In late August 1961, a few weeks after he was born, Barack and his mother moved to theUniversity of Washington inSeattle, where they lived for a year. During that time, Barack's father completed his undergraduate degree in economics in Hawaii, graduating in June 1962. He left to attend graduate school on a scholarship atHarvard University, where he earned aMaster of Arts in economics. Obama's parents divorced in March 1964.[23] Obama Sr. returned toKenya in 1964, where he married for a third time and worked for the Kenyan government as the senior economic analyst in the Ministry of Finance.[24][page needed] He visited his son in Hawaii only once, at Christmas 1971,[25] before he was killed in an automobile accident in 1982, when Obama was 21 years old.[26] Recalling his early childhood, Obama said: "That my father looked nothing like the people around me—that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk—barely registered in my mind."[20] He described his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage.[27]
In 1963, Dunham metLolo Soetoro at theUniversity of Hawaiʻi; he was an IndonesianEast–West Center graduate student in geography. The couple married onMolokai on March 15, 1965.[28] After two one-year extensions of hisJ-1 visa, Lolo returned to Indonesia in 1966. His wife and stepson followed sixteen months later in 1967. The family initially lived in the Menteng Dalam neighborhood in theTebet district ofSouth Jakarta. From 1970, they lived in a wealthier neighborhood in theMenteng district ofCentral Jakarta.[29]
Education
Obama's Indonesian school record in St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Elementary School. Obama was enrolled as "Barry Soetoro" (no. 1), and was wrongly recorded as an Indonesian citizen (no. 3) and a Muslim (no. 4).[30]
When he was six years old, Obama and his mother had moved to Indonesia to join his stepfather. From age six to ten, he was registered in school as "Barry"[30] and attended localIndonesian-language schools:Sekolah Dasar Katolik Santo Fransiskus Asisi (St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Elementary School) for two years andSekolah Dasar Negeri Menteng 01 (State Elementary School Menteng 01) for one and a half years, supplemented by English-languageCalvert School homeschooling by his mother.[31][32] As a result of his four years inJakarta, he was able to speakIndonesian fluently as a child.[33] During his time in Indonesia, Obama's stepfather taught him to be resilient and gave him "a pretty hardheaded assessment of how the world works".[34]
In 1971, Obama returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents,Madelyn andStanley Dunham. He attendedPunahou School—a privatecollege preparatory school—with the aid of a scholarship from fifth grade until he graduated from high school in 1979.[35] In high school, Obama continued to use the nickname "Barry" which he kept until making a visit to Kenya in 1980.[36] Obama lived with his mother and half-sister,Maya Soetoro, in Hawaii for three years from 1972 to 1975 while his mother was a graduate student inanthropology at the University of Hawaii.[37] Obama chose to stay in Hawaii when his mother and half-sister returned to Indonesia in 1975, so his mother could begin anthropology field work.[38] His mother spent most of the next two decades in Indonesia, divorcing Lolo Soetoro in 1980 and earning a PhD degree in 1992, before dying in 1995 in Hawaii following unsuccessful treatment forovarian anduterine cancer.[39]
Of his years in Honolulu, Obama wrote: "The opportunity that Hawaii offered — to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect — became an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that I hold most dear."[40] Obama has also written and talked about usingalcohol,marijuana, andcocaine during his teenage years to "push questions of who I was out of my mind".[41] Obama was also a member of the "Choom Gang" (the slang term for smoking marijuana), a self-named group of friends who spent time together and smoked marijuana.[42][43]
Two years after graduating from Columbia, Obama moved from New York to Chicago when he was hired as director of theDeveloping Communities Project, a faith-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes inRoseland,West Pullman, andRiverdale on Chicago'sSouth Side. He worked there as a community organizer from June 1985 to May 1988.[51][53] He helped set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization inAltgeld Gardens.[54] Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for theGamaliel Foundation, a community organizing institute.[55] In mid-1988, he traveled for the first time inEurope for three weeks and then for five weeks in Kenya, where he met many of hispaternal relatives for the first time.[56][57]
