Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama was the 44th President of the United States, serving from 2009 to 2013. He is widely remembered with ending the United States' War in Iraq, and the Healthcare Reform Act. He is criticized for his somewhat compromised Universal Healthcare Act.

Foreign Policy
President Obama focused most of his term on building a coalition of support among the world's leading economic superpowers to pull the global economy out of spiral. His first meeting with the G-20 is largely signaled as a symbolic victory in repairing U.S.-Foreign relations, but never truly achieved anything substantive in solving the recession.

Russia
The London Summit did open the door for future dealings with China, South Korea, and Russia, however; and allowed President Obama and Russian President Medvedev to craft the START nuclear arms treaty in the summer of 2009. This action was the first in a greater partnership between the US and Russia; START was followed by the Russo-American Missile Shield Treaty, and the Treaty of Anchorage.

China
President Obama's dealings with China were never more than lukewarm, as President Hu Jintao largely perceived the resurgence of a dynamic American leader as a threat to the growing Chinese economic superpower. When the Second Depression began and the Chinese Civil War followed, Obama drove a U.S. policy of neutrality towards the war, allowing the U.S. to avoid paying off their debt to either side until after the war ended, easing the burden of the U.S.-China deficit. President Obama did ultimately endorse the democratic forces following the attack on the Three Gorges Dam.

North Korea
President Obama condemned NK several times during their missile tests. This was seen acceptable from people on both sides of the party.

Mexico
The Second Mexican-American war, known to many as the "Cartel War," was considered the greatest failure of the Obama Administration. In April 2010, President Obama responded to the massive influx of illegals and drug cartels by sending 1,200 National Guard troops to the Southern border. Over 200 died when a group of Mexicans attacked them with grenades. This resulted in the October invasion of Mexico. President Obama never addressed the real cause of the Cartel War (drugs) until the voice of ending the drug war had become a roar. Many attribute this hesitance to de-criminalize recreational drugs to the President's college days, and a subconscious fear of reprisal from the American public for a former cocaine user being soft on drugs. The Cartel War eventually came to an end following the U.S. occupation of Northern Mexico, and capture of most of the cartels.

Iran
One of the President's greatest successes was with dealing with Iran. Following the outrage of the 2009 Iranian Presidential Elections, and the ensuing protests and riots, President Obama rarely spoke directly about the situation in Iran beyond standard condemnation of brutality. While many criticized the president for not directly engaging with the Iranians, this soft diplomacy ultimately gave the US a level of benevolence in the eyes of Iranians that they had never enjoyed. It wasn't until after the Revolutionary Guard began gunning down Mussavi supporters that the President began to take direct action against the Revolutionary Government. With U.N. support, President Obama placed extremely strict economic sanctions on the nation. In mid-2012, he succeeded when their economy toppled. Iran promised to make certain government reforms, and the sanctions were lifted.

Somali Pirates
President Obama's first tangible victory in military affairs was his handling of the kidnapping of one American merchant ship captain by Somali pirates. Quietly giving two orders for Navy snipers to shoot if necessary, the captain was rescued and returned home within a day of the start of the crisis. The event re-ignited Obama's nickname "No-Drama-Obama."

Cuba
In 2009 President Obama began relaxing US-Cuban relations, and passed legislation that made it easier for Cuban Americans to visit family in the communist island nation. Trade tensions were also relaxed, making it easier for American tech-com companies to sell their products in Cuba (Conservative America).

2009 Economic Stimulus
American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, better known as the "Stimulus," was a massive surge in tax cuts for the middle class, and economic stimulus. The plan was met with moderate resistance among economists who said that the nearly $1 trillion bill included too much spending. The plan did show a mark success in recovering the American financial sector, but did little to create more jobs than it saved. The stimulus package was successful.

FY 2010 Budget
The largest growth in government in U.S. history, the FY 2010 Budget created a $1.5 trillion dollar government debt, and was largely focused on reforming health care and funding greater economic stimulus programs.

American High Speed Rail Act
One of the largest investments in American infrastructure, the High Speed Rail Act linked the major cities of America together with high speed rail lines. This greatly reduced American CO2 emissions.

Green America Act
Seen as a great step towards a true 21st Century economy by both conservatives and liberals, the Green America Act of 2011 spent billions to create an American Green Economy. Passed in 2011, the plan sent billions to solar cell manufacturers, wind farms, and put a long term investment on the Smart Grid (a down payment was made by the Stimulus). The plan also finalized the funding for an American high speed rail network, the largest of any nation at the time, and ultimately put some 10 million people back to work. It was a precursor to the Energy Independence Act of 2013, signed into law by Rick Santorum. The two acts, combined, helped America gain energy independence by 2020.

