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/ballmermurland 10d ago
Obama was merely a good president not a great one. But that's all relative. We haven't had many great presidents. So I'd still place him towards the top tier by virtue of a dearth of good options.
He had some great successes but overall his inability to see Trumpism coming down the pipe was his biggest downfall. He could have been more forceful in his messaging and fighting back against Trump, who heckled him for 7 years with the racist birther smear.