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Overview of the series of events that occurred during Obama's two terms as president


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The only sane way to live in society is anti-socially.

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Overview of the series of events that occurred during Obama's two terms as president

Term 1

In his first term, in no particular order: Obama passed some health care reform (even if it was pretty much a Republican plan from the '90s, it's more than the Republicans were willing to stomach anyway). He supported the end of DOMA and DADT. He put two brilliant liberal women on the Supreme Court, including the first Hispanic justice (SC seats are probably the president's biggest responsibility). He withdrew combat troops from Iraq (resulting in a power vacuum giving room for ISIS, but that was inevitable with our ill-thought invasion). He oversaw the assassination of Osama bin Laden. He continued the policy of bailouts, which resulted in the rescue of the economy from the brink of disaster, and the ongoing economic recovery (plus profits for the federal government). He supported Dodd-Frank (not enough, but a start) and the creation of the CFPB. He pushed for the closing of Guantanamo and relocation of detainees to US soil, which was thwarted by (mostly) Republicans and state governments (a failure, to be sure, but a strong effort in a very public battle).

Obama accomplished a LOT in his first term, despite losing his party's Congressional super-majority quickly (with Scott Brown's election). He could have done more if he didn't try to compromise with Republicans initially and kept the Democrats in line behind him. But for a freshman senator-turned-president, still wet behind the ears, propelled by empty but strong oratory... I think he did a fantastic job. 

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Term 2

Partisan gridlock. ISIS. The Iran deal: better than nothing, and our "allies" like Russia and China didn't want to keep the embargo much longer. The Israel-Gaza 2014 conflict, where the US took a staunch position of befuddlement. Continuation of Arab Spring and Snowden mishandling. No Supreme Court nominees. The Crimea crisis, wherein Russia got whatever it wanted. No response to Citizens United. Obergefell v. Hodges legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide with no support from Obama (aside from the Kagan and Sotomayor nominations), unlike the deaths of DADT and DOMA in term one. The rise of Black Lives Matter and the opening of a new discussion on cop violence against minorities after the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in NYC (after the Gates and Trayvon Martin controversies in term one). College campuses moving towards "safe spaces" and banning offensive speech. No action on Guantanamo. The start of normalization with Cuba. Increase hacking threats, exemplified in Sony (their own fault for shitty security). More befuddlement on Keystone XL until it became economically unfeasible anyway, leading to opposition (yeah, once oil was cheap enough to make it financially silly). Screwed up launch of Healthcare.gov insurance exchange. The death of parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (again, court's fault, not Obama).

You'll see much fewer accomplishments. This isn't totally due to the aforementioned gridlock. A lot of what got done in term one happened after the loss of Ted Kennedy, and even after the 2010 elections. This has just been more malaise, less work. Sure, a lot is actually attributable to court decisions, which he isn't mostly responsible for. I've tried to explain where he did or didn't influence that.

You will note, though, a lot of State Dept work: Cuba, Iran, etc. Does this mean Kerry did a better job than Hillary, or is this all just delayed results from her work? A solid question, but since Clinton keeps criticizing the administration's decisions to distance herself from an increasingly unpopular president, I'm unlikely to give her that credit.

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Thought these were interesting overviews.

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Overview of the series of events that occurred during Obama's two terms as president

inb4 WW3 makes this about race.

Posts: 3882
Overview of the series of events that occurred during Obama's two terms as president

Please stop

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Overview of the series of events that occurred during Obama's two terms as president

does the gnosis hurt?

Posts: 3882
Overview of the series of events that occurred during Obama's two terms as president

the edge cuts very deep

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Overview of the series of events that occurred during Obama's two terms as president

HAHAHA!

Posts: 580
Overview of the series of events that occurred during Obama's two terms as president

lol

8 posts
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