Character Assassination of Barack Obama

In these divisive times, it is rare for a President to see his or her approval rating rise as his or her tenure approaches to an end. In most circumstances, the public cannot wait for the White House occupant to exit the premises. According to several polls, Barack Obama departed office with a 59 percent approval rating. Regardless matter how ferocious the last election was, with the opposition party winning, an increasing trajectory is nothing short of amazing. As a result of these factors, I chose Barack Obama for a variety of reasons. For instance, during his term in office, he was able to rescue the United States of America from the Great Recession hence cutting the unemployment rate from 10% - 4.6% within six years. Moreover, he also improved the health of over 20 million uninsured Americans by signing the Affordable Care Act. During his term in office, he managed to drop the veteran homeless rate by 50% unlike the times before. Therefore, Barrack Obama remains to be one of the greatest and all-time President of the United States of American due to his achievements in office.

As the first African - American President, Obama became a crucial figure in the American history. This was evident even before his swearing-in. However, after being elected to a second term in office, his accomplishments in office made him one the most outstanding and transformative presidents in the world. In 2012, Barrack Obama took the country in danger and managed to take it through the Great Recession, changing cultural demographics, civil unrest, mass shootings, and two wars. In other words, there are a lot of episodes or events where he faced character attacks from different individuals, groups, and even organizations. In the year 2008 during his campaign, Barrack Obama called for revolution. Notably, eight years later, the Americans are now living in a more thriving nation due to his call. Despite his achievements, he encountered some character attacks from people and organizations.

As a President, Barack Obama encountered a lot of character attacks from many individuals and other groups. For instance, during his joint session Congress, an individual white lawmaker poked his index finger and accused him of lying. The lawmaker went ahead and named him “a liar.” Moreover, the heckling became more evident in September 2009 when he was addressing the citizens about health care. In his speech, Obama tried to elaborate to the citizens that his plan would not cover undocumented refugees. However, this did not go well with some lawmakers such as Joe Wilson of South Carolina from the Republican who continued to yell at him “You lie!” This came as a surprise to Linnyette Richardson who was the African-American function planner who observed the outburst live on TV. Moreover, there was also another poster of Obama outfitted as an African witch doctor and First lady Michelle portrayed as a monkey in the midst of the congregation. These character attacks brought some negative impacts to his term in office (Blake. Notably, as he approached his final moments in office, she admitted he never knew how racist American was until it voted its first black president. In such incidences, it always advisable to go slow on such individuals or groups. Besides, such attacks are normal, and they should not pin anyone down. Therefore, you should ignore such people and focus on what is good for the country or people.

Apart from the mentioned, Former Us President Bill Clinton also launched an attack on President Obama. According to him, he was so surprised by the Democrats’ lopsided loss in Senate races during the mid-term elections. The Former President accused President Obama of being the main reason for such outcomes since he had refused to sign an executive order on the immigrants hence may have led some Hispanic voters to stay at home. He went ahead asking Obama to maximize his pulpit and not give up into being a “lame duck.” Bill Clinton suggested that he should turn to the budget process and try to push through his goals and objectives in his final two years and hence should try and pass the immigration reform. Above all, the Former President asked Obama to try and have “fun” on the job. In most cases, some character attacks are not worth adhering to. However, in this case, it was wise for President Obama to take a note on Clintons advise and make the nation better. People usually tend to work just for the sake of earning a living. Statistically, only 20 percent of working-class individuals normally enjoy their jobs or occupation. Therefore, President Obama could just consider Bill Clinton's advice in a polite way to avoid more attacks from the public.

During an interview with Yahoo News, President Obama called Warren by her first name. However, this did not go well with some individual especially the president of NOW Terry O’Neill. According to O’Neill, she thought the President was just trying to build up his trustworthiness. During the interview by The Hill, O’Neill saw that President Obama was trying to convince people not to take Senator Warren concerns seriously. In her quote, she admitted that he did it is a “sexist way.” According to Obama, Warren had been opposing his trade agenda to advance her political brand. Furthermore, in his interview with the Yahoo, Obama admitted that he understood Elizabeth’s concerns as a politician. Besides, when Obama said that “the little lady just doesn’t know what she is talking about,” O’Neill viewed this comments as a sign of disrespect, especially to the female gender. In such cases, it is always wise to educate or elaborate on your stand since not everyone can comprehend critical matters related to the economy (Stolberg). Therefore, the best way to defend yourself against such attacks is by educating the public on the importance of your decision. Moreover, you can also decide to ignore the critics that may erupt due to your choice since there are people who will always oppose growth in the society.

