Dylan Fair
Staff Writer
To the untrained eye it may seem that President Barack Obama has not lived up to the expectations of his first term. However, this is not the case.
When he entered office, Obama was faced with a handicapped economy and plethora of international issues inherited from the previous administration.
Although Obama has presided over a tumultuous two years during the first half of his presidency, he has also made progress worthy of re-election throughout his first term.
Since taking office in January 2009, Obama has kept many of the promises of his campaign.
In two years, Obama has successfully obtained the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT), pushed the START treaty through Congress and secured the passage of substantial health care reform.
Possibly the most significant progress Obama has made is the signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, widely known as the stimulus package.
The bill provided $288 billion in tax cuts and has helped create over 2.1 million jobs since Dec. 31, 2009. In addition, the act has provided $224 billion to support education and healthcare.
Many have contested the efficacy and the necessity of the package, claiming that the $787 billion price is too high.
In the lame-duck session of 2010, Obama signed the New START Treaty, which reduces warheads in the United States and Russia. The treaty initially drew Republican opposition, but 13 Republican senators ultimately voted across party lines in support of the treaty.
During the lame-duck session, Obama initiated the repeal of DADT and the passage of the 9/11 first responders bill, which provided aid to rescuers and their families injured in the attack. Eight Republican senators crossed the aisle to repeal DADT.
Obama has been very supportive of national health care reform. The Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act has provided affordable insurance to 11 million children since February 2009.
While critics of Obama’s health care efforts claim that the new system will be inefficient and that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, it lays a foundation that ensures a basic standard of health care and leaves the door open for future reform.
Also, according to Reuters, the healthcare overhaul will cut the federal budget deficit by $138 billion over 10 years.
Although he entered office with a very long to-do list, Obama has been as active as any president in recent memory.
If the president can issue as many reforms in the next two years as in the last two months, he truly deserves a second term. Obama’s attempt to put the well-being of the country over his approval rating deserves applause.
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