In 1991, Obama accepted a two-year position as Visiting Law and Government Fellow at theUniversity of Chicago Law School to work on his first book.[64][66] He then taughtconstitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years, first as a lecturer from 1992 to 1996, and then as a senior lecturer from 1996 to 2004.[67]
From April to October 1992, Obama directed Illinois'sProject Vote, avoter registration campaign with ten staffers and seven hundred volunteer registrars; it achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, leadingCrain's Chicago Business to name Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be.[68]
In a 2006 interview, Obama highlighted the diversity ofhis extended family: "It's like a little mini-United Nations," he said. "I've got relatives who look likeBernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look likeMargaret Thatcher."[69] Obama has a half-sister with whom he was raised (Maya Soetoro-Ng) and seven other half-siblings from his Kenyan father's family, six of them living.[70] Obama's mother was survived by her Kansas-born mother, Madelyn Dunham,[71] until her death on November 2, 2008,[72] two days before his election to the presidency. Obama also has roots in Ireland; he met with his Irish cousins inMoneygall in May 2011.[73] InDreams from My Father, Obama ties his mother's family history to possible Native American ancestors and distant relatives ofJefferson Davis,President of the Confederate States of America during theAmerican Civil War. He also shares distant ancestors in common withGeorge W. Bush andDick Cheney, among others.[74][75][76]
Obama lived with anthropologistSheila Miyoshi Jager while he was a community organizer in Chicago in the 1980s.[77] He proposed to her twice, but both Jager and her parents turned him down.[77][78] The relationship was not made public until May 2017, several months after his presidency had ended.[78]
Obama poses in theGreen Room of the White House with wifeMichelle and daughters Sasha and Malia, September 2009
In June 1989, Obama metMichelle Robinson when he was employed atSidley Austin.[79] Robinson was assigned for three months as Obama's adviser at the firm, and she joined him at several group social functions but declined his initial requests to date.[80] They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married on October 3, 1992.[81] After suffering a miscarriage, Michelle underwentin vitro fertilization to conceive their children.[82] The couple's first daughter, Malia Ann, was born in 1998,[83] followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), in 2001.[84] The Obama daughters attended theUniversity of Chicago Laboratory Schools. When they moved to Washington, D.C., in January 2009, the girls started at theSidwell Friends School.[85] The Obamas had twoPortuguese Water Dogs; the first, a male namedBo, was a gift from SenatorTed Kennedy.[86] In 2013, Bo was joined bySunny, a female.[87] Bo died of cancer on May 8, 2021.[88]
In 2005, the Obama family applied the proceeds of a book deal and moved from aHyde Park, Chicago condominium to a $1.6million house (equivalent to $2.6million in 2024) in neighboringKenwood, Chicago.[95] The purchase of an adjacent lot—and sale of part of it to Obama by the wife of developer, campaign donor and friendTony Rezko—attracted media attention because of Rezko's subsequent indictment and conviction on political corruption charges that were unrelated to Obama.[96]
In December 2007,Money Magazine estimated Obama's net worth at $1.3million (equivalent to $2million in 2024).[97] Their 2009 tax return showed a household income of $5.5million—up from about $4.2million in 2007 and $1.6million in 2005—mostly from sales of his books.[98][99] On his 2010 income of $1.7million, he gave 14 percent to non-profit organizations, including $131,000 toFisher House Foundation, a charity assisting wounded veterans' families, allowing them to reside near where the veteran is receiving medical treatments.[100][101] Per his 2012 financial disclosure, Obama may be worth as much as $10million.[102]
Religious views
Obama is aProtestant Christian whose religious views developed in his adult life.[103] He wrote inThe Audacity of Hope that he "was not raised in a religious household." He described his mother, raised by non-religious parents, as being detached from religion, yet "in many ways the most spiritually awakened person... I have ever known", and "a lonely witness forsecular humanism." He described his father as a "confirmedatheist" by the time his parents met, and his stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful." Obama explained how, through working withblack churches as acommunity organizer while in his twenties, he came to understand "the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change."[104]
