President Obama is a polarizing figure. On one hand he is seen by many as a beacon of civil rights, progress, equality, and a great president. To others he is an anti-American, Muslim liar who is the worst president we’ve ever had. Fox News and other right-wing media outlets are quick to show their allegiance to the latter belief, being very abrasive and negative in their coverage of Obama. Maybe this is deserved, though.
According to Gallup polls, Obama’s average presidential approval rating throughout his presidency has been 47 percent, meanwhile the average for U.S. presidents (1938-2015) is at 53 percent. His average approval rating is the lowest of any president in that time-span besides Harry Truman. These figures, along with others, might validate people’s belief that Obama is a horrible president who hasn’t lived up to his campaign promises. But maybe, just maybe, these figures represent the lack of people’s knowledge as to the positive impact that the Obama administration has left on the country. Whether it be social media, news websites, or television, negative press surrounding president Obama's administration is widespread; one does not have to go far to hear of Obama's inadequacies and failures as a president. This article is written to buck that trend, and highlight some objective information that is seemingly rarely offered.
Obama took office during “The Great Recession,” the worst national and global economic crisis since the stock market crashed in 1929 and caused “The Great Depression.” One of his promises during his campaign was that he would take us out of this recession. Under his presidency, America has witnessed 65 continuous months of economic expansion, including 63 straight months of private sector job creation, the longest period of job creation since the Department of Labor has been recording the statistics. Unemployment was rampant in America due to the Great Recession, being at 10.1 percent in in October of 2009. As of spring 2015, that number is at 5.4 percent, almost half as much.
Along with the economy, Obama has seen some successes in other areas as well. Obama inherited a $1.4 trillion government deficit; thanks to job growth, the deficit is down to below 500 billion dollars, the smallest deficit since 2007. Obama takes heat for spending government money wildly, but he has actually only increased spending by 3.3 percent, the lowest number of any president since Eisenhower. Also, for 95 percent of taxpayers, income taxes are lower than they have been at any point in 50 years. The only people who have seen their income taxes increase during his presidency are those making $400,000 or more, less than two percent of the population.
Moving forward, Obama has potentially improved the lives of millions of Americans with his signature piece of legislation, the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). At least 10 million more Americans have health care since the passage of the act, and contrary to the belief of some, since the passage we are seeing the slowest rate of increase in healthcare costs since 1960. Plus, the act has added years to the life of Medicare, whose trust fund was scheduled to run out in 2016 but now will remain stable until at least 2030.
Just like any other president, Obama is not perfect, and has his share of faults. Nevertheless, his previously stated accomplishments, if not celebrated, should at least be acknowledged. Especially when his name is thrown around as the worst president ever.
