Presidency of Barack Obama facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Presidency of Barack Obama
January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017
Cabinet	See list
Party	Democratic
Election	2008 2012
Seat	White House
← George W. Bush • Donald Trump →

Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nominee John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. Four years later, in the 2012 presidential election, he defeated Republican nominee Mitt Romney, to win re-election. Obama is the first African American president, the first multiracial president, the first non-white president, and the first president born in Hawaii. Obama was succeeded by Republican Donald Trump, who won the 2016 presidential election. Historians and political scientists rank him among the upper tier in historical rankings of American presidents.

Overview

Obama's accomplishments during the first 100 days of his presidency included signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 relaxing the statute of limitations for equal-pay lawsuits; signing into law the expanded Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP); winning approval of a congressional budget resolution that put Congress on record as dedicated to dealing with major health care reform legislation in 2009; implementing new ethics guidelines designed to significantly curtail the influence of lobbyists on the executive branch; breaking from the Bush administration on a number of policy fronts, except for Iraq, in which he followed through on Bush's Iraq withdrawal of US troops; supporting the UN declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity; and lifting the 7½-year ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Obama also ordered the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, in Cuba, though it remains open. He lifted some travel and money restrictions to the island.

Obama signed many landmark bills into law during his first two years in office. The main reforms include: the Affordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as "the ACA" or "Obamacare", the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act served as economic stimuli amidst the Great Recession. After a lengthy debate over the national debt limit, he signed the Budget Control Act of 2011 and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. In foreign policy, he increased US troop levels in Afghanistan, reduced nuclear weapons with the United States–Russia New START treaty, and ended military involvement in the Iraq War. He gained widespread praise for ordering Operation Neptune Spear, the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, who was responsible for the September 11 attacks. In 2011, Obama ordered the drone-strike killing in Yemen of al-Qaeda operative Anwar al-Awlaki, who was an American citizen. He ordered military involvement in Libya in order to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1973, contributing to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

After winning re-election by defeating Republican opponent Mitt Romney, Obama was sworn in for a second term on January 20, 2013. During this term, he condemned the 2013 Snowden leaks as unpatriotic, but called for more restrictions on the National Security Agency (NSA) to address privacy issues. Obama also promoted inclusion for LGBT Americans. His administration filed briefs that urged the Supreme Court to strike down same-sex marriage bans as unconstitutional (United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges); same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide in 2015 after the Court ruled so in Obergefell. He advocated for gun control, indicating support for a ban on assault weapons, and issued wide-ranging executive actions concerning global warming and immigration. In foreign policy, he ordered military interventions in Iraq and Syria in response to gains made by ISIL after the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq, promoted discussions that led to the 2015 Paris Agreement on global climate change, drew down US troops in Afghanistan in 2016, initiated sanctions against Russia following its annexation of Crimea and again after interference in the 2016 US elections, brokered the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal with Iran, and normalized US relations with Cuba. Obama nominated three justices to the Supreme Court: Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan were confirmed as justices, while Merrick Garland was denied hearings or a vote from the Republican-majority Senate.

Major acts and legislation

Approval ratings and other opinions

As Obama left office, historians expressed various opinions about his effectiveness as president, with many noting that subsequent events would determine his ultimate legacy. There was universal agreement that Obama would long be remembered as the first African-American president. Many noted that Obama presided over an economic recovery and passed major domestic legislation, but failed to bridge a partisan divide and left office with his party in a weakened state.

Cultural influence

Vox and Rolling Stone both named the American sitcom Parks and Recreation as the television show that "defined" the cultural zeitgeist of the Presidency of Barack Obama. In the same article, Rolling Stone named Breaking Bad, Veep and Empire as other television shows that defined the era.

Images for kids

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  2008 Electoral College vote results

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  Outgoing President George W. Bush and President-elect Barack Obama on November 10, 2008

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  Obama and Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor

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  Percentage of Individuals in the United States without Health Insurance, 1963–2015 (Source: JAMA)

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  Obama speaking with former President Bill Clinton and Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett about job creation in July 2010

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  Republican John Boehner of Ohio was the powerful Speaker of the House in 2011–2015.

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  The White House lit with the LGBT rainbow flag celebrating the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, legalizing same-sex marriage in the United States, June 26, 2015

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  Obama makes a call to the crew of the International Space Station.

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  "Beer Summit" at the White House, July 30, 2009

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  President Obama speaks at Kennedy Space Center, April 15, 2010.

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  Obama made 52 international trips to 58 different countries during his presidency.

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  President Obama speaks with US troops at Camp Victory, Iraq, April 2009

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  The first meeting between Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama before the G20 summit in London on April 1, 2009

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  The Obama administration maintained existing trade agreements and concluded new ones with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea

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  Obama, sitting next to Biden, with the US national security team gathered in the Situation Room to monitor the progress of Operation Neptune Spear.

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  President Obama defeated Republican Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.

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  Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.

See also