In January 2008, Obama toldChristianity Today: "I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in theredemptive death andresurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life."[105] On September 27, 2010, Obama released a statement commenting on his religious views, saying:
I'm a Christian by choice. My family didn't—frankly, they weren't folks who went to church every week. And my mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew, but she didn't raise me in the church. So I came to my Christian faith later in life, and it was because the precepts ofJesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead—being my brothers' and sisters' keeper,treating others as they would treat me.[106][107]
In 2016, Obama said that he gets inspiration from a few items that remind him "of all the different people I've met along the way", adding: "I carry these around all the time. I'm not that superstitious, so it's not like I think I necessarily have to have them on me at all times." The items, "a whole bowl full", include rosary beads given to him byPope Francis, a figurine of the Hindu deityHanuman, aCoptic cross from Ethiopia, a smallBuddha statue given by a monk, and a metal poker chip that used to be the lucky charm of a motorcyclist in Iowa.[113][114]
Legal career
From 1994 to 2002, Obama served on the boards of directors of theWoods Fund of Chicago—which in 1985 had been the first foundation to fund the Developing Communities Project—and of theJoyce Foundation.[51] He served on the board of directors of theChicago Annenberg Challenge from 1995 to 2002, as founding president and chairman of the board of directors from 1995 to 1999.[51] Obama's law license became inactive in 2007.[115][116]
State senator Obama and others celebrate the naming of a street in Chicago afterShoreBank co-founder Milton Davis in 1998
Obama was elected to theIllinois Senate in 1996, succeeding Democratic state senatorAlice Palmer fromIllinois's 13th District, which, at that time, spanned Chicago South Side neighborhoods from Hyde Park–Kenwood south toSouth Shore and west toChicago Lawn.[117] Once elected, Obama gained bipartisan support for legislation that reformed ethics and health care laws.[118][119] He sponsored a law that increasedtax credits for low-income workers, negotiatedwelfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for childcare.[120] In 2001, as co-chairman of the bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Obama supported Republican governorGeorge Ryan'spayday loan regulations andpredatory mortgage lending regulations aimed at averting homeforeclosures.[121][122]
In January 2003, Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority.[126] He sponsored and led unanimous, bipartisan passage of legislation to monitorracial profiling by requiring police to record the race of drivers they detained, and legislation making Illinois the first state to mandate videotaping of homicide interrogations.[120][127][128][129] During his 2004 general election campaign for the U.S. Senate, police representatives credited Obama for his active engagement with police organizations in enactingdeath penalty reforms.[130] Obama resigned from the Illinois Senate in November 2004 following his election to the U.S. Senate.[131]
In May 2002, Obama commissioned a poll to assess his prospects in a 2004 U.S. Senate race. He created a campaign committee, began raising funds, and lined up political media consultantDavid Axelrod by August 2002. Obama formally announced his candidacy in January 2003.[132]
Obama was an early opponent of the George W. Bush administration's2003 invasion of Iraq.[133] On October 2, 2002, the day President Bush and Congress agreed on thejoint resolution authorizing theIraq War,[134] Obama addressed the first high-profile Chicagoanti-Iraq War rally,[135] and spoke out against the war.[136] He addressed another anti-war rally in March 2003 and told the crowd "it's not too late" to stop the war.[137]
Decisions by Republican incumbentPeter Fitzgerald and his Democratic predecessorCarol Moseley Braun not to participate in the election resulted in wide-open Democratic and Republican primary contests involving 15 candidates.[138] In the March 2004 primary election, Obama won in an unexpected landslide—which overnight made him a rising star within the national Democratic Party, started speculation about a presidential future, and led to the reissue of his memoir,Dreams from My Father.[139] In July 2004, Obama deliveredthe keynote address at the2004 Democratic National Convention,[140] seen by nine million viewers. His speech was well received and elevated his status within the Democratic Party.[141]
