President Obama, as with most U.S. presidents, according to the news pundits, is concerned about his legacy as POTUS. I think his legacy is two-fold: one positive and one negative.
The negative legacy was his arrogance
in regards to his relationship with congress and especially the Republican Party.
He began his first term with a democratic house and senate and seemed to think
this made him king of the hill. He refused to even listen or talk to
republicans and ran rough-shod over their experience and expertise, doing what
was right in his own eyes. My first impression of the early days of his
presidency was that his arrogance knew no bounds. This attitude softened a bit
when he lost some of that support in later elections, but arrogance was the
hallmark of his administration to the detriment of our nation.
The republicans on the other hand,
instead of trying to build a relationship with him, responded in anger and
fought him for the remaining years of his two terms. They were more concerned
about their hurt feelings than the good of the nation and as a result they
accomplished very little even when they did have some clout.
The other, very positive legacy of
President Obama was the nature of his family relationships. He was, by all
appearances, a loving husband and a devoted father. This may be the most
important thing he did as president. He made it clear that Michelle was the
love of his life, and that he respected and admired her for the strong and
capable woman she is. He has been a good example for all of us husbands as to
the relationship we should have with our wives.
As a father, I thought he was superb.
I don’t think anything matters more to him than the well-being of his two
beautiful daughters. He was an example of loving, quality fatherhood to us all.
I believe one of the greatest reasons for the overwhelming poverty of so many
of our inner-city African-American communities is the prevalence of single parent
homes and the absence of fathers in the home. Generations of African-American
young men grew up with no good father figure to teach them how to be good
fathers. President Obama was the father-figure they needed and he used his “bully
pulpit” to encourage black youth to man up and be the fathers their children
needed. I am convinced this is his greatest legacy. It is the most important
thing he did as president. Its value is immeasurable and I hope he builds on it
in the years to come.
The sad thing is that the republicans
never recognized these qualities nor gave him credit for the awesome thing he
was doing just by being a good Dad and encouraging all other dads—red and
yellow, black and white—to be the best dads we could be. Question his policies,
decisions and actions in politics all you want to, but give him credit for what
he did right. It will have a lasting positive effect on our nation.
President-elect Trump will begin in
the same position President Obama was in his first term—with both houses of
congress in his party. In Trump’s victory speech he said he will work with
everyone, including those who didn’t support him in both parties, to lead our
nation. I sincerely hope he follows through on that commitment.
I'm Rick Blumenberg and that's
My View from Tanner Creek.
