Derek Anderson
Journal Staff

A lot of people have been wondering what President Obama and his administration have been doing for the almost two years he’s been in office. I hear people, both on the right and left, say that he hasn’t done much of anything. Between the media, the Republican Party, and the general public, Obama has been criticized and beaten down. The poor guy just can’t seem to catch a break.

What’s really difficult to understand is why the majority of people feel this way. If anyone actually took the time to look at the facts, they would be blown away by what Obama and his administration have accomplished in less than two years. They would see that most presidents in our past have not come close to the progress that’s been made thus far.

There is this heavy stress on unemployment and all the so-called “broken promises” Obama made throughout his campaign. An anti-Obama ad made by the Republican National Committee calls him “The Deficit of Hope”, throwing out multiple stats regarding unemployment and debt. Even the media has smashed him over and over again, with his depiction on Saturday Night Live stating, “When you look at my record, it’s very clear what I’ve done so far and that is nothing. Nada.”  When it comes down to it, however, his accomplishments just aren’t being recognized. Apparently the public needs a little help seeing success.

First off, the man passed Health Care Reform. This is an extraordinary accomplishment and it is a first from any president in the last 60 years. We’ve all witnessed history and it’s all because of Obama and his team.

Then we have the Stimulus Bill, which saved our dying economy, a thing so destroyed and shattered that the future seemed hopeless. Rachel Maddow said in a segment of her show, The Rachel Maddow Show that the Stimulus Bill “…didn’t just throw a lasso around our entire economy and yank it back from the brink, but it also pumped about $100 billion into the crumbling embarrassment of our national infrastructure and transportations system.” The package also included one of the largest investments in renewable and clean energy and science technology.

Everyone seems to be pinning this economic disaster on Obama, but people need to realize that he was handed the reins after the damage was already done. The GOP is arguing that the administration has led America into “$13 trillion dollars in national debt”.

Well, I have a bit of shocking news for you: This is far from Obama’s fault. The man at fault was our president’s predecessor, the lovely George W. Bush. Yes, it was he and his crew who bled this country dry of funds and then left it to die once his reign was over. The Bush Administration threw away our country’s money, and, according to an article from CBS in September of 2008, added an extra $4 trillion dollars to the country’s debt. Thanks, W.

But back to the accomplishments, shall we? Adding to Maddow’s list of Obama’s successes, Obama has expanded state children’s health insurance to cover another 4 million kids, signed a nuclear arms deal with Russia reducing “both countries arsenals by a third,” and has made leaps and bounds in foreign relations. “In a series of foreign trips and speeches… he replaced George W. Bush’s unilateral, moralistic militarism with an approach that is multilateral, pragmatic, and conciliatory,” stated an article in Slate. “Obama has already significantly reoriented policy toward Iran, China, Russia, Iraq, Israel, and the Islamic world.”

There are also countless legislative and policy achievements. The Obama Administration has passed “The Hate Crime Prevention Act” that had sat in Congress for years, got the FDA to regulate tobacco products, passed credit card reform, signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which expands workers rights to sue over wage discrimination, and has eliminated wasteful spending of the government. The Washington Times reported that Obama managed “to get Congress to ax several programs that had bedeviled President George W. Bush for years”.

With all those accomplishments, plus numerous that haven’t even been mentioned, I don’t understand how our president hasn’t accomplished anything. The man is not “The Deficit of Hope”. I would say he is the opposite of that. He takes the criticism of the country and continues to push through it all, fighting for what’s right for America.

CQ Politics reporter Taegan Goddard said, “not since FDR has any president done so much to transform the country.”

I could not agree more.