Obama's expected opponent in the general election, Republican primary winnerJack Ryan, withdrew from the race in June 2004.[142] Six weeks later,Alan Keyes accepted the Republican nomination to replace Ryan.[143] In theNovember 2004 general election, Obama won with 70 percent of the vote, the largest margin of victory for a Senate candidate in Illinois history.[144] He took 92 of the state's 102 counties, including several where Democrats traditionally do not perform well.[145]
In December 2006, President Bush signed into law theDemocratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act, marking the first federal legislation to be enacted with Obama as its primary sponsor.[152][153] In January 2007, Obama and Senator Feingold introduced a corporate jet provision to theHonest Leadership and Open Government Act, which was signed into law in September 2007.[154][155]
Later in 2007, Obama sponsored an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act to add safeguards for personality-disorder military discharges.[156] This amendment passed the full Senate in the spring of 2008.[157] He sponsored the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran's oil and gas industry, which was never enacted but later incorporated in theComprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010;[158] and co-sponsored legislation to reduce risks of nuclear terrorism.[159] Obama also sponsored a Senate amendment to theState Children's Health Insurance Program, providing one year of job protection for family members caring for soldiers with combat-related injuries.[160]
Numerous candidates entered theDemocratic Party presidential primaries. The field narrowed to Obama and SenatorHillary Clinton after early contests, with the race remaining close throughout the primary process, but Obama gained a steady lead in pledgeddelegates due to better long-range planning, superior fundraising, dominant organizing incaucus states, and better exploitation of delegate allocation rules.[170] On June 2, 2008, Obama had received enough votes to clinch his nomination. After an initial hesitation to concede, on June 7, Clinton ended her campaign and endorsed Obama.[171] On August 23, 2008, Obama announced hisselection ofDelaware senatorJoe Biden as his vice presidential running mate.[172] Obama selected Biden from a field speculated to include former Indiana governor and senatorEvan Bayh and Virginia governorTim Kaine.[172] At theDemocratic National Convention inDenver, Colorado, Hillary Clinton called for her supporters to endorse Obama, and she andBill Clinton gave convention speeches in his support.[173][174] Obama delivered his acceptance speech atInvesco Field at Mile High stadium to a crowd of about eighty-four thousand; the speech was viewed by over three million people worldwide.[175][176][177] During both the primary process and the general election, Obama's campaign set numerous fundraising records, particularly in the quantity of small donations.[178] On June 19, 2008, Obama became the first major-party presidential candidate to turn downpublic financing in the general election since the system was created in 1976.[179]
John McCain was nominated as the Republican candidate, and he selectedSarah Palin as his running mate. Obama and McCain engaged in threepresidential debates in September and October 2008.[180] On November 4, Obama won the presidency with 365electoral votes to 173 received by McCain.[181] Obama won 52.9 percent of thepopular vote to McCain's 45.7 percent.[182] He became the first African-American to be elected president.[183] Obama deliveredhis victory speech before hundreds of thousands of supporters in Chicago'sGrant Park.[184][185] He is one of the three United States senators moved directly from the U.S. Senate to the White House, the others beingWarren G. Harding andJohn F. Kennedy.[186]
On April 4, 2011, Obama filed election papers with theFederal Election Commission and then announced his reelection campaign for 2012 in a video titled "It Begins with Us" that he posted on his website.[187][188][189] As the incumbent president, he ran virtually unopposed in theDemocratic Party presidential primaries,[190] and on April 3, 2012, Obama secured the 2778convention delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination.[191] At theDemocratic National Convention inCharlotte, North Carolina, Obama and Joe Biden were formally nominated by former president Bill Clinton as the Democratic Party candidates for president and vice president in the general election. Their main opponents were RepublicansMitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, and RepresentativePaul Ryan of Wisconsin.[192]
On November 6, 2012, Obama won 332 electoral votes, exceeding the 270 required for him to be reelected as president.[193][194][195] With 51.1 percent of the popular vote,[196] Obama became the first Democratic president sinceFranklin D. Roosevelt to win themajority of the popular vote twice.[197][198] Obama addressed supporters and volunteers at Chicago'sMcCormick Place after his reelection and said: "Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. And in the coming weeks and months, I am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties."[199][200]
Theinauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president took place on January 20, 2009. In his first few days in office, Obama issuedexecutive orders andpresidential memoranda directing the U.S. military to develop plans to withdraw troops from Iraq.[201] He ordered the closing of theGuantanamo Bay detention camp,[202] but Congress prevented the closure by refusing to appropriate the required funds[203][204] and preventing moving any Guantanamo detainee.[205] Obama reduced the secrecy given to presidential records.[206] He also revoked President George W. Bush's restoration of PresidentRonald Reagan'sMexico City policy which prohibited federal aid to internationalfamily planning organizations that perform or provide counseling about abortion.[207]
The first bill signed into law by Obama was theLilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, relaxing thestatute of limitations for equal-pay lawsuits.[208] Five days later, he signed the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program to cover an additional four million uninsured children.[209] In March 2009, Obama reversed a Bush-era policy that had limited funding ofembryonic stem cell research and pledged to develop "strict guidelines" on the research.[210]
Obama appointed two women to serve on the Supreme Court in the first two years of his presidency. He nominatedSonia Sotomayor on May 26, 2009, to replace retiringassociate justiceDavid Souter. She was confirmed on August 6, 2009,[211] becoming the first Supreme Court Justice ofHispanic descent.[212] Obama nominatedElena Kagan on May 10, 2010, to replace retiring Associate JusticeJohn Paul Stevens. She was confirmed on August 5, 2010, bringing the number of women sitting simultaneously on the Court to three for the first time in American history.[213]
In July 2009, Obama launched thePriority Enforcement Program, an immigration enforcement program that had been pioneered by George W. Bush, and theSecure Communities fingerprinting and immigration status data-sharing program.[214]
On January 16, 2013, one month after theSandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Obama signed 23 executive orders and outlined a series of sweeping proposals regardinggun control.[216] He urged Congress to reintroduce anexpired ban on military-styleassault weapons, such as those used in several recent mass shootings, impose limits on ammunition magazines to 10 rounds, introduce background checks on all gun sales, pass a ban on possession and sale of armor-piercing bullets, introduce harsher penalties for gun-traffickers, especially unlicensed dealers who buy arms for criminals and approving the appointment of the head of the federalBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for the first time since 2006.[217] On January 5, 2016, Obama announced new executive actions extending background check requirements to more gun sellers.[218] In a 2016 editorial inThe New York Times, Obama compared the struggle for what he termed "common-sense gun reform" towomen's suffrage and othercivil rights movements in American history.
In 2011, Obama signed a four-year renewal of the Patriot Act.[219] Following the2013 global surveillance disclosures bywhistleblowerEdward Snowden, Obama condemned the leak as unpatriotic,[220] but called for increased restrictions on theNational Security Agency (NSA) to address violations of privacy.[221][222] Obama continued and expanded surveillance programs set up by George W. Bush, while implementing some reforms.[223] He supported legislation that would have limited the NSA's ability to collect phone records in bulk under a single program and supported bringing more transparency to theForeign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC).[223]
In his speeches as president, Obama did not make more overt references to race relations than his predecessors,[224][225] but according to one study, he implemented stronger policy action on behalf of African-Americans than any president since the Nixon era.[226]
Following Obama's election, many pondered the existence of a "post-racial America".[227][228] However, lingering racial tensions quickly became apparent,[227][229] and many African-Americans expressed outrage over what they saw as an intense racial animosity directed at Obama.[230] Theacquittal ofGeorge Zimmerman following thekilling of Trayvon Martin sparked national outrage, leading to Obama giving a speech in which he said that "Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago."[231] The shooting ofMichael Brown inFerguson, Missouri,sparked a wave of protests.[232] These and other events led to the birth of theBlack Lives Matter movement, which campaigns against violence andsystemic racism towardblack people.[232] Though Obama entered office reluctant to talk about race, by 2014 he began openly discussing the disadvantages faced by many members of minority groups.[233]