The War on Drugs
President Obama is largely criticized for his condescending responses towards calls for ending the drug war. Already, 75% of Americans believed the War on Drugs was not working, and as the Mexican Cartel War escalated, the President showed little sign of wanting to end the policy war. Obama received hash criticism on the blogosphere for his veto of the first piece of legislation that would have decriminalized marijuana for recreational purposes, and did not sign the second bill, either.

Censorship
President Obama did very little to end FCC censorship of radio and television, but was the most active president in promoting net-neutrality, and signed the 2011 On-Line Communication Act into law on January 29th, 2011.

The Torture Memos
Many were angered by President Obama's desire to "move forward," when dealing with the calls to prosecute the Bush Administration, even as the White House released scores of documents, now known as the Torture Memos, only intensifying the country's outrage towards the former president and the former Justice Department lawyers. In April 2009, President Obama began to shift his position, and while maintaining that the CIA should not be prosecuted for carrying out orders from the President, he asked Attorney General Holder to begin examining any federal crimes the Bush administration may have committed. The final tally rested at 375, but the former Layers John Yoo and Judge Jay Bybee were never prosecuted, only disbarred. In 2010 following the resounding victory for Republicans and the first Libertarians and Populists ("conservadems"), the President finally called for a special prosecutor (winning over Libertarians and Populists), stating, "While I did not want my presidency to be about retribution or a partisan investigation, the evidence of injustice is overwhelming. No one is above the law, and while I still fear partisan politics in this investigation, I am willing to take the risk to uphold our constitutional obligations." While the Bush Trials did begin by December 2011, criticism over the president's failure to call for reconciliation from the start continues to this day.

Healthcare
One of President Obama's first acts upon entering office was insuring some 6 million children under federal healthcare programs. Shortly thereafter, the FY 2010 budget placed additional funding towards healthcare reform. When the Senator Al Franken (D-Minnesota) was finally seated, giving the Democrats a super majority, President Obama began to craft his Universal Healthcare Act through congress. The bill (ultimately an amalgamation of the late Senator Ted Kennedy, Chris Dodd, Max Baucus, and the President's plans) narrowly passed in March of 2010, after many delays in the House and Senate. The process of crafting the bill revealed the deep political divide in America as no other policy had in recent years; the most notable examples being the so called, "Town Hall Protests," where liberals and conservatives often entered into open conflict over the plan. After much negotiation in Washington with Republicans and conservative Democrats, President Obama began a much more aggressive campaign for health care reform, polarizing moderates and turning many Americans against him. The plan, however, was somewhat watered down by Senate Republicans and conservative Democrats, but did cover 95% Americans, and promised to reduce the federal deficit by over a trillion dollars by 2030. The victory assured Republican majorities in both houses of Congress and even resulted in some primary upsets for the tea party. President Obama eventually was able to pass a more progressive amendment to the original bill in 2012, and placed an earmark that covered genetic or stem cell therapies. Once signed, the bill let Obama claim victory over his greatest campaign promise from 2008.

Extremist Groups
In April of 2009, President Obama and the Department of Homeland Security released a report to law enforcement officers about the risk of extremist groups potential for recruiting new members and possibly even military veterans. The report was based on the potential risk of white supremacist and other radical groups growing support from the election of an African American president. In 2010, this came to fruition with the assassination attempt of President Obama. The radical was not a member of the KKK or the Neo-Nazis, or was even a veteran, but rather an associate of the "American Liberation Front," a radical fringe group dedicated to armed rebellion. The group was destroyed in 2011 thanks to the efforts of the DHS and FBI, but certain radical attacks continued throughout President Obama's tenure, though few lives were ever actually lost.

Cabinet
The Obama Administration made a controversial move before even taking office by asking then Secretary of Defense under George W. Bush to stay on for at least a year. This is the first time that a high level Cabinet official from a previous administration (of an opposing party) has stayed on to serve with a new Administration. The Obama Administration was also plagued with several withdrawals from ranking nominees due to tax issues in the early days of presidency, however most high level positions were filled at the end of the first 100 days. In 2011, Robert Gates stepped down from the Defense Department and was replaced by retired Republican Senator Chuck Hagle. Hagle's confirmation was quick and easy, as he was the only Senate Republican who actively opposed the War in Iraq. Hillary Clinton's nomination to the State Department turned many heads, and even more so when she replaced Joe Biden as VP; mainly due to the fierce rivalry the two had during the Democratic primaries. In 2011, with the passage of the Federal Tax Accountability Act, Tim Geithner was impeached. Geithner was never the most popular Secretary of the Treasury. He was replaced by long time critic of Obama economic policy, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. Reich pushed a much more radical economic agenda, which was also never passed.