Despite his achievement during his two terms in office, Obama’s presidency has been viewed as a failure by some individuals and groups. For instance, during his term in office, most people noticed that “the wage gains were largely confined to the rich” or that “The administration’s planning in Libya failed.” Due to this, most of his proudest achievements seemed like an enduring April snow. Besides, other attacks included his success on the climate change. According to some politician such as Donald Trump, his plan or action in regards to climate change was inappropriate. These politicians argued that he failed to implement the cap-and-trade system. This system was supposed to help in lowering the emissions. During this period, President Obama went ahead and banned oil and gas drilling in Us owned waters. However, despite his efforts to conserve the environment, there were a lot of critics that revolved around his action. He was able to protect over 266 acres of the US land and water more than any other US commander in chief. In the current society, there exist people who will always oppose everything. Due to this, such attacks can be avoided by implementing realistic plans to improve and conserve the environment as Obama did during his term in office.

Besides the mentioned critics, Former President Barack Obama also encountered some attacks from the current President Donald Trump. For instance, in his tweeter quote “The habitual vacationer, @BarackObama, is now in Hawaii, “Trump expressed his disappointment in Obama s presidency and action against taxpayer-funded travel. According to his, he viewed Obama's travel as a waste of tax payer’s money. In his thought, Trump noted that Obama's vacation cost taxpayers $4 million. He went ahead a took another shot at the First Family downtime lamenting on why did Obama and his family traveled separate ways. In his comments, Trump argued that they loved to spend tax payer’s money and went ahead calling First Lady Michelle Obama “luxurious Aspen vacation.” Nevertheless, despite in possession of branded helicopter and hotel properties across the world, Trump assured the Americans that he would not exploit or take vacations as Obama did. In this case, handling such attacks requires in-depth analysis and thinking since they pose a significant impact on the public if a wrong decision or response is made. Therefore, it is wise to keep it on the low since there are some individuals who may not understand how the government works until they get into the systems. It is clear that Donald Trump is also doing the same as Obama did since he is taking vacations in different parts of the world.

Being a commander in chief for two terms, Former US President Barack Obama also encountered critiques from some public figures such as Keith Ellison who was the deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee. In his statement, he criticized President Obama for the democratic party losses. However, Marie Harf who was the spokeswoman for the state department came out and defended the President hence terming Ellison’s statement as “a stupid thing to say.” Harf said on “Fox and Friends” that Obama’s approval number had remained very as usual and they kept going higher as the campaign went on. Despite defending the President, she went ahead and asked the party to investigate the main reason as to why they lost the White House in 2016 inclusive of Hillary Clintons’ campaign. She highlighted some of the possible causes of their loss. For instance, bad campaign strategy, misinterpretation of the country’s mood particularly in the key states, external factors among others. Nevertheless, she still thought that Ellison’s statement was a stupid thing to say about Obama (Mullen). In such cases of attacks from within the staff members, it is crucial to call a meeting and discuss the way forward. Such steps will have enabled your organization or staff to work out realistic and come up with executable plans and strategies that will help in curbing some of the challenges you may face even in future.

In 2009, Obama gave the green light to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that was to bring to an end the discrimination against women. However, did not go well with some politician and public figures. This new law required that companies with over 100 workers or more to account to the federal regime the number of salaries they pay their workers. The report was to show a breakdown of the workers’ wages by gender ethnicity and race. According to many, this law was established to help in rooting out discrimination and reducing the gender pay gap that had existed in America for decades. Statistically, this law left women in full-time occupations to earn up to 79 cents for every dollar a man earned. Despite the positive impact, this bill brought to the country; some criticized him for trying to deal with the problem through executive action. According to Deb Fischer, the law was the way forward to curbing cases related to racism. In this instance, it was evident that by passing the bill was the only way to help unite Americans irrespective of their race, gender, or ethical backgrounds. Curbing challenges of this nature can be a daunting task to leaders especially if they are women of the marginalized race (Ruiz). Therefore, The President was not to comment on anything but leave it for the governors of various states to educate to their supporter on the importance of the initiative as was done by the Governor of Nebraska.

