Assess and evaluate the success of Barack Obama's presidency

(45 marks)

Barack Obama was elected to the White House in 2008 after being the Senator of Illinois since 2005. Although he still has two years remaining in his presidency, after winning a second term in 2012, there have already been significant events and actions that will dictate the success or failure of his presidency in years to come. His successes in reforming healthcare and gay rights are counteracted by his failures with Syria and relations with the EU. The relationship he has attained with the other branch of government has been a relatively successful one, introducing to new women to the Supreme Court, however losing two midterms and being office during the 2013 government shutdown and a severe reduction in the levels of bipartisanship in Congress have scared his presidency somewhat. Obama has made the presidency somewhat of a more trustworthy institute after removing the negative stigma left by George W Bush. However his introduction of policy tzars and using constitutional bypasses he said he wouldn't, such as executive orders and recess appointments, have caused backlash. Overall though, we can say that his presidency has been a successful one with some mistakes, but we can't really expect no mistakes to happen over 8 years as the a President.

Obama has has both resounding success in his domestic policy as well as significant failures. One of his most notable successes, and one of the policies he will be remembered for, is his introduction of the affordable care act, also known as Obamacare. The Affordable Care Act helps to reform the healthcare system by giving more Americans access to affordable health insurance and helps to limit healthcare spending in the U.S. All Americans with health insurance will have access to new benefits and protections which ensure they can get treatment