**TL;DR** — **Liberals and conservatives will view Obama as either good or bad, but he was undoubtedly a [consequential] (https://www.vox.com/2015/6/26/8849925/obama-obamacare-history-presidents) president.** Applying the labels ‘good’ and ‘bad’ to president Obama only increases partisan rancour.’ Political leanings distort our opinions of public figures, meaning we place greater stress on the successes and play down the failures of a figure we think is ‘good’. The opposite can be said for someone who is considered ‘bad’. All of this does very little to evaluate whether Obama was a good or bad president. To that end, Obama should be measured by evaluating what happened during his presidency and how the changes which took place shaped the U.S. as we know it today. One of the most notable achievements of the Obama administration was the passing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare. The U.S. had long fallen in the wake of other countries when it came to offering public health insurance. Many progressive presidents before Obama (including FDR, Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton) tried but they failed. Obama was the first president to establish that healthcare is a right, not a privilege. The counter arguments to Obama being a ‘bad’ president also [include] (https://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/januaryfebruary-2017/obamas-top-50-accomplishments-revisited/) rescuing the economy, supported Federal recognition of same-sex marriage and nominating two women to the Supreme Court. Again, all these achievements will meet different reactions **depending on political leanings**. What is harder to dispute is that these achievements will have a lasting effect on the U.S. As a result, Obama must be viewed as consequential, despite the fact that views are split on whether he is good or bad.

**TL;DR Obama did not fulfil enough of his policy pledges** At the time of his presidency, Obama appeared to be the ideal leader of the free world. He was cool, calm and collected when faced with adversity and gave hope that racial tensions in North America were easing as the first black president. While he can not be solely blamed for the racially charged riots and the rise of Trump his poor performance as president most definitely paved the way for a Republican to take his place. Obama failed to take effective action on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The USA is still involved in Afghanistan to this day. He may have presided the US military over the death of Osama Bin Laden but that was more a victory for the military than anything to do with his policy decisions. Obamacare was heralded as a progressive policy but led to one of Trumps most famous mantras in “repeal and replace” and there is still much debate about its fairness and effectiveness. The election of Obama was most definitely progressive and inspired many people in America and beyond. He failed to deliver on too many of his pledges and paved the way for Republicans to usurp after his time in office had been served.

All presidents have been shit. They are all war criminals that don't actually want to make systematic change.