In the current world, terrorism has dramatically affected the economy of various nations. During his term in office, one of the greatest achievement was when he hailed a nuclear deal with Iran as a landmark. This was a breakthrough during his tenure in office since it helped in reducing the manufacturing of nuclear weapons across the globe. However, the Republican Congress questioned his decision and vowed to block the agreement. Some of the Congress leaders asked whether Iran would abide by its commitments or not. In his speech, Obama assured the American that he was sure and confident that the deal would meet the national security interest of the country and the world as a whole. He further added that Iran must be able to submit to international inspections of any of its facilities. In his statement, “This deal is not built on trust,” Obama said. “It is built on verification.” In cases related to security, it fundamental for the president to respond and give an assurance to his citizens regarding their safety. Such negative attacks are critical when working on a proper strategy for curbing the security of a nation. Therefore, Obama ought to listen to the critics then scrutinize and work out on the best way to control this problem.

Lastly, President Barrack Obama remains to be one of the iconic individuals who has changed the lives of many Americans due to the change he has brought in the country. Notably, during his term in office, he managed to amend the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010 that helped in improving the lives of many kids in schools. This Act led to the launch of the National School Lunch Program, Infants, and Children, among others. Therefore, the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids promoted the improvements to the school lunch as well as breakfast programs by amending the precarious hunger and nutrition safety net for thousands of kids. However, the Republican pulled out a political stunt to this bill which led to some delays at the mercy of deserving children who are in need of healthy meals. According to Palin, she felt Obama was trying to tell parents that they were unable to decide for their kids, families, and what they should eat. In an interview with conservative radio talk show hosted by Laura Ingraham, Palin quoted, “I know I’m going to be criticized for bringing this up.” She asked the government to leave parents alone to take care and decide what their kids should eat. In such cases, it is wise to educate such parents on the importance of such initiatives (Swanson). This Act was meant to help in improving children diet as well as health. Therefore, it is so unfortunate that parents such as Palin are resisted growth that can be beneficial to the entire society.

In conclusion, the Former President Barack Hussein Obama remains to be one of the iconic symbols of a real leader due to his impeccable achievements. With his famous quote, “Yes We Can,” there has been a lot of transformation in different sectors of the US economy. During his first term in office, Obama managed to change the face of America. Despite the criticism he got from people and politicians, he was still able to deliver to his citizens. For instance, he has been called names in various events, and this has not hindered him from delivering his promises to his supporters as well as the opponents. During the joint session Congress, one of the lawmakers called him a liar. According to him, these were just a way of derailing his good reputation and hence was not worth listening to. Moreover, another incident also occurred in 2016 when they lost some Senatorial seats. Bill Clinton blamed him for this loss since he did not sign the executive order on the immigrants. According to Clinton, he felt Obama did not do his best during the campaign hence was liable for the bad result during the election. Besides the mentioned attacks, the president of NOW Terry O’Neill also accused Obama of trying to build up his trustworthiness by calling Warren with her first name. In an interview, O’Neill saw that President Obama was trying to convince people not to take Senator Warren concerns seriously. In her quote, she admitted that he did it is a “sexiest way.” According to Obama, Warren had been opposing his trade agenda to advance her political brand. Furthermore, in his interview with the Yahoo, Obama admitted that he understood Elizabeth’s concerns as a politician. Besides, when Obama said that “the little lady just doesn’t know what she is talking about. “Despite all these character attacks, Former President Barack Hussein Obama remains in the hearts of many African-American due to the achievements he made during his two terms in office and will forever be remembered for his famous quote, “Yes We Can.”

Works Cited

Blake, John. "What Black America Won't Miss About Obama." CNN, 2016, http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/30/politics/why-black-america-may-be-relieved-to-see-obama-go/index.html.

Mullen, Jethro, and Nic Robertson. "Landmark Deal Reached On Iran Nuclear Program - Cnnpolitics." CNN, 2015, http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/14/politics/iran-nuclear-deal/index.html.

"Romney Says Obama Focused On ‘Character Assassination’." New York Post, 2012, https://nypost.com/2012/05/17/romney-says-obama-focused-on-character-assassination/.

Ruiz, Michelle. "6 Things President Trump Criticized Barack Obama For And Is Currently Doing Himself." Vogue, 2017, https://www.vogue.com/article/6-things-trump-criticized-obama-for-and-is-now-doing.

Stolberg, Sheryl. "Obama Signs Equal-Pay Legislation." Nytimes.Com, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/us/politics/30ledbetter-web.html.

Swanson, Ian. "Ellison Comments On Obama Criticized As 'A Stupid Thing To Say'." Thehill, 2017, http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/330039-ellison-comments-on-obama-criticized-as-a-stupid-thing-to-say.

T. Kennedy, John. "Yes He Did − President Obama Signs Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act Into Law." Nossaman.Com, 2009, http://nossaman.com/yes-he-did-president-obama-signs-lilly.