Obama leaves a complex legacy

Presidential farewell addresses have been largely forgettable events. The two that stand out from the modern era are Dwight Eisenhower’s warning about the growing power of the “military industrial complex” and Ronald Reagan’s “city upon a hill” speech extolling free trade and open immigration.

Tonight, President Obama will try his hand. With such a controversial successor, the two- term Democratic incumbent is expected to issue some warnings and admonitions. But he will also make a case for the value and meaning of his own presidency.

His is one of the harder to assess.

Obama achieved much in office. He ensured that the Great Recession didn’t turn into another depression. He passed health care reform that eluded previous presidents of both parties. And he brought Osama bin Laden to justice.

Obama was comfortably reelected and leaves office with respectable approval ratings in the mid 50s.

Yet his personal appeal never transferred to his party, which faced significant losses when Obama wasn’t on the ballot, and now he faces the prospect that much of his legacy could be wiped out by a hostile Republican president and Congress.

So how does he rate? By the normal measures of peace and prosperity, Obama is likely to go down in history as an able, consequential president.

During his watch, the economy added 11 million jobs. Counting from the employment trough early in his presidency, the total was actually 15 million, created in a record- setting 75 straight months of gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose by more than 10,000 points during his time in office. Some 20 million people gained access to health insurance. The poverty rate fell, and median household income rose.

Thanks in large part to the fracking boom, America’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped, while domestic oil and gas production rose. His decision to rescue the domestic auto industry, controversial at the time, was clearly the right call as it saved tens of thousands of jobs while forcing changes that made Detroit more competitive than it had been in decades.

The first African American to hold the U. S. presidency, Obama served as a role model while also bringing a sense of class to the White House. His presidency lacked even the hint of personal scandal. And during much of his time in office, he came off as the adult while Congress members fought like schoolchildren.

Obama’s maturity and “no drama” demeanor came in handy when making weighty decisions. But to many Americans, particularly working- class voters, he came across as overly professorial and detached. Indeed, there is palpable irony in those voters associating more with Presidentelect Donald Trump, a man born into wealth and privilege, than with Obama, whose single mother once resorted to food stamps.

The area where Obama deserves the most criticism is foreign policy. His decision to join with Britain and France to topple Moammar Gadhafi has done little but destabilize Libya. His much touted “pivot to Asia” remains unfulfilled. And he has looked on as democratic institutions around the world have come under attack and as autocratic, and even tyrannical, leaders have gained ground.

Nowhere have his failures been as glaring as in the Middle East. His one great accomplishment was the Navy Seal raid that killed bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011. After that, his record has been much more checkered. He failed to foresee the rapid rise of the Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq after U. S. forces departed, then did little as neighboring Syria fell into civil war, leaving hundreds of thousands dead and creating a wave a refugees who have roiled Western democracies.

These shortcomings will have to be considered alongside his many domestic accomplishments in assessing a legacy that is sure to be complex. His achievements, many coming despite implacable opposition, will also have to be evaluated in coming years to see which ones survived Republican attacks and the test of time.

Being president in a dangerous world and a hyperpartisan age is enough to turn anyone’s hair gray. Even though he failed to change the tone in Washington or bring about a “post- racial” society, Obama finishes with much to be proud of. His approval rating is roughly 20 points ahead of President George W. Bush’s final polls. And Obama’s favorability rating is more than 10 points above Trump’s, even after the president- elect’s post- election bump.

It is difficult to say those numbers are not warranted. Obama inherited a collapsing economy and passed on a vibrant one. He kept America out of stupid wars, such as his predecessor’s invasion of Iraq. With the transition of power just 10 days away, sometimes, as Joni Mitchell sang, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.

Record combines domestic successes and foreign policy setbacks

EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY