously a lot of bad side, but good at doing his work as a president.
I don't know if he's a good person or not, never met him.
No, i won't drink a beer with him.

He did alright. Yeah the drone strikes aren't a good legacy to leave behind, but what US president doesn't have blood on their hands?

St0rmFury posted...

He did alright. Yeah the drone strikes aren't a good legacy to leave behind, but what US president doesn't have blood on their hands?

Taft

St0rmFury posted...

He did alright. Yeah the drone strikes aren't a good legacy to leave behind, but what US president doesn't have blood on their hands?

William Henry Harrison

Irony posted...

Taft

It's a rhetorical question lol

Another victim of "Let's try to cooperate with the uncooperative party."

Could have done a lot of good if he just ignored the whiny GOP and passed more progressive bills while they had control of two branches.

Also killed a bunch of middle eastern citizens, so yea not very uhhh good.

Did a poor job representing his country accurately.
He could've falled on his ass a couple times at the very least.
And that dijon incident was tame as hell c'mon

Avirosb posted...

Did a poor job representing his country accurately.
He could've falled on his ass a couple times at the very least.
And that dijon incident was tame as hell c'mon

Don't forget the tan suit! Oh the horror.

Too obsessed with bipartisanship to the detriment of the country. "Hope and change" turned into "same old shit" for the most part.

I couldnt believe it when he required stitches after accidentally being elbowed in the jaw

he's the shiny pokemon

Good singing voice according to AI.

He wasn't a good president, even despite the GOP's obstruction

In objective terms he was mid. Squandered a possibly once in a lifetime opportunity of having total control of government w/ a filibuster-proof majority and a supreme court that seems positively moderate by today's standards, chasing "bipartisanship" with Republicans whose only self-avowed goal was to make him a 1-term president.
He did good things, but could've done far more (true universal healthcare; DC and maybe PR statehood; laws enshrining voting rights; law enshrining Roe v. Wade; actually thrown Wall Street criminals in jail; legalize marijuana; etc...). Some possibly only seem important in hindsight, but I think most were reasonable desires even back then.

But I voted "Yes", because the slate of presidents has been so fucking awful than an objectively mid president is good relative to what we tend to get.

Worse than Biden but decent

He is responsible for giving us President Trump and President Biden, so he was awful

streamofthesky posted...

an objectively mid president is good relative to what we tend to get.

wut

Not the best overall. Certainly better than the guy right after him and before, but he didn't live up to his promises.

Obamna

he was ok I guess

Barack Midbama

Coasting through the end of his term thinking Hillary had it in the bag and letting Mitch rob him of his SC pick was a pretty terrible way to go out.

UnfairRepresent posted...

wut

I can't compare him to what I think a good president should be, because then the scale would be completely unbalanced w/ like almost no good presidents, especially in any of our lifetimes.

Trump was 0/10
GWB was 0/10
Clinton was 7/10 (probably the best president we've had in 50 years, which...is sad)
GB Sr. was like 4/10
Reagan was 0/10
Carter was like 5/10
Ford was like 2/10
Nixon was 1/10

So... do I call Mr. 6/10 at best Obama "mid" when nearly all his contemporaries are fucking horrible, or do I grade on a curve so there's still an actual populated good, mid, and low tier?

Top quarter. He got a lot done despite the openly hostile Republican-controlled Congress, and served two terms. Also, no impeachments, no indictments, no investigations. Only president in modern history to not be investigated or have any criminal charges filed against any of his staff.

B18Champ posted...

He is responsible for giving us President Trump and President Biden, so he was awful

He invented the electoral college?

Pitlord_Special posted...

letting Mitch rob him of his SC pick was a pretty terrible way to go out.

What could he do? Congress is a separate part of the government and doesn't answer to the President.

Obama was the one that gave Trump the idea to run for President. Even though Obama was a good president he loses some points for that.

Can you believe Obama just jammed the "affordable gas" lever on his way out of the house???

I gave him good because of the Affordable Care Act. I think he did some environmental executive orders at the end that I supported, but those are done away with by Trump.
There were a number of things during the Obama administration that I was lukewarm on or even had a negative view towards, but the ACA really helped some people who actually needed help.

I will always stand by my opinion that he was too green and inexperienced and it showed constantly by how badly he (and the Dems at large) bungled their first two years with massive majorities in both houses. It took them way too long to realize that the GOP wasn't playing ball, and Obama was seemingly loathe to get involved in congressional negotiations (highlighted by news a year or two ago that when Tester, a critical swing Dem Senator, visited Biden in the White House for legislation negotiations, it was his first time ever visiting the Oval Office). Also, not pushing for both DC and Puerto Rican statehoods in 2009, and thereby securing a guaranteed four more Dem senators for the forseeable future, has to be the biggest political strategic blunder in recent memory. Plus, his administration handled Iraq and Afghanistan very poorly, albeit inheriting obviously raw deals.

