Hailed as the saviour of the western world and heralded as the champion of a new dawn of politics, the reaction that greeted Barack Obama’s victory in the 2008 US Presidential election reached absurd levels of hysteria. The expectation that surrounded Obama was so high that many people thought he would be able to deftly solve the biggest financial crisis in nearly a century, while at the same time overhauling the country’s much criticised healthcare sector and improve the US’s damaged global reputation.
The reality, however, has been somewhat different. While the economy has got back on track, it has hardly been as a result of a new form of conciliatory deal making in Washington. Nor has he made good on many of his promises, from closing the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to curbing lobbying in Washington. Countless promises made in his initial campaign have either been watered down or completely ignored, resulting in his many supporters decrying his lack of progress.
As successfully re-elected presidents enter their second terms they often look towards implementing some form of ambitious, headline grabbing policy that will secure their legacy for decades to come. Freed from the shackles of having to think about another election campaign and keeping people onside, second term presidents are often successful at getting more done than in their initial terms. However, with so many criticisms over broken promises and political cooperation at an all-time low, many wonder whether Obama will be able to salvage some form of legacy in the remaining two years of his presidency.
[W]ith so many criticisms over broken promises and political cooperation at an all-time low, many wonder whether Obama will be able to salvage some form of legacy in the remaining two years of his presidency
More often than not legacy-building comes in the form of foreign policy initiatives, with both George W Bush and Bill Clinton attempting to force progress on the Israel-Palestine issue. In this instance, Obama has similarly sought to make his mark in the last few months. A ground breaking deal with Iran over its nuclear ambitions should be hailed as a significant step towards bringing back into the fold what has been a troublesome player in the world’s most volatile region, even if it was condemned by many as having isolated the US’s traditionally close ally Israel.
Moves by Obama to force an agreement between Israel and Palestine should also be welcomed, although whether he will have any success in persuading intransigent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to adopt a plan based on 1967 borders remains to be seen, especially after the supposed betrayal over the Iran deal.
However, much of the attention should be on settling the issue of Syria. Obama’s indecision over action in Libya was followed by his failure to stick to his ‘red line’ threat to President Assad over the use of chemical weapons, conceding the initiative to Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the coming year, he should look to seize back that initiative by making it abundantly clear to Assad that a conclusion to the fighting in Syria must be reached. While military action should be seen as a last resort, any further uses of chemical weapons should result in the harshest of actions from the international community – led by the US.
Obama’s much-anticipated assault on the private healthcare industry barely made it through fraught negotiations with Senators and Representatives, resulting in a much-watered down version of his initial proposals. What was eventually launched towards the end of 2013, Obamacare, was beset by online technical problems, further harming his reputation and giving his administration an air of incompetence. Critics highlighted basic faults in the website that people needed to sign up to, and the money invested in running the programme was clearly misspent.
Even though he promised to curb the sort of surveillance tactics that had become popular during the Bush administration – such as the Patriot Act – Obama suffered an embarrassing 2013 as a result of the Edward Snowden revelations over domestic and overseas spying by the National Security Agency (NSA). Scolded by international leaders that included Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande over the NSA’s supposed tapping of their phones, Obama must use 2014 as the year to rebuild these relationships and improve trust. Recently announced plans to protect foreigners from NSA spying, as well as a demand for presidential approval for spying on foreign leaders, is not enough.
He should start by pardoning Snowden. An act of heroic whistleblowing or despicable treachery – depending on how comfortable you are with government snooping – Snowden has been stuck in Russia seeking political asylum since his revelations in June last year. Even though he revealed hugely damaging information about the US’s surveillance activities, he has highlighted a worrying lurch towards government distrust of its citizens and its allies. For a country that so fervently promotes freedom of speech and expression around the world, it is depressing to see it collect such vast swathes of information about people that it may use against them.
Obama has undoubtedly been a huge disappointment to those who so passionately hailed his election in 2008. However, it is not too late to salvage his presidency and address many of the things he set out to achieve in the first place. Saving his healthcare reforms is also possible; provided he brings the right sort of people into oversee it. Closing Guantanamo Bay would be a symbolic move, as would bringing about some more dialogue between Israel and Palestine. Tackling Syria is even possible if he has the courage of his convictions.
A presidency that offered so much has been hampered by Obama’s relative belligerence in dealing with opponents. Now that he doesn’t need to worry about being re-elected, he should be bolder and more forceful if he’s going to be remembered as anything more than a damp squib.
