Hello Real Deal readers, my name is Tyler Fox and I am the President of the College Democrats here on campus. I am here because I want to talk about legacies. A little over a week ago, President Obama took the podium for his final State of the Union speech. I, among thousands of other Americans, listened intently as President Obama discussed the future of our country and what we will leave behind for those after us. I want to take a minute to go over the past 7 years, and speculate as to what will be looked back on as the defining aspects of the Obama administration.

First, let’s look at America’s miraculous recovery from the Great Recession. I understand that this is highly contested by Republican opponents of the President, but this country has done an amazing job healing from one of the biggest financial blunders in human history. Under the Obama administration, over 6.3 million jobs have been created. That is five times more growth than anything that happened under the Bush administration. All of this, plus the unemployment rate has dropped 5.6% and the stock market has boomed. I am willing to admit that there is room for improvement; we are all aware that the wage gap is rapidly increasing. However, we are definitely better off than we were in 2008, and President Obama deserves a good amount of credit.

Next will be the groundbreaking nuclear deal that President Obama signed with Iran this past year. President Ronald Reagan completely destroyed the United States’ relationship with Iran. Under his administration, the CIA removed a legitimately elected leader and replaced him with a puppet that was thought would be more friendly to the West. Given this huge breach of popular sovereignty it is no wonder that the Iranian people have distrusted America for so long. This goes to show what a feat the Iran deal truly was for the Obama administration. We can only hope that in the coming years this nuclear deal can mark a new era of cooperation between the U.S. and Iran.

Finally, I believe that the Obama presidency will be remembered as an era of obstructionism and political division not seen since the Civil War. We live in a very polarized time, and I believe that this will reflect on President Obama in the history books. Now many will debate whether or not this is the fault of the President himself, however, all will acknowledge that these divisions have grown. From yelling “you lie” at the president during his speeches to flat out challenging his U.S. citizenship, President Obama will be remembered in history as the President that was truly hated by those who disagreed with him.

The list could continue for hours. Under President Obama gay marriage was legalized in all 50 states, America began to make huge leaps in the fight toward green energy, over 17 million Americans have become insured under Obamacare and the number of background checks for gun purchases has risen by nearly 50%. However, no presidency is without downsides. With the percentage of home ownership on the downturn, the amount food stamp recipients on the rise and the impending threat of global climate change still looming overhead, it is evident that America still has a long way to go. I believe that, as far as presidents go, Barack Obama will be remembered as one of the greats, having had a profound impact on the direction that America will be heading in the coming years.