In 2007, Barack Obama was elected as the nation's first black president, who in the future will probably known as the first biracial president. I remember Democrats treated Obama as their Ronald Reagan. People in my liberal town saw him as a savior. Obama had huge goals for this country. However, once Obama found out he could not shut down Guantanamo Bay, it became clear that his promises were a little too grand. He did make progress, but he fell short. In the beginning of his presidency people were blaming George W. Bush for leaving Obama in a tight spot. By the election people were beginning to see his flaws. Fortunately for Obama, he was up against what had to be the worst selection of Republican nominees in history. He was reelected, but this time he is being watched more carefully by the public. Some people have said, "it is like people have finally realized Bush is not in office anymore".
This was the roughest year for Obama. Republicans were bashing him for Benghazi. Then Republicans had him on the IRS scandal. However, that was really just the Republicans bashing him.
The first big scandal was the NSA leaks. I do not think anyone was surprised the NSA was spying on Americans, but Edward Snowden gave an official confirmation. Snowden's story is a classic rebel vs government. Obama came across as a bad guy because people did not see Snowden as a Benedict Arnold. The government was the one lying to us. It was the Benedict Arnold. Now it has been revealed that the government is looking at people's web history and the NSA agents have been using their technology to spy on their crushes. At a recent White House press conference, a reporter asked Obama to name one time the NSA stopped a terrorist attack with their tactics. Obama completely dodged the question. Instead he answered by saying what the NSA is supposed to be doing with people's information. This scandal has made people lose trust in the government. Especially since Obama expanded the NSA program when he had promised to end it during his campaign.
Then Obama threatened to go to war with Syria. That was a stupid move. No one wanted to go to war. The war campaign completely failed. This high lighted how America's mission of democratic peace was becoming more of a military movement in the Middle East. It was Russia's Vladimir Putin that made peace, not America. Syria proved that America should not try to solve conflicts in the Middle East by itself. Problems should be solved in a diplomatic solution, contributed by all parties. The recent talks with Iran are a step in the right direction.
Finally we have the disastrous Obama Care website roll out. The whole scenario seemed comedic like a joke you see in a South Park episode. This was Obama's big mark as a president and he blew it. It is like if Usain Bolt tripped and fell over at the start of an Olympic race. Maybe Obama rushed the website because he wanted to do something good this year.
This year was not a good start for Obama, but he still has three more years ago. I think he has showed signs that he learned from his mistakes, but I will not get my hopes too high up.