Supreme Court Nominees
President Obama was never able to move the Supreme Court any further to the left than it originally was during the Bush Administration. The president was the first to appoint three women in one presidency following the retirements of David Souter and John Paul Stevens, and the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the first too appoint a Canadian (Granholm).
 * Sonia Sotomayor– 2009, replacing David Souter, making Obama the first President to appoint a Hispanic to the Supreme Court
 * Elena Kagan - 2010, replacing John Paul Stevens
 * Jennifer Granholm– 2011, replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Assassination Attempt
In 2010, President Obama, while campaigning for Georgia Democrats, was shot in the shoulder while on the steps of the Atlanta Statehouse. The shooter, Tom Mason, testified that he shot the president because, "He was going to take my guns away! Everyone knows this! [Glen] Beck and [G. Gordon] Liddy have been warning us about this since this (expletive deleted) took office!" The attack was a lighting rod against conservative talk show hosts, and many Republicans. Glenn Beck never apologized for his views, but G. Gordon Liddy took credit for the attack (he was arrested and died in a federal prison while serving a treason sentence). News Corp., the conservative news outlet, experienced mild financial strain until 2012.

2012 Presidential Campaign
The 2012 election was a monumental failure for the Obama Administration. Not only did the president suffer a landslide defeat for himself, but conservatives secured a two house super majority. This, however, was a threat to the Huckabee Administration, due to the major influx of Libertarians.

Public Perception
President Obama is today considered to be one of America's more moderate presidents, and today is a symbol of liberalism and what is wrong in the world. In late 2009, President Obama became the fourth U.S. President to win the Nobel Peace Prize, an honor that actually resulted in general bemusement at the time, but today is looked back on fondly, unlike most of his presidency. The president is still heavily criticized by Americans for his relatively liberal policies that led to a much economically weaker America, while liberals often argue that the President did not do enough to prevent the Cartel War from crossing the border. Many historians have attribute President Obama to the shift to a center-right America, and is credited to the collapse of the U.S. economy and American political power on the world stage after 2011. He is seen in the Zeitgeist as the most personable president, and is criticized for strengthening the divide from the people to the White House. Obama is ultimately best known in the zeitgeist as "The Great Divider," do to his polarizing policies.

Aftermath
After leaving the office in 2013, President Obama spent the next year at home in Illinois with his family, speaking at universities, and continuing to be an advocate for liberal policies. In 2022, President Brown asked President Obama to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. As ambassador, Obama negotiated a number of nuclear arms reduction deals as he had as president. Obama stayed on for the duration of the Brown's first term, but chose to turn down his offer to stay on during her second term. In 2033, President Naso appointed President Obama as U.S. Ambassador to Palestine. He helped negotiate a peace deal between Israel and Palestine which is today hailed as the greatest foreign policy achievement ever. He stayed with the Naso Administration for the next eight years.

Death & Legacy
Barack Obama died on January 19th, 2041, at the age of 79, due to a brain hemorrhage. He was buried next to his wife in their home in Chicago after a presidential funeral service.

President Obama is considered by many to have been one of the more mediocre presidents of the 21st Century, even for being as liberal as he was. In many ways his presidency is seen as one of revelation: he entered the White House believing that America was at its core united, and in doing so revealed that it couldn't be any less true. Obama's America was almost as split as it was during the civil war, conservatives finally beginning to win the culture wars, and liberals realizing that, even though they were the party in power, they had no real arguments or facts with which to back up their outlandish policies. President Obama claimed to have never have lost faith that his country could unite behind a common cause, but even during the Second Depression, a time where everyone was mutually affected, there were still those who refused to listen to reason. President Obama inadvertently moved the U.S. away from the far left and towards the center, he brought a level of stability to the U.S. economy and pulled America away from rampant big government power. He was the first president since Johnson to have achieved any kind of healthcare reform. Barack Obama had a big family history as so many of his ancestors and descendants were important. His great grandson Charles A. Obama had became president and solved the pollution problem by inventing a tree planter.