Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:50 pm
A president’s days are numbered from the moment he – or, someday, she – takes the oath of office. It’s how the system works.
Being the leader of the free world is draining, after all. It’s something that no one person can or should do for too long. That wouldn’t just have negative effects on the person in the White House; it would hurt our democracy, too.
So even when a strong majority of Americans approve of the president’s performance, as is now the case with President Barack Obama, the idea of term limits has always made sense.
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But this time it hurts. Tomorrow, when the current president hands over the reigns of power to Donald Trump, it’s going to sting.
For eight years, President Obama has served with class and dignity. In the face of unprecedented obstruction and critics who accused him of being a Kenyan-born Muslim, he didn’t throw temper tantrums on social media – he brushed it off and kept working.
Obama never stooped to the level of those who called him un-American and waged racist attacks on him or his family. He combatted the hatred, not by returning it, but by being a role model for fathers and husbands everywhere.
When it came to policy, Obama tackled problems in a way that was thoughtful, even if it wasn’t flashy. He always kept an eye on the long game instead of calculating what the best short-term political solution was. It was about helping people – not about which slogan would best fit on a bumper sticker.
For eight years, this is the type of president we’ve had –a man who led a scandal-free administration; a guy who didn’t let a dysfunctional system shatter his faith in the American experiment.
His approach paid off by almost every measure.
After taking office during an economic crisis, Obama will leave the White House in the midst of the longest streak of private-sector job growth in history during which the unemployment rate was cut in half from its peak.
After nearly collapsing, the American auto industry – thanks to a politically risky decision by Obama – just had another record year.
Because of the Affordable Care Act, which is now more popular than ever, 20 million Americans have health insurance and millions more have protections and benefits they wouldn’t have otherwise had.
Osama bin Laden, the man who orchestrated the worst terror attack in our country’s history, is dead and thousands of men and women in uniform have been brought home to their families.
Historic agreements were reached across the globe to take on climate change and to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Marriage is now a right all Americans enjoy, regardless of who they love.
Despite what a loud minority in this country keep claiming, President Obama has shown himself to be a man of character. History will look back on his two terms in the White House as a time of great progress.
Yet, as he prepares to exit the Oval Office, the disappointment many Americans are feeling isn’t so much about him leaving. Certainly, that’s part of it, but that’s not what stings the most.
What’s worse is the man who’s replacing him.
For over a year and a half, Donald Trump has conducted himself in a way that hasn’t just made himself look bad, but it’s hurt the entire country’s image.
He has shown himself to be the polar opposite of Barack Obama – in the worst way – by insulting virtually every demographic in America, opting for empty, racially tinged slogans over thoughtful policy proposals, and demonstrating that he’s a man who lives without any type of moral compass.
The only rule Trump has ever cared to follow is to love thyself. So long as he benefits, it doesn’t matter if he’s screwing over students at a fake university, stiffing small businesses who work for him, or even sexually assaulting women.
He’s a rich celebrity, after all, so it’s a-okay.
Scarier yet, he has shown no understanding of the world he’s about to lead. We may have laughed when he showed up to three presidential debates without caring to do any homework, but he’s about to show up for the actual job just as unprepared.
The only thing he seems ready to do is roll back everything good President Obama has done – from providing health insurance to millions of Americans to protecting women’s rights to ensuring that the United States is leading the fight on climate change.
From personality to policy, the differences between Trump and Obama couldn’t be more stark – and depressing.
Tomorrow, the country will carry on its tradition of passing power from one leader to the next. This time, though, we will leave behind a president who has carried himself with quiet dignity for eight years and replace him with a man who is neither quiet nor dignified.
Each day, through his public remarks, his social media conduct, and interactions with the media, he shows us that he is everything that Obama isn’t: loud, reckless, uninformed, and childish.
We will certainly miss President Obama when he officially becomes a private citizen at noon on Jan. 20. But the worst part of the next four years will not be his absence from the White House – it’ll be Donald Trump’s presence.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
