Has Obama been a successful president?
Intro:
• Current public perception is that Obama's presidency has been a failure
• His average approval rating of 47% is lower than the 53% for the average President, and this is
largely down to his ineffectualness in his second term, despite campaigning on a promise for
‘hope’ and ‘change’
• However, this has largely been down to the extreme partisanship and Republican resistance
in Congress, and many argue that Obama’s 47% is a sign of resilience against a Congress
who’s approval ratings reached a record low of 9% in 2013
Foreign policy:
Successes:
• Obama campaigned on a platform propounding multilateralism and diplomacy, stating he
wanted to “renew American diplomacy”, and the mantra that “we will hold out our hand if you
unclench your fist”
• His positive attitude towards working with the UN echoed elements of Wilsonian idealism,
and his favouring of ‘soft diplomacy’ won him the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for creating a ‘new
climate’ in international relations
o He signed the START Treaty with Russia in 2010, that reduced each nation’s nuclear
missile launchers
o He announced a deal with Iran in 2015, that had been in negotiation since 2012 stated the
US would lift sanctions if Iran agreed to limit its nuclear programme – the deal took effect in
2016
o He has consistently entrusted Secretary of State John Kerry with peaceful negotiations,
such as with Russian ministers during the Ukraine crisis, and with al-Assad in 2013
during the Syrian civil war
• He was given a 45% approval rating with foreign citizens in a Gallup poll in 2015, higher than
any other leaders on the poll
Failures:
• Peter Keaver (2012) argued that all of Obama’s major foreign policy successes have come as
a result of continuing the interventionist Bush Doctrine, despite his campaign pledge for
multilateralism
o Intervention in Afghanistan increased, with 80% more troops being sent out, and his
supplying of troops to support the counter-insurgency against the Taliban was the same
option recommended by Bush in 2008
o His increasing of the US naval presence in the Asia-Pacific area and strengthening
relations with powers such as India – in order to offset the geopolitical influence of
China – was also a continuation of Bush’s regional strategy
o Involvement in Ukraine, and ‘military advisors’ were sent to Libya in 2011, undermined the
War Powers Act
o With regards to international trade, instead of following his protectionist campaign promise
to renegotiate the NAFTA, Obama not only left the NAFTA intact, but successfully
completed two free trade agreements with South Korea and Columbia that had been
negotiated during Bush’s tenure
o His greatest successes in foreign policy have come in domains where he continued
and expanded on the policies he inherited from Bush; although he dropped the ‘Global
War on Terror’ tag, he has proceeded on the same trail blazed by Bush, e.g. unilateral
drone strikes wherever terrorists are found, the use of Special Forces raids to target
high-value individuals (Bin Laden) – “These achievements of the Obama Administration
are a direct result of continuing the War on Terror along this aggressive path” (Feaver, 2012)
• Obama has also accepted his lack of planning for aftermath of the Syrian intervention –
whereby Gaddafi was overthrown – was the “worst mistake” of his presidency, as it lead to
instability and political violence
Intro:
• Current public perception is that Obama's presidency has been a failure
• His average approval rating of 47% is lower than the 53% for the average President, and this is
largely down to his ineffectualness in his second term, despite campaigning on a promise for
‘hope’ and ‘change’
• However, this has largely been down to the extreme partisanship and Republican resistance
in Congress, and many argue that Obama’s 47% is a sign of resilience against a Congress
who’s approval ratings reached a record low of 9% in 2013
Foreign policy:
Successes:
• Obama campaigned on a platform propounding multilateralism and diplomacy, stating he
wanted to “renew American diplomacy”, and the mantra that “we will hold out our hand if you
unclench your fist”
• His positive attitude towards working with the UN echoed elements of Wilsonian idealism,
and his favouring of ‘soft diplomacy’ won him the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for creating a ‘new
climate’ in international relations
o He signed the START Treaty with Russia in 2010, that reduced each nation’s nuclear
missile launchers
o He announced a deal with Iran in 2015, that had been in negotiation since 2012 stated the
US would lift sanctions if Iran agreed to limit its nuclear programme – the deal took effect in
2016
o He has consistently entrusted Secretary of State John Kerry with peaceful negotiations,
such as with Russian ministers during the Ukraine crisis, and with al-Assad in 2013
during the Syrian civil war
• He was given a 45% approval rating with foreign citizens in a Gallup poll in 2015, higher than
any other leaders on the poll
Failures:
• Peter Keaver (2012) argued that all of Obama’s major foreign policy successes have come as
a result of continuing the interventionist Bush Doctrine, despite his campaign pledge for
multilateralism
o Intervention in Afghanistan increased, with 80% more troops being sent out, and his
supplying of troops to support the counter-insurgency against the Taliban was the same
option recommended by Bush in 2008
o His increasing of the US naval presence in the Asia-Pacific area and strengthening
relations with powers such as India – in order to offset the geopolitical influence of
China – was also a continuation of Bush’s regional strategy
o Involvement in Ukraine, and ‘military advisors’ were sent to Libya in 2011, undermined the
War Powers Act
o With regards to international trade, instead of following his protectionist campaign promise
to renegotiate the NAFTA, Obama not only left the NAFTA intact, but successfully
completed two free trade agreements with South Korea and Columbia that had been
negotiated during Bush’s tenure
o His greatest successes in foreign policy have come in domains where he continued
and expanded on the policies he inherited from Bush; although he dropped the ‘Global
War on Terror’ tag, he has proceeded on the same trail blazed by Bush, e.g. unilateral
drone strikes wherever terrorists are found, the use of Special Forces raids to target
high-value individuals (Bin Laden) – “These achievements of the Obama Administration
are a direct result of continuing the War on Terror along this aggressive path” (Feaver, 2012)
• Obama has also accepted his lack of planning for aftermath of the Syrian intervention –
whereby Gaddafi was overthrown – was the “worst mistake” of his presidency, as it lead to
instability and political violence
