So, How has Obama done? Report Card Time...

-"Grade Obama and his success in several major issues"

The Economy C-

Most people right now are concerned with the unemployment rate in the US. If you look at this chart you can see that since 2008 the unemployment rate for the whole US went up from just under 6% to about 9.8% at its highest in 2010. Now, the unemployment rate also went up about two years into Bush's first term. However, it didnt climb at such a sharp rate, or to such a high point. Although we cant say that this was all caused by Obama's doings, or that Bush's actions in the years before didnt cause a negative effect long after they were enacted, we can see that the economy hasnt improved. The debt, as we all know, has skyrocketed, and this was not just an after-effect of Bush's years. The GDP is the only positive sign in the economy today. The 2008 growth rate was 0%, in 2009 it dipped to -2.6%, but has now recovered to +2.8%.

War on Terror B-
       One thing that everyone will remember about Obama's presidency is that Bin Laden was killed under his command. This was a huge move, and it gave the US a big step-up on terror in that region of the world. However, retaliation from this is still possible, and hopefully we will stop anything that may happen. But the role we played in Libya, for example, in using off-shore bases to launch NATO-supported air strikes, was highly debated. In a time where we are already fighting wars in multiple locations in the Middle East, getting involved, even from a distance, wasnt something that exactly strengthened confidence in Obama's decision making.


Although Obama promised a rapid reduction in troop levels in Afghanistan, ever since he has entered office, the numbers have risen. The troop levels have dropped in Iraq, but many were just moved to Afghanistan. Overall, he hasnt come through on this promise, but the safety of the US has remained fairly healthy.

Reelection Bid B
     Obama has the advantage of money. He has much more cash in his pocket that he can use in his campaign than any of the Republican candidates. However, due to the large number of promises that he made during his last campaign that he didnt hold true or succeed on, Obama has lost much of the support that he has before. His peak approval rating of 67% has dropped to 40% as of last week. For comparison, Bush had an approval rating of 59% at this point in his first term. Gallup reported in September that 38% of Americans would vote for Obama if the election was right now, compared to 46% for whichever Republican is nominated. Obama is not looking great for the election next year, but there is still much time for things to change. He has been appearing more and more, but he is still eclipsed by the huge field of Republican candidates. If he used his speaking skills to his advantage as well as he did in 2008, he may just be able to pull it off again.