President Obama offers a speech on healthcare back in 2009
Getting closer to the end of his second mandate, President Barack Obama is reluctantly looking back at his time in the office, judging his “legacy.” Most presidents like to show off their accomplishments and shine the best light on their terms, and in this respect, Obama follows faithfully.
After a speech he gave on Monday commending the steady recovery of the American economy, the new healthcare plan and the updated foreign policy, Obama offered a glimpse of how he hopes that history will remember his presidency: “Fondly.”
His response was prompted by a question during a Q&A session that took place at the White House with young Southeast Asian. Standing in front of his final 20 months in the office, Obama is hesitant to talk about his presidential legacy mostly because of the increasing shots fired on his administration by the growing number of Republican presidential candidates.
When asked about how he wishes history to remember him, Obama seemed to want to ignore the obvious question and answer the underlying one, saying that he has a lot more plans for his remaining time before he will do a retrospective.
But he then went on saying he already has plenty of things he’s proud to have accomplished, such as avoiding a terrible second depression that was looming over the United States back in 2009 when he first assumed office. He added that he believes the U.S. leadership did its part in avoiding a catastrophic international economic crisis.
Making health insurance more available was the next thing on the list, emphasizing that it was in alignment with his governing principles. But foreign policy is where Obama really feels he left a positive footprint.
The president argued that U.S. has experienced a 360-degree change in its international standing, reaching a place where the U.S. is “the most respected country on earth.”
His critics might have a completely different opinion on his point of view, as Obama’s response serves his legacy-building purposes, as well as a counterpoint to the disapproval that GOP presidential contenders show about his foreign policy.
Even though Obama argues that the international community has never been as engaged as it was during his administration, there are plenty of people who feel like the president hasn’t done enough to protect the American citizens from radical Islam and terrorism.
Instead, Obama pointed to the fact that two wars were ended and international relationships are going stronger than ever; Cuba and Iran are among the nations negotiating a better standing.
Image Source: MLive