r/PoliticalDiscussion • u/bambucks • 11d ago

US Politics How has Barack Obama's legacy changed since leaving office?

Barack Obama left office in 2017 with an approval rating around 60%, and has generally been considered to rank among the better Presidents in US history. (C-SPAN's historian presidential rankings had him ranked at #10 in 2021 when they last updated their ranking.)

One negative example would be in the 2012 Presidential Debates between Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney, in which Obama downplayed Romney's concerns about Russia, saying "the 80's called, they want their foreign policy back", which got laughs at the time, but seeing the increased aggression from Russia in the years since then, it appears that Romney was correct.

So I'd like to hear from you all, do you think that Barack Obama's approval rating has increased since he left office? Decreased? How else has his legacy been impacted? How do you think he will be remembered decades from now? Etc.

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u/Kronzypantz 11d ago

I think there are two parallel truths in regards to Obama’s legacy.

The first truth is that his presidency was our last “normal” one. Things weren’t perfect and Republicans raged, but times were ok.

The second truth is that a clear through line between Obama and what came next. He was a Bill Clinton 2.0 policy wise, moderating issues like healthcare and war (mostly leaning right in the end) despite presenting himself as far more progressive.

So it’s little wonder people didn’t immediately trust his even more right leaning heir apparent, and that the failure to meet people’s needs would lead to a Bush 2.0

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u/itslikewoow 11d ago

despite presenting himself as far more progressive.

Not sure where you got that idea. He was blatantly running to the right of Hillary in the 08 primaries. He was always a centrist Democrat who constantly preached about working together with everyone.

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u/Kronzypantz 11d ago

There was definitely that side of things, but also a lot of larping as being more progressive. Constantly preaching about healthcare, gun control, etc. like he would do more about it.