By Fred Jones, Jr.
Staff Writer
There will never be another President Barack Obama. Time has assured us of this. Obama is the first man of color to become the President of the United States of America, and has shown us eight fantastic years of leadership and poise. Only a true person of color can appreciate Obama’s composure as he navigated through racism and political rhetoric, even from his own constituents, time and time again. We’ve seen the greatest POTUS in the history of the oval office overcome constant attacks from indignant organizations with ulterior motives.
We approach the end of President Barack Obama’s eight years of presidency with hope and optimism. We have faith that he has laid enough ground work to support our culture’s survival in society as functional and viable human beings, and to continue his legacy of leadership and advancement to the culture of the United States of America. Barack Obama’s extraordinary capacity to tap people’s deepest aspirations collided with domestic, political divides and agendas that severely limited his ability to build an enduring legislative program comparable to the New Deal, the Great Society, or the Reagan revolution. Yet, he still managed to get some major policies in place within the American political system. Here are eight major moves made by President Obama:
- The Affordable Care Act (or Obamacare) is considered to be his greatest domestic achievement. The goal was to provideaffordable health insurance for millions without coverage.
- He authorizedthe raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. He announced the terrorist leader’s death in a live speech to the country saying, “Last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action and authorized an operation to get Osama Bin Laden and bring him to justice.”
- President Obama and Raul Castro reversedover 60 years of tension between the U.S. and Cuba by restoring diplomatic ties.
- He urged states, in 2013, to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Since then, 18 states and Washington, D.C. have responded.
- He helpedstimulate the auto industry after the financial crisis. Chrysler and GM have created 250,000 jobs since then.
- President Obama was one of the key leaders that foughtfor the Paris Agreement. It created a comprehensive framework to reduce global climate change.
- He commended and supported the Supreme Court ruling on same sex marriage, saying, “In my second inaugural address, I said that if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. It is gratifying to see that principle enshrined into law by this decision.”
- He passedthe Dodd-Frank Act, which holds Wall Street accountable in the event of another financial crisis.
The Obama’s have been one of the greatest families to ever grace the White House. Style and class have been their mainstay. As we say farewell to this First family, we must also say, “Thank you for serving us as our leader.” Barack, Michelle, Malia and Sasha Obama, job well done.
As a diversified America looks to the future President Donald Trump, we must continue to remember the words of Martin Luther King, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never loose infinite hope.”
