In time Snowden will enter the history books for what he did, Obama not so much. Maybe only to serve as a reminder that the Nobel peace prize lost its prestige.
Part of this is that Snowden did a service to everybody on the planet (including Obama) and Obama serves a limited set of interests.
Honestly, not a single thing of world class importance stands out. Capturing Bin Laden, maybe.
Such stuff is lost in noise after a few centuries, only people from the country where it happened learn about it, often not even that.
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2013/07/28/tesla-success-...
I truly hope what Tesla is doing becomes the future of the American auto-industry, but the nation was in no position, at that time, to facilitate that transformation in a way that was logistically, economically, or politically acceptable.
I think the main achievement is keeping the economy afloat during 2009 ...
First non-white male US president in history? Interesting how quickly such a thing becomes non-notable.
If becoming president is your main achievement including two terms as president then that's sad, not good.
Even Reagan will be remembered because he's seen as a factor (not all good, but ok we'll give him a pass) in the collapse of the former Soviet Union. And Reagan was embarrassing in many other respects.
Obama will be remembered as the guy that could have changed so much but didn't. Part of that is his own fault, he was harping so much on hope and change that some of us (including me) actually believed he meant what he said.
Consider me disappointed.
Also, as President he is in theory limited in what he can actually do. Case in point: he promised to close Gitmo but is unable to do so because it requires Congress to make it happen and they are not cooperating.
Still, I think it's pretty important that Obama was at least partly black - it showed that it could be done, and I'm sure he inspired millions of people (black and otherwise).
You can't be serious.
Give me some examples of stuff that you believe Obama will be remembered for that he did during his time as the most powerful man in the world in 100 years or more from now.
2. Authorized mission that killed Bin Laden
3. Passed health care reform
4. Committed Federal money to US auto industry at a time when nobody else would do so
5. Repealed 'Don't ask don't tell' and held office during major national shift in acceptance of gays and lesbians.
6. NSA
That's six things that I believe will be historically notable for Obama's Presidency.
2. Quite a nice example of the kind of justice the USA likes to export
3. Extremely limited reform, check on France, the UK and Canada for other options
4. Too big to fail, who else would have done so?
5. Gays & Lesbians, Transgenders and Transsexuals have a long long way to go in the US before parity is achieved. The fact that there was a don't ask don't tell policy in the first place was bad, repealing it is not a victory of any kind.
6. NSA -> that's Snowdens ball, Obama is mostly doing damage control. It's how this whole thread got started in the first place, by Obama claiming that this debate would have happened without Snowden.
History books tend to take the long view, 100 years from now the 'first non-white President of the United States' (which is something he achieved before becoming president) is the one thing that I think may just make it.
But given the opposition (Palin as VP was unthinkable to me, when they chose her as McCain's running mate they handed the presidency to Obama, and it is surprising how close it still was) it wasn't all that impressive to me.
Still, I'll concede that that is what makes his presidency noteworthy. If he'd only done something a bit more useful with the power that he wielded it would have been more impressive. Change we can believe in...
2. True. I'd fathom most of the US population and probably many around the world agreed with us taking him out though.
3. 180 degree healthcare changes can't happen over night. Obamacare is still relevant.
4. Not the Republicans
5. Of course repealing it is a victory.
6. The NSA issue is only being carried here and there on NBC news because of Snowden. Honestly the media and public attention will die out soon when the next major news cycle happens. This was known and talked about back in 2006 in published books, no one cared to pay attention though. This will become the reality again soon and the NSA will get back to doing exactly what it does now.
Further strategic arms limitations treaties negotiated with Russia.
Osama bin Laden.
Withdrew from Iraq as promised and on schedule.
Set a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan and, so far, every indication of sticking to that.
Shifted American strategic policy away from Cold War Europe plans over to the Asia-Pacific.
"ObamaCare", which if you think is not notable, can only mean you're not paying attention... Hillary herself had tried to push for health care reform in 1994 and been utterly and completely stonewalled.
Managed to get re-elected as a black president, in a fairly decisive victory against a very capable Republican opponent (for everyone who was afraid of Romney's Mormonism there were 3 who were happy the GOP had finally fielded a not-crazy candidate).
