The previous week was undoubtedly one of the most successful in the presidency of Barack Obama and will likely play a major factor in his legacy for years after he leaves office. Although I am often a critic of Obama’s policies, he will greatly benefit from three major events in the United States from the previous week.
The first is passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership bill, which cleared the House of Representatives and received the qualifying vote of 60-38 in the Senate. This bill will allow Barack Obama and his successors the ability to “fast track” trade bills, sending them directly to Congress for an up-or-down vote. The bill received widespread support from his political foes in the Republican Party, while also lacking substantial support within his own Democrat Party. Barack Obama took a political calculation on this bill going against many in his party in an attempt to expand trade powers to the Executive Branch at a time when the United States plans to maintain influence and focus on the Pacific Rim, which is a region of the world that will likely experience the most economic growth in this current century. It is a monumental trade bill that could potentially open up substantial opportunities for American companies in the future.
The second victory of the past week for Obama was the Supreme Court upholding a major piece of his health care law, which is the Affordable Care Act. In a vote of 6-3, the Supreme Court viewed the nationwide subsidies as applicable under law. This is the second time in three years that a major decision from the Supreme Court has upheld current pieces of the legislation and avoided attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. This is likely Obama’s greatest victory of the previous week, as the health care law, which is commonly referred to as “Obamacare,” will have a lasting impact on the United States for many decades.
Lastly, although Barack Obama and other prominent politicians within the Democrat Party such as Hillary Clinton have publicly avoided supporting same-sex marriage over the years due to polling of the American population that until recently shows a majority now supporting it, they have leapt under the guise of American liberalism to score political points in support of it. Thus, Barack Obama will be viewed historically as the president who supported the Supreme Court’s decision this past week and enact federal law. The ironic consequence of this decision in my opinion, is it may actually benefit the Republican Party in the long run, although many conservative Republicans oppose legalizing such marriages today. As the younger generation in America tends to be more socially liberal and fiscally conservative, it has been social issues that have limited the Republican Party’s ability to tap into support within the younger generation. However, with this major decision put behind us, if the Republican Party is able to adapt and move on, it could potentially attract a portion of this large moderate voting base at some point.
It should also be noted that in the midst of this historic week for Obama, he gave a touching eulogy at the funeral of Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who was one of the 9 victims of the recent tragic shooting in Charleston, South Carolina by a racist and disturbed young man. Barack Obama’s ability to move a crowd is still evident and shows he is finding his stride and gaining momentum as he approaches his final year in the White House. I am no big fan of Barack Obama, as many of his policies have and will be very detrimental to the future of the United States. However, one must give credit when it is due, and this past week was one for the record books under his presidency and will solidify his legacy.
