let's be clear about something Barack
Obama has been one of the most
consequential presidents in recent
American history you can't say it but
you know it's true in the past eight
years he's completely transformed the
American healthcare system
he got tough reforms to Wall Street
passed after the biggest financial
crisis in decades he appointed two of
the four women to ever serve on the
Supreme Court both of whom were part of
the historic decision legalizing
same-sex marriage he put in place the
toughest climate regulations in American
history
he opened the u.s. to Cuba for the first
time in half a century and he reached a
peaceful settlement of the nuclear
standoff with Iran that lasted for a
decade before he took office you can
celebrate over Mon these accomplishments
liberals will think that great
conservatives will think they're awful
but it's hard to deny that they're big
deals so where do we start Obama care is
a big deal for at least a hundred years
the big goal of American liberals on on
domestic policy was to get a national
health insurance program done a lot of
countries implemented universal health
care in the 20th century the UK Canada
France but the u.s. always lagged behind
there were attempt after attempt after
attempt by American progressives of both
parties to try to get the u.s. to where
everyone else was going and each of
those attempts failed Teddy Roosevelt
failed FDR failed Truman failed Nixon
failed
Carter failed Clinton failed and then
Obama succeeded and he established for
the first time in American history that
health care is a right the plan still
leaves millions uninsured but it laid a
foundation for universal health care to
understand what Obama did for foreign
policy you kind of have to go back to a
moment in 2007 and on this moment in
particular would you be willing to meet
separately without precondition during
the first year of your administration in
Washington or anywhere else with the
leaders of Iran Syria Venezuela Cuba and
North Korea in order to bridge the gap
that divides our countries I would
and the reason is this that the notion
that somehow not talking to countries is
punishment to them which has been the
guiding diplomatic principle of this
administration is ridiculous so this was
a considered gaffe the safe thing that
you were supposed to say is yeah
diplomacy is great we'll talk to some
people but there have to be
preconditions no preconditions too silly
and this is what other Democrats did say
at the time but he didn't accept that
and with two of the countries listed in
that question Iran and Cuba Obama led
some of the biggest changes to those
diplomatic relationships in recent
history I'd be remiss and not mentioning
the importance of the fact that Obama is
the first black president after eight
years it seems obvious to point out but
the history of America is a history of
learning to deal with racial diversity
and with the legacy of white supremacy
in a very real way the history of
America is the history of race relations
there's a famous photo that still hangs
in the White House of black toddler in
the White House dress to touch President
Obama's hair because he thought it was
great the president had hair that looked
like his it seems cheesy but it really
is a big deal that a generation of black
children are going to grow up knowing
that they could be the president overall
it's a pretty extensive track record so
you can generally divide American
presidents into two camps they're the
ones who were maybe a little good maybe
a little bad but we're sort of
forgettable Grover Cleveland Benjamin
Harrison Zachary Taylor William Howard
Taft Bill Clinton and they're the ones
who were hugely consequential either for
good FDR any of the depression winning
World War two
Lincoln winning the Civil War George
Washington establishing what a president
is or for ill Andrew Johnson destroying
reconstruction and and subjugating black
people for a century and for Jackson
committing genocide or ethnic cleansing
against the South East Indians I think
it's hard to argue that Obama is
the sir if he can rather than the big
consequential camp he did a lot he
accomplished a lot and I think in the
next 10 or 20 years when we have a bunch
more presidents many more of whom are
are sort of alright or maybe slightly
bad but but ultimately forgot a ball
we're gonna look back and realize what a
rare thing a presidency that active and
that accomplished is
you