But either way, 100 years is a fairly long period of time, especially in the Age of the Internet. Ask your average person the difference between the accomplishments of McKinley, Harding, or Taft and they'll just stare at you and drool. If you're lucky they'll have at least heard of Woodrow Wilson and Teddy Roosevelt.
Health care reform has been a struggle since a lot earlier than 1994. This subpoint actually understates the significance of Obama's achievement.
> Capturing Bin Laden, maybe.
I like how you can't even get the facts straight here. Bin Laden's dead, dude.
And also again in the chapter about notable African Americans. Let's not forget that getting elected president as the first African American is an achievement in itself, and one which I believe benefits the African American community, even if Obama's performance as a president doesn't live up to our initial hopes.
http://www.ted.com/talks/bryan_stevenson_we_need_to_talk_abo...
It's like the football/soccer rule-changing committee being structured in a way that nobody can change anything if British federations don't agree.
>Someone threatening like Jesse Jackson
Be careful of this kind of talk. I understand and probably agree with what you probably mean to say, but reifying whiteness as some sort of meaningful quality of the soul, and by contrast characterizing blackness as "threatening" is not a good way to think about it.
You're using "white" and "black" here as stand-ins for something else. It's easier for everyone if you just refer to the actual qualities that you intend to refer to, rather than implying that there's a proper ways for people to behave or be that are appropriate or inappropriate in relation to their skin colors.
sorry:)
Can you explain how exactly one acts "white"? Are you suggesting being educated and well-spoken are inherently white characteristics?
I believe this sort of language had been debated to death, btw.
I think most people don't recognize how accomplished Obama is because 1) the rapid news cycle and 2) Obama himself doesn't run around telling everybody what he's done.
I don't like this NSA crap either, but overall Obama is an amazing president.
On the other hand, that chicken is not yet hatched, e.g. while it's been airbrushed out of Wikipedia, look at the single thing Dan Rostenkowski is most remebered for: https://www.google.com/search?q=dan+rostenkowski+angry+senio...
And e.g. if Obama's "trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see" cause a fiscal collapse of the Federal government including Obamacare, Obamacare will be a footnote aside from explaining why he focused on it as opposed to the fiscal health of the government like Clinton did.
By the way, the federal deficit under Obama has gone down.
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=US+deficit+last+ten+yea...
The "reckless spending" thing is just another example of the style of politics that republican politicians are good at. You'll notice, for example, that "spending" wasn't an issue until Obama was president. And if anything, there hasn't been enough spending for the sake of the economy.
And I don't care so much how they're trending down as how they're still above a trillion dollars. By the same token, should we give Bush and the Republican Congress credit for reducing deficits 2005-7? With 2007 still above 2002..?
As for spending, debt etc. being an issue, while it certainly matters what "Republican politicians" say and do, "conservatives" and libertarians have been raising as big a fuss about it as we can since the days of Nixon, and I gather longer (I became politically aware during his Administration so I can only vouch for it starting then).
On a side note: You should't accuse people of racism or other terrible character traits unless you are sure about it.
In time Obama will enter the history books for what he did, Snowden not so much. Maybe only to serve as a reminder that the Nobel peace prize lost its prestige.
Part of this is that Obama did a service to everybody on the planet (including Snowden) and Snowden serves a limited set or interests.
Snowden will be your Emmanuel Goldstein.
I have a book about Emmanuel Goldstein in my library. Funny thing, the dictator's name didn't make it to the book.
Another possibility would be: He has (or thinks he might have) a gun to his head and fears to meet a JFK-like fate (for himself or his family). In this case he should step down and denounce the degree of corruption of the system.
EDIT: ...because in case he's unable to have enough courage to correct the issues, stepping down and stating why would open up the possibility for the People to have a frank discussion about the system in place and to correct it for the next x decades to come. Because don't kid yourselves, the system itself is sick and it's not with cosmetics that it will be fixed and future corruption eliminated.
If this were the case, he's the goddamned POTUS, and should grow a pair and accept the fate he signed himself up for.
With great power comes great responsibility.