Barrack Obama: a Great President

Throughout his Presidency, Barrack Obama proved to be a skilled policymaker than a politician, conventional wisdom aside. His accomplishments are numerous, impressive, and exceed what his supporters thought he could ever achieve. Although some critics complain that he did not do enough to transform the United States of America, he introduced remarkable policies and regulations in 2009 and 2010. These policies did a lot to shape the American public life and government and contributed to the development of a society where people had achieved tremendous progress in equality.

As the first African American President, Barack Obama went into office facing a lot of challenges and criticism. Notably, Blacks in the United States had served as slaves for many years and did not even have the right to vote until the ratification of Black suffrage in 1870, almost a hundred years after the country's independence.

The promise of the 15th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States to allow Blacks to vote remained a theory for almost a century. Many Blacks who wanted to vote could not do so because southern states used literacy tests, poll taxes, and other means to disenfranchise African Americans effectively. Thus, the rise of an African American into the White House, where slaves had worked for many years, was a great achievement on its own. That Barrack Obama was one of the greatest Presidents the United States has ever had added to this advantage. It also proved that Blacks had a great potential in them, despite criticism from White supremacists and other conservative groups. President Obama was keen on running the government in accordance with the Constitution, and he also played a critical role in improving the lives of poor Americans through the formulation and implementation of policies.

Policies

President Obama achieved significant milestones in policy formulation and implementation. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 is the President's signature policy for his first time. Through this legislation, the president was able to improve access to quality healthcare across the United States. Realizing that most Americans could not afford quality health care because they lacked insurance, the President, with a team of specialists, formulated and passed the ACA. The new legislation increased access to medical coverage among the poor, expanded the Medicaid program, and made it illegal for health groups and insurance companies to deny their services people with pre-existing conditions. As a consequence, the number of people without an insurance cover reduced significantly, and the universal access to quality care was almost achieved. The Obamacare, as people came to refer to the ACA, has continued to benefit many Americans despite facing increasing threats from the Trump administration.

As President, Obama also hit his strides with regards to foreign policy and gun control. Being the richest and the most powerful country in the world, the United States is the global center of interest. Thus, the President of the United States is also a world leader whose interactions with leaders from other parts of the world influences global peace and stability. Barack Obama was a highly diplomatic President who enjoyed global support. He was able to hold talks with leaders from different parts of the world, and reached agreements concerning terrorism, climate change, and other issues affecting the world.  It was during the Obama era that the United States hunted down and killed Osama bin Laden, the notorious criminal that had made life here on earth difficult. The President also managed to enter into an agreement of some sorts with Russia, taming the Cold War heat.

Gun control policies also elevated Obama's position in the history of Americans. For many years, people have used the gun ownership privilege in the United States to curtail peace and security in the country. Many people, including school children, have lost their lives because of the irresponsible use of guns. It was also during the Obama Presidency that the media reported many cases of police shootings and the gunning down of mostly African American males. Notably, police officers resort to shooting suspected criminals because they never fully understand the criminal's intentions and whether he or she is armed. Because Americans have the right to own weapons, it is difficult confronting potentially armed individuals without being afraid of being shot. In fact, many civilians have shot well-intentioned police officers on duty, and some police officers have responded by shooting down innocent civilians. Thus, gun control has always been an important but contentious issue in the United States. President Obama was able to face the issue head-on to find a better and lasting solution. To date, the gun control debate started by the Obama Presidency is ongoing, and will be fruitful in the long-run.

Symbolic Role

Barrack Obama is a symbol of equality, justice, and the advancement of the African American race. Notably, some critics dismissed Obama's Presidential victories as "merely symbolic for African Americans." However, there is nothing mere about symbols. Obama represented the ideals for which Martin Luther King Jr. had spoken during the civil rights movements in the 1960s. Obama was, and still is, a symbol of hope for the African American community, which has suffered injustices since time immemorial. The presidency of Obama symbolized that Blacks too could achieve greater than what naysayers believe. Obama was the beacon of hope in the United States and in other parts of the world as well. He was an encouragement to many countries whose democracies had failed and led people to have faith in each other and in their abilities to achieve whatever they put their minds into. Some children were able to finish school because they were now hopeful of achieving their dreams because a Black man had overcome all odds to become the most powerful person in the world.

43 Presidents of the United States had created a believable narrative that the most powerful political office in the United States, and indeed the world, was off-limits for African Americans. However, with the election of Barrack Obama into this office in 2008, it was clear that the prohibition no longer existed. Prior to Obama's spectacular rise to power, the depiction of African American success tended to focus on athletes and entertainers. President Obama showed the entire world that success for the Black community could expand to include anything. After all, the office of the President of the United States is the most powerful and the most prestigious office in the land. If a Black person could be President, then he could also become a successful businessman, a diplomat, a good citizen, a responsible parent, and everything that nobody believed Blacks could ever become. Thus, Obama's presidency was a symbol of the Black Potential. It also symbolized changing times, and the need for conservative groups to acknowledge a new dispensation.

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