A lot of people including some on this thread, seem to think that Democracy is easy. Your guy gets the Presidency and suddenly he needs to perform like a benevolent dictator and get everything good in place and remove everything bad. And if the other powers in the Democracy get in the way of that, and inhibit it and undermine it, make it impossible then the chosen President is a pathetic failure.
Get a grip. In a Democracy, (and this is especially clear in a 2 party system) the struggle never ends. (Iow, the war does not end). There are competing interests, always. Rarely can one side do even most of what they want. BECAUSE THE POWER IN A DEMOCRACY DOES NOT ALL LIE IN THE HANDS OF ONE LEADER. You want a benevolent dictator? So we get T rump. He is trying damn hard to be a dictator. I don’t know how benevolent he is.
Barack Hussein Obama II (quotes below are from the link at the end)
He entered office in 2009 to fight the 2008 financial crisis. He immediately launched the ambitious Affordable Care Act, despite the backlash. His administration continued battling the Tea Party Republicans after they gained a Congressional majority in the 2010 mid-term elections.
Despite these challenges, Obama accomplished many great things by the time his term ended in January 2017. Here are the top 14 in chronological order.
1. Ended the 2008 Recession
In February 2009, Congress approved Obama’s economic stimulus package that was estimated at the time to cost $787 billion. It cut taxes, extended unemployment benefits, and funded public works projects. The recession ended in June 2009 when GDP growth turned positive.
2. Modernized the Auto Industry
Obama bailed out the U.S. auto industry in early 2009. The federal government oversaw the restructuring in exchange for loans and working capital of General Motors and Chrysler, saving more than 4 million jobs. It forced the companies to become more fuel-efficient and much more globally competitive.
3. Received the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize
On October 9, 2009, Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Committee lauded “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” He withdrew troops from Iraq in 2011. He reduced the U.S. nuclear warhead stockpile by 24%.
4. Reformed Health Care
On March 23, 2010, the Affordable Care Act revolutionized healthcare, in part by creating a program that offered insurance to people with pre-existing conditions who had been shut out of the insurance system. By 2014, the economy benefited from having 88% of the population covered by some type of health insurance.
The greater number of people receiving preventive care reduced the number of expensive visits to emergency rooms, slowing the rise of health care costs for everyone.
Why did health care need to be reformed? Rising costs threatened to take over the entire federal budget.
(President Donald Trump promised to “repeal and replace” Obamacare. By eliminating the mandate and reinstituting “skinny plans” that don’t cover a slew of expensive illnesses, he is weakening Obamacare even without formal repeal.)
5. Regulated the Big Banks !
In July 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act improved regulation of eight systems that led to the financial crisis. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reduced harmful practices of credit cards and mortgages. The Financial Stability Oversight Council regulated hedge funds and banks that became too big to fail. The “Volcker Rule” banned banks from risking losses with their depositors’ money.
Dodd-Frank clarified which agencies regulated which banks, stopping banks from cherry-picking their regulators.
Dodd-Frank directed the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. These regulated the riskiest derivatives, like credit default swaps and commodities futures. Dodd-Frank also asked the SEC to recommend how the credit rating agencies, like Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, could be improved.
6. 2010 Tax Cuts
In December 2010, Obama and Congress agreed upon additional stimulus in the form of an $858 billion tax cut. It had three main components: an extension of the Bush tax cuts, a $56 billion extension of unemployment benefits, and a 2% reduction in workers’ payroll taxes. Businesses received tax cuts for capital improvements and research and development tax credits. The estate tax was exempted (up to $5 million), and there were additional credits for college tuition and children.
7. Eliminated bin Laden Threat and Withdrew Troops from Iraq
On May 1, 2011, Navy SEALs attacked the al-Qaida leader’s compound in Pakistan and eliminated Osama bin Laden. Later that year, Obama withdrew troops from the Iraq War. Three years later, renewed threats from ISIS meant troops had to return. The Sunni-Shiite split within Islam means there may always be wars in the Middle East.
8. Raised Fuel Efficiency Standards
On August 28, 2012, the Obama administration announced new fuel efficiency standards. He required cars and light trucks obtain 54.5 MPG by 2025. That would reduce oil consumption by 12 billion barrels, saving drivers $1.7 trillion. It would also reduce the damage of climate change by lowering greenhouse gases.32
(The Trump administration promised to roll back these standards.)
9. Won 2012 Presidential Re-election
On November 6, 2012, Obama won a second term. Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney promised to repeal Obamacare and Dodd-Frank. Voters were not sure about eliminating health benefits and regulations against big banks.
10. Reduced Carbon Emissions
Obama announced carbon reduction regulations in 2015. He enacted the Clean Power Plan in 2015. It reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 32% from 2005 levels by 2030. It did this by setting carbon reduction goals for the nation’s power plants. To comply, power plants agreed to create 30% more renewable energy generation by 2030. It encourages carbon emissions trading by allowing states that emit less than the carbon cap to trade their surplus to states that emit more than the cap.
(In June 2019, the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency killed the Clean Power Plan and replaced it with the more lenient Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule.)
11. Nuclear Agreement With Iran !
On July 14, 2015, Obama brokered a nuclear peace agreement with Iran. Formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), it required Iran to have only sufficient enriched uranium for its energy needs, but not enough to build a bomb. JCPOA also instituted inspection requirements. In return, the United Nations lifted the economic sanctions it imposed in relation to Iran’s nuclear program. (Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal in May 2018, contending it did not go far enough.)
12. World’s Largest Trade Agreement
On October 4, 2015, Obama’s team negotiated the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It would have replaced NAFTA as the world’s largest free-trade agreement. It would have removed tariffs between the United States and 11 other countries that border the Pacific Ocean. (On January 23, 2017, Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement.) The other countries are planning to continue the agreement anyway. Japan and the European Union are negotiating their own agreement.
Obama launched negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the United States and the European Union.
(Obama’s term ended before negotiations on the TTIP could be finalized. It would have been bigger than the TPP. President Trump has not made much progress on the TTIP.)
13. International Climate Change Agreement
On December 12, 2015, Obama and more than 190 other countries announced the Paris Climate Agreement. Countries agreed to reduce carbon emissions and increase carbon trading. The goal is to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures. Developed countries will contribute $100 billion a year to assist emerging markets. They bear the brunt of damage from climate change. They face increased typhoons, rising sea levels, and more severe droughts.
On October 5, 2016, enough countries ratified the agreement that it went into effect. At the 2016 G20 meeting, China and the United States agreed to ratify the agreement. These two countries are the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases. (On June 1, 2017, Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement.)
14. Job Creation
Obama’s policies put more than 10 million people to work from the depths of the recession to the end of his term. That’s because unemployment continued to rise even after the recession ended in July. It takes a few months of economic growth before businesses are confident enough to begin hiring again.
https://www.thebalance.com/what-has-obama-done-11-major-accomplishments-3306158#other-accomplishments
And I add, Obama (being only POTUS and NOT a benevolent dictator) did not choose the 2016 Dem Nominee. The voters did. And the voters eventually chose T rump. Obama did not do that. But T rump was able to mobilize the underlying zenophobia and bigotry that is always present, previously it was more latent, in the USA. So yes Obama failed us in one big way: He was a black man in the USA.