With one day left until the Inauguration, Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms have been flooding with #ObamaFarewell. And with Trump's cabinet picks being vetted, Obamacare on the chopping block, and the transition of power coming full circle, the reality of Obama's departure is starting to set in. And truth be told, I'm not unhappy with that.
I will not miss President Obama.
Many people will read that statement and jump to conclusions: don't I understand that Obama lobbied for women's rights? Don't I understand that Obama brought healthcare to millions? How can I dislike a guy who takes such a solid selfie?
The reality of the matter is this: on a policy level, I disagreed with Obama. In many ways, I think America is worse off now than when he took office, even accounting for the Recession improvement.
SEE ALSO: The Obama Years: An End Of An Error
For starters, the 44th president's foreign policy has resulted in international disasters including but not limited to the attack on Benghazi, Iran's kidnapping of American sailors (along with essentially receiving ransom monies from the United States and the acceptance of Iranian nuclear proliferation), the power vacuum that empowered ISIS, and the tragedies in Aleppo. His normalization of relations with Cuba was a stab in the back to the Cuban American community who came to America in search of a home and support against the tyrannical Castro regime.
At home, Obamacare has wreaked havoc throughout the American healthcare system. Long before premiums went up, low-income patients faced the decision of paying a fine for health insurance they didn't want or buying a healthcare plan that was too expensive or too extensive for their needs. Often, these low-income patients faced another bigger issue — being forced to pay a multi-thousand dollar deductible before ever receiving care. In any case, the most vulnerable Americans ended up footing the bill.
Outside of healthcare, there are plenty of things that will hopefully stop come January 20th. Phone-and-pen legislation and executive actions are not things I will miss. I'm glad to see that the Supreme Court will hopefully see a conservative to replace Antonin Scalia, as opposed to Merrick Garland who would've furthered Obama's campaign against gun rights. I'm excited to hopefully move away from the identity politics that has plagued the United States for the last 8 years and caused such terrible and deep divisions between us all.
Let me say this; I won't belittle Obama. As an outgoing George W. Bush said in 2009, "He is a smart, capable person". I like to think that, in some ways, Obama had good sentiments with bad execution. Obamacare is the perfect example of that. But now it's someone else's turn to run the Capitol Hill bloc. Looking to the future, the United States is going to face change. Whether that change is good or bad remains to be seen. All we can do is hope for progress and change. Bearing that in mind,
Good Luck America.
