Obama widely hailed as admirable leader

I FIND the letter “Obama was the pits as US president” (February 5) bitterly critical and devoid of facts.

According to a Quinnipiac University poll released on January 9, Barack Obama exited the White House with an approval rating of 55%. His successor, Donald Trump, entered the office with a rating of 37% (the lowest of any new president in the past two decades).

Presidential scholars’ rankings of top presidents put Obama at 18 (Lincoln is first) of the 44 presidents that served up to Obama (data from the American Political Science Association’s presidents and executive politics section).

These facts contradict the writer’s view that “Obama will go down in history as the worst president the US has ever had”.

The powerful tribute that Obama delivered at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in South Africa is one example of his “poise and being an effective orator”. There are many others.

His fellow politicians have described him as being highly intelligent with a sharp legal mind.

I am one of the many millions of people in the US and around the world who have the greatest respect and admiration for Obama. —

Deena Govender, Durban