Rate the Presidents, Installment #44: Barack Obama

[Mr. Smith]

3 stars, lean approve.

Could've been far far worse, but could've been far far better.

Initially had him at 2 stars for his Moderate Heroism option but that was without lowering the bar to accommodate the effects of Reaganism in current politics. And he's made some good moves since being lame ducked.

[ScottieF]

Four stars. Easily the best president since LBJ, not that there's much competition. He hasn't gone far enough on many issues (if he had made good on the 'hope and change' thing, I'd have no problem ranking him right up there with Lincoln and FDR) but I do think we'll look back on him as one of our more accomplished presidents. Loses points for expanding the surveillance state but overall he leaves behind a pretty great record - the ACA, Iran deal, Cuba, bin Laden, ending the Iraq war, gay rights, environmental protection, Dodd-Frank, rescuing the economy from collapse. And all with the most recalcitrant Congressional opposition since Harry Truman. I do still think it's a bit premature to fully judge his legacy, however.

[Cryptic]

Four stars. Easily the best president since LBJ, not that there's much competition. He hasn't gone far enough on many issues (if he had made good on the 'hope and change' thing, I'd have no problem ranking him right up there with Lincoln and FDR) but I do think we'll look back on him as one of our more accomplished presidents. Loses points for expanding the surveillance state but overall he leaves behind a pretty great record - the ACA, Iran deal, Cuba, bin Laden, ending the Iraq war, gay rights, environmental protection, Dodd-Frank, rescuing the economy from collapse. And all with the most recalcitrant Congressional opposition since Harry Truman. I do still think it's a bit premature to fully judge his legacy, however.

This

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Five stars (and if he scores lower than some idiot like Taft or Polk, well this forum is stupid)

Ask yourself this. Was the United States' position in the world stronger or weaker after a Polk Presidency than before it? And was the US's position stronger or weaker now or before Obama was president (protip: it's weaker). I would have been a Whig if I were born in that time/place, but Polk was anything but an idiot.

Well, with Polk the lives of many thousands of Mexicans wiped out and the nation was brought ever closer to Civil War, so I would say weaker.

And Obama? When he cam to power, the U.S. was considered a reckless, arrogant and wasteful empire; with shot alliances with traditional friends and enemies coming out of the wazoo. It's hard to be at a worse point than that.


Complaining about western foreign policy is rather odd. By and large, the spooks do what they want regardless of who is in charge; and they have done so since the Truman administration. Obama has been relatively hard on the intelligence agencies, and the ones he has been soft on are ones I don't care about anyway (PRISM and the NSA is such a yawnworthy scandal, IMO). I would love for a President to come out and say "the gulf states are a bunch of useless craps that murder their own civilians", but I think it's bad form to rate badly for what a President didn't do (for the most part anyway). Otherwise every PResident before Lincoln would be one star for not abolishing slavery etc.

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fife

[KingSweden]

Four stars. I supported McCain in '08 but have become a Democrat since then largely because of my pleasant surprise at how Obama has handled himself (and due to the GOP flying off the rails in the intervening years). I think he hobbled himself early both by drinking the Kool-Aid of his "hope and change" campaign and not recognizing how cutthroat politics at this level were earlier, but he's done some good things over the years and has really kicked it into a high gear ever since the midterm debacle last fall. A sharper analyst than I would have to deduce why that is.

I don't think, like some Ds on here do, that he is a top-five President, and my politics are probably closer to those of Bill and Hillary Clinton than to the Obama wing of the party, but I think he has acquitted himself well and has avoided major scandals, embarassment to the office and has steered the country well both at home and abroad, even with numerous missteps and miscalculations that befall every President.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

I don't think it's right to judge him until his term is over, but at the moment, I would give him a three.

This. Abstain, although I would likely give him a two.

[Lief 🗽]

Five stars (not a right-wing hack). He is obviously a top 5 president at this point.

[OSR stands with Israel]

I agree with The Last Northerner. 1 star but better than Clinton.

Cenetrism works better then far right or far left ideology, Proof of this was Reagan and Clinton were better then Carter, Bush, and Obama

[YaBoyNY]

I agree with The Last Northerner. 1 star but better than Clinton.

Cenetrism works better then far right or far left ideology, Proof of this was Reagan and Clinton were better then Carter, Bush, and Obama

Reagan was a centrist?

lol

[Rockefeller GOP]

2

[RR1997]

Five stars (not a right-wing hack). He is obviously a top 5 10 president at this point.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I voted five stars to offset the Commie-Tea Party alliance, but in reality four stars. I generally agree with what he has to say, with a few notable exceptions; that said, he's been rather reticent for most of his time in office, which has allowed far right loons like Cruz to hijack the conversation. If Obama communicated as well with the public on a regular basis as he does on the campaign trail, he would probably be much more popular than he is now.

[Blair]

I agree with the last Northerner in regards to Iran, but it's completely different to what happened in Libya. Iran in 1953 was a proactive attempt by the CIA to get it's hands on oil, whilst Libya was the UN having to intervene to literally stop tanks killing protesters. It's nearly as good an example of liberal interventionism as there is for the initial stages.

Likewise Obama's actions on issues like Climate Change, LGBT Rights, Green Energy and College tuition in the last couple of years show that towards the end the President just acts as a spokesman for their cause who can't always guarantee results. I honestly think if Walker/Bush become President in 2016 then we're going to miss having a relatively good guy in the White House

[Zioneer]

Decent president, too centrist and accommodating for my taste, but obviously a nice guy personally and he seems to be trying his best. And much of what he's done is good, just not all of it. I'm glad he's in office rather than McCain or Romney (or any of the GOP jokers running in 2016).

[Antonio the Sixth]

I agree with The Last Northerner. 1 star but better than Clinton.

Cenetrism works better then far right or far left ideology, Proof of this was Reagan and Clinton were better then Carter, Bush, and Obama

"CENETRISM"?! LMAO

He probably meant centaurism.

[Panda Express]

5


It's really hard to find anything where Obama has really failed. He has been a success on many fronts. A lot of the hatred from Republicans comes from bitter jealousy more than anything.

[Maxwell]

3. I think he leaves behind a very mixed legacy, but he's done a good job considering the circumstances.

[Anti-Bothsidesism]

Kinda like me, a guy with a nice personality, but had to deal with some sh[inks]

[DavidB.]

1.

[JonathanSwift]

Final Result: 3.23 Stars

[Gass3268]

Top-15 President, which is about right.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Final Result: 3.23 Stars

That puts him right between James Madison and William Howard Taft, both of whom (like Obama) were elected in years ending in '08.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Final Result: 3.23 Stars

That puts him right between James Madison and William Howard Taft, both of whom (like Obama) were elected in years ending in '08.

Conspiracy!

[pbrower2a]

FOUR.

Best President since Eisenhower, a surprisingly-good analogue. Cautious; got America out of a bungled war without disgrace; no scandals; Obamacare = Interstate Highway System.

FIVE is reserved for Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, TR, and FDR.

ONE is for Buchanan, Fillmore, George W. Bush, and Andrew Johnson.