Eight years later: Grading the Obama administration

“I actually think I’m a pretty good president,” President Obama said during a speech to the African Union last July.

Obama, the first American president to visit Kenya, used off-the-cuff remarks about his own political position and his stature as the first American president with African roots to call for reform of the power structures of Africa.

Heavy and speckled with grey is the head that wears the crown. Compare first-term Obama, left, to second-term Obama, right, and the physical toll of being the leader of the free world is obvious.

When you compare the fresh-faced Obama of 2008 to the Obama of 2015, it’s clear that he has felt the pressures of the job. But how well did he do?

“I think if I ran [again], I could win,” Obama said. Do the American people agree?

Obama’s approval rating, which has hovered around 46 percent since July, is just below the average 53 percent for U.S. presidents, according to an August Gallup poll.

Do the students of Columbia College agree? During the coming weeks, The PostScript will be gathering information and student opinions on the Obama administration. This series will focus specifically on foreign relations, health care reform, unemployment and climate change.

Of course, it is still too early to fully assess the Obama Administration. History has a way of shaping and reshaping the legacy of former presidents. For example, Americans rated John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan more positively after they left office than they did while in office, according to a 2010 Gallup poll.

When Julian Bond, a civil rights activist and long-time friend of President Obama, died last August, the president spoke highly of him saying, Bond helped change America for the better and “what better way to be remembered than that.” One can assume that Obama will want his presidency to be remembered in the same way.

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