By Martin van Nostrand
Many democrats believe that President Barack Obama has not lived up to the potential and/or hype that came with his historic rise to the presidency. Most Republicans think that he has gone too far in trying to stabilize a nation that was teetering on the brink of absolute disaster. The reality, as usual, lies somewhere in the middle.
What has President Obama achieved?
Before I talk about the more controversial aspects of the first year of Obama’s presidency (i.e. economic reform) let’s look at just five things that he has accomplished in just his first year as President.
1. Obama’s first bill signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This law amends the 1964 Civil Rights Act by stating that the 180-day statute of limitations for filing an equal-pay lawsuit is triggered by the last discriminatory paycheck and not the date on which the pay was agreed upon. This act was a Congressional reaction to the Supreme Court case Ledbetter vs. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 550 US 618 (2007.) The President supported an original draft of this bill (which failed on the basis of overwhelming opposition from Republicans) as a senator and quickly signed the amended version into law as president.
2. The President has ordered the closing of Guantanamo. Obama quickly vowed to close the Guantanamo facilities upon taking office and has stood by his vow to accomplish this goal despite numerous legal and procedural hurdles. Congress has been overly reluctant to provide funding required for the United States to acquire a facility in Illinois where the detainees could be held. Additionally, Obama faced a roadblock in releasing some 60 Yemeni prisoners due to current security concerns in Yemen. While the reality in closing Guantanamo has proved to be more arduous than the administration may have first realized the simple fact that he pledged to close the facility, continues to find ways to accomplish this goal, and is willing to discuss the problems the administration has faced has gone a long way in repairing the United States’ reputation around the world.
3. Obama has resurrected the United States’ image around the globe. Without question the president took over a country that was suffering from nearly universal global criticism. The Bush administration acted unilaterally, actively facilitated the holding of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, backed the use of torture, and blatantly (and without apology) violated numerous other international laws (not to mention the embarrassing nature of his lack of even basic verbal skills!) Obama has gone a long way in bringing some legitimacy back to the United States by working with the United Nations and rebuilding alliances in our current military actions in Afghanistan. Despite sharp criticism Obama reached out to the Iranians and took massive steps towards repairing relations with the Muslim world.
4. The Obama administration reversed the restrictions placed on stem-cell research that were put into place by the Bush administration. Former President Bush had restricted using tax payer money to fund stem cell research in only the 21 stem cell lines that had been produced prior to the restriction. Bush argued that this was to preserve human life because the stem cells come from day-old embryos, an argument that totally ignored the fact that the stem cells generally come from fertility clinics and would be destroyed in any event. By signing an executive order undoing this prohibition federal funding can go towards the research of over a thousand stem cell lines that have been discovered through private funding since the Bush prohibition.
5. Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. This act adds crimes motivated by a persons actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability to the 1969 Federal Hate Crime Act. This is a continuation of the president’s outreach to the gay and lesbian community. Obama has long had solid standing in the gay and lesbian community and in 2006 received a 89 out of 100 scoring by the Human Rights Campaign for his work in the United States Senate. In addition to the passing of this act Obama has pledged to end the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policies and has pledged support for same-sex couples to adopt children. These public stances and policy changes are a great step forward to the cause of the gay and lesbian community. However, that is not to say that the president is “perfect” as he has refused to acknowledge the rights of same-sex couples to get married, though he does fully support civil unions.
The above five items are just some thoughts on what I feel are some of the more impressive, yet not often talked about, moves the administration has made. There have been many more initiatives pushed through by this administration and there is simply not space to list all of his accomplishments. One thing that is for certain is that this administration has tackled a wide variety of issues and the work ethic of the president has generally not ever been put into question.
What has Obama not gotten proper credit for?
In many ways the president is a victim of his own near-celebrity status. Obama swept into office with the hopes and dreams of this country, and in many aspects the world, squarely onto his shoulders. The Republicans must have loved the extraordinary expectations that were placed upon this administration. After just one year the Republicans get to bask in the glory of watching liberals yell that Obama is not “left enough” and Republicans shouting that he is nearly a Bolshevik. Obama has been attacked for trying to be too conciliatory by the same people that attacked former President Bush for being too aggressive in pushing through his own policies. But let’s be fair: President Obama made it clear both in his writings, and in his campaign, that he felt politics in the United States were broken. He made it clear that pushing through agendas without trying to find a middle ground that was acceptable to all sides was unacceptable. We, the American people, swept him into his office knowing full well that this was his preferred method of governing.
The President does not get the credit he properly deserves for preventing the United States to fall into financial collapse. He took this country over at a time of nearly unprecedented financial devastation in every aspect, from Wall Street to the auto industry to unemployment. Through various economic policies including the stimulus package to the advancement of light rail lines throughout the United States, Obama has at the very least stopped the slide. It is simply unfair to point to continued problems with unemployment after just one year in office. Forgetting the complex nature of intellectuals arguing over what economic policies work and what ones do not, let’s focus on the common sense notion that one cannot rebuild before laying a new foundation. This administration has worked diligently to stop the economic slide so that the process of rebuilding can start.
In closing, very few presidents have taken office in such difficult economic distress, such world difficulties, such wounded global image, and with such fanfare as the current president. In just one year, the president has resurrected our image around the world, reversed damaging policies from the Bush era, pushed forward on civil rights, built a foundation for economic recovery, and continued to provide hope that we have reached the bottom and can now rebuild. If you dig deep enough into criticisms of the president you will find that what people are really tired of is the system of politics. It is not enough for one person to come into office with the belief that working together for a better America means putting politics aside. The Republican party has refused to budge and has refused to work with the president in salvaging America. The Democrats cannot stand to see their president work with the Republicans to come to some idea of compromise, yet they also refuse to stand tall behind their president and endorse his policies. Our president has given us what he has promised and has been met with criticism on all sides for doing just that. What we need is more people willing to govern the way the president does and not widespread pointing of fingers at what could be done in the name of personal political agendas.
