Time for some open-ended feedback from my readers. I understand that there is a lot of anger out there about the Obama presidency, but I must say that I don’t get it. I can understand disagreement with much of what he has done, but I can’t wrap my head around how so many people are so passionately opposed to him. This also ties in to the idea that I have seen often that he has represented a hard left turn in our national politics, and that is also something that does not make any sense to me. So for those of you who feel that way about him and his administration, please share your thoughts on why you feel that way and we will see if we can have a healthy discussion on where our country stands on the eve of the Trump administration.
Was thinking through a response and came across this article from fox news…very timely and an answer to the question you just posed…better than I could provide.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/01/11/sean-hannity-obama-farewell-cant-hide-disastrous-legacy.html
Thanks for sharing. I’ll address the various points as I have time. I do want to ask that if you or others have primary sources for economic statistics that would be a helpful addition. That conversation often gets tied up in conflicting facts. I’ll see what I can find as well.
Here is one link I found with numerous links to primary sources.
http://www.factcheck.org/2016/10/obamas-numbers-october-2016-update/
I only have time for some quick thoughts right now, so I’ll provide my primary reaction and questions to Hannity’s 3 main points:
Hannity: “He oversaw the precipitous decline of the American economy”
Me: I actually think the facts are consistent between the ones he provides and the ones in the article I posted. It is all about context. Yes, labor force participation is lower, but largely due to boomers retiring. Yes, poverty is higher and that is a negative. But jobs have pretty clearly been created over the last 8 years and other indicators of the overall economy generally seem strong. I can understand criticism over points like the increased poverty rate or regulatory costs, but I just don’t know how one can support the view that he oversaw a precipitous decline.
Hannity: “rammed through a disastrous health care law”
Me: Everything about the ACA needs to be considered in the context of what our health care system was before it was passed. Costs were rising exceptionally fast, but all of the statistics I have seen, and even Hannity’s when put into context, show that those cost increases have been slowed while more people have been provided coverage. No, he did not overhaul the whole system and completely fix things that are broken, but the law was intended to be a meaningful incremental improvement and I have not seen any arguments that it greatly failed in that respect. Hannity goes on about decreased choice for those using the exchanges, but these were largely people who had no insurance previously so that argument is weak.
Hannity: “He presided over a thoroughly failed foreign policy”
Me: What compelling American interest was sacrificed in these situations? Wasn’t the lesson of the Iraq War (and Vietnam) not to get bogged down in foreign conflicts that don’t substantially serve our interests? For all of the complaints about Iran, Syria, and Lebanon, I haven’t seen meaningful alternatives offered other than sending our troops to war in unwinnable situations. Again, I am not arguing that Obama’s foreign policy was flawless, but I am still missing the standard under which one can claim it thoroughly failed.
My quick responses to your responses…with on new point…
I don’t hate Obama, I respect him, and I voted for him…I am disappointed in his presidency however he did do a number of good things, Hannity’s arcticle over-reaching and is inflammatory, but captures the general thoughts while going overboard(I hope you know I am a bit more centrist than that).
Under his leadership and dignified example Obama has raised social awareness and tolerance for differences, he has steadied the economy (see below, I expected more based on historical precedent), healthcare has been provided to many that didn’t have access (but at what cost, see below), ISIS has grown and been weakened without massive military costs and limited attacks (especially in the US).
On the flip side,
The deficit has skyrocketed, tough decisions about what can be provided while taking out other costs were not made, my perception of foreign policy in general is that US was apologetic and neogitated from fear, not from a position of strength
Hannity: “He oversaw the precipitous decline of the American economy”
Agree precipitous decline is overstating, but the growth is not put in context of where the economy was and how the recovery compares in a historical context of how past recoveries progressed. It is almost impossible to imagine the economy going down from the start of his term, or else it would be a massive depression. given the low points of the economy, how can the limited growth been seen as a success? Additionally, the growth of the foreign economies/deficit at our expense has positioned US precariously.
– health care law –
I believe you are missing one other context, the costs to provide the healthcare – I agree that it is a goal to provide affordable health care to all, but to do so in a way that is fiscally responsible. the net projected cost of obama care is 1.2 trillion (netting out costs vs the income/cost savings related to it).
Foreign policy –
This is a hard one for me, bc i like analytics, but much of my feeling on this is perception/feel based – it just seems US as a country is diminished in the global community, has negotiated from weakness and apologized for its behavior…kinda like American President, the country has mood swings and it feels to me like when Jimmy Carter was president, a very smart dignified person, similar to Obama, US has become passive and is getting pushed around…I think this one comes down to personality – i can’t say i’m right or wrong, just not the direction i believe the country should be going.
As a disclaimer, so people don’t get the wrong idea…
I think Trump is a narcissistic, self-centered, hot-headed jerk. As an indication of how long I’ve felt this way, I’ve never watched one minute of Apprentice as I would not contribute to feeding his ego and fortune.
I think this thread is a great example of how difficult finding “facts” are…
I don’t trust either the Fox stats nor the stats you posted…bc i can’t trust any set of “facts” that only provide a positive or only a negative view. It is a perfect example of how you can twist data to support an argument.