That all being said, he was mostly well-intentioned on domestic matters, represented the country internationally quite while, and holy shit did the jagoff that followed make him look like a genius by mere comparison.

VeesMcGees posted...

I gave him good because of the Affordable Care Act. I think he did some environmental executive orders at the end that I supported, but those are done away with by Trump.
There were a number of things during the Obama administration that I was lukewarm on or even had a negative view towards, but the ACA really helped some people who actually needed help.

The ACA was created by the Heritage Foundation, Obama didn't actually create that legislation. It was a compromise bill that he only pushed with his image

didn't read the topic

obama was basically bush but he was black and marginally less awful because he didn't have dick cheney as a VP et al

dont take this as me disliking either they're not that far apart in a vacuum*

Obama got saddled with the ACA when the party of clowns re-dubbed it Obamacare.

Cruciferous posted...

didn't read the topic

obama was basically bush but he was black and marginally less awful because he didn't have dick cheney as a VP et al

Dumb take from someone small

Yes, the ACA wasn't everything we wanted out of healthcare reform but it was a big step forward that got a lot more people covered and, importantly, it stood up to every attempt by Republicans to kill it (and there were many).

I definitely wish Obama had done more and not played it so safe. I wanted a president who was as politically bold as GWB but did good things instead of the awful shit Bush did. Like I wish Obama had realized that it's not worth worrying that if you go too far the right will call you a socialist because they called him a socialist anyway even though he was anything but.

On the whole though I do think he was a good president. I wouldn't say one of the greatest or anything but one of the better presidents we've had.

Midrock Midbomba

UnfairRepresent posted...

first black president.

Second. Clinton was the first.

Best president voice in the last 20 years

Bishop_Hastur posted...

Second. Clinton was the first.

?
Clinton wasn't black

Squandered what may have been the last chance for a New New Deal/political reset in America. Demobilized the biggest political movement since the New Deal, just when it was most needed. Continued the Democratic Party's descent into neoliberal mush. Bailed out the banks without restructuring the system. Continued the wars and even expanded them in some ways, before winding some of them down. Propped up our broken private healthcare system. Attacked whistleblowers and truth tellers. Bungled Supreme Court stuff and the judicial systems. Let state Democratic parties fall into ruin. Continued Clinton's mission of taking party in a direction that continued to alienate or not mobilize working class voters. Set us up for Trump.

Was pretty good on LGBT issues, his admin doesn't get enough credit for that, drastic progress was made under his term. Pretty good on things related to the admin state in general. Very inspiring and uniting. ACA, despite its flaws did cover more people and helped Dems win far into the future.

Overall, a 5.5/10 who was the only president in my lifetime with the potential to be a 9/10. Gigantic amounts of wasted potential and lots of blowback for decisions he made or refused to make.

UnfairRepresent posted...

?
Clinton wasn't black

I remember him getting called The First Black President.

Disappointing but he is sandwiched between two of the worst presidents so he ends up looking like the Star Child by comparison

Bishop_Hastur posted...

I remember him getting called The First Black President.

That was Taft

'Yes'

UnfairRepresent posted...

Was he a good president?

As good as the current one, with about the same amount of opposition to everything he tried to accomplish (I only know who Boehner is because of how many things he blocked).

Would you have a beer with him?

I wouldn't have had a beer with Hilary or Bernie Sanders either. That is kind of the point. I want experience, not someone who shares my favorite videogame list.

a lot of people said what I would say

"decent, but could've been way better". admittedly also as mentioned quite a bit of that was the fault of republicans and not him but yeah.

Meh

Last competent president/presidential nominee.

It's been a circus since.

He was bad and did some really lib shit, but the bar is really fucking low between bush and trump, so no matter what he did he'll seem mid. He's basically ratcheteffect.jpg with a little evil shit thrown in for spice. Basically what zell said. He was either a complete rube for believing in republican goodwill or a useful idiot in maintaining and expanding the status quo. Probably a little bit of both.

Squandered what may have been the last chance for a New New Deal/political reset in America. Demobilized the biggest political movement since the New Deal, just when it was most needed. Continued the Democratic Party's descent into neoliberal mush. Bailed out the banks without restructuring the system. Continued the wars and even expanded them in some ways, before winding some of them down. Propped up our broken private healthcare system. Attacked whistleblowers and truth tellers. Bungled Supreme Court stuff and the judicial systems. Let state Democratic parties fall into ruin. Continued Clinton's mission of taking party in a direction that continued to alienate or not mobilize working class voters. Set us up for Trump.

Overall, a 5.5/10 who was the only president in my lifetime with the potential to be a 9/10. Gigantic amounts of wasted potential and lots of blowback for decisions he made or refused to make.

Irony posted...

That was Taft

No, no. I'm not that old. It was definitely said about Clinton.