Several incidents during Obama's presidency generated disapproval from the African-American community and with law enforcement, and Obama sought to build trust between law enforcement officials and civil rights activists, with mixed results. Some in law enforcement criticized Obama's condemnation of racial bias after incidents in which police action led to the death of African-American men, while some racial justice activists criticized Obama's expressions of empathy for the police.[234] In a March 2016 Gallup poll, nearly one third of Americans said they worried "a great deal" about race relations, a higher figure than in any previous Gallup poll since 2001.[235]
As a candidate for the Illinois state senate in 1996, Obama stated he favored legalizingsame-sex marriage.[241] During his Senate run in 2004, he said he supported civil unions and domestic partnerships for same-sex partners but opposed same-sex marriages.[242] In 2008, he reaffirmed this position by stating "I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage."[243] On May 9, 2012, shortly after the official launch of his campaign for re-election as president, Obama said his views had evolved, and he publicly affirmed his personal support for the legalization of same-sex marriage, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to do so.[244][245] During his secondinaugural address on January 21, 2013,[200] Obama became the first U.S. president in office to call for full equality for gay Americans, and the first to mentiongay rights or the word "gay" in an inaugural address.[246][247] In 2013, the Obama administration filed briefs that urged theSupreme Court to rule in favor of same-sex couples in the cases ofHollingsworth v. Perry (regarding same-sex marriage)[248] andUnited States v. Windsor (regarding theDefense of Marriage Act).[249]
Obama intervened in thetroubled automotive industry[253] in March 2009, renewing loans forGeneral Motors (GM) andChrysler to continue operations while reorganizing. Over the following months the White House set terms for both firms' bankruptcies, including thesale of Chrysler to Italian automakerFiat[254] and areorganization of GM giving the U.S. government a temporary 60 percent equity stake in the company.[255] In June 2009, dissatisfied with the pace of economic stimulus, Obama called on his cabinet to accelerate the investment.[256] He signed into law theCar Allowance Rebate System, known colloquially as "Cash for Clunkers", which temporarily boosted the economy.[257][258][259]
The Bush and Obama administrations authorized spending and loan guarantees from theFederal Reserve and theDepartment of the Treasury. These guarantees totaled about $11.5trillion, but only $3trillion had been spent by the end of November 2009.[260] On August 2, 2011, after a lengthy congressional debate over whether to raise the nation's debt limit, Obama signed the bipartisanBudget Control Act of 2011. The legislation enforced limits on discretionary spending until 2021, established a procedure to increase the debt limit, created a Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to propose further deficit reduction with a stated goal of achieving at least $1.5trillion in budgetary savings over 10 years, and established automatic procedures for reducing spending by as much as $1.2trillion if legislation originating with the new joint select committee did not achieve such savings.[261] By passing the legislation, Congress was able to prevent aU.S. governmentdefault on its obligations.[262]
The unemployment rate rose in 2009, reaching a peak in October at 10.0 percent and averaging 10.0 percent in the fourth quarter. Following a decrease to 9.7 percent in the first quarter of 2010, the unemployment rate fell to 9.6 percent in the second quarter, where it remained for the rest of the year.[263] Between February and December 2010, employment rose by 0.8 percent, which was less than the average of 1.9 percent experienced during comparable periods in the past four employment recoveries.[264] By November 2012, the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent,[265] decreasing to 6.7 percent in the last month of 2013.[266] During 2014, the unemployment rate continued to decline, falling to 6.3 percent in the first quarter.[266] GDP growth returned in the third quarter of 2009, expanding at a rate of 1.6 percent, followed by a 5.0 percent increase in the fourth quarter.[267] Growth continued in 2010, posting an increase of 3.7 percent in the first quarter, with lesser gains throughout the rest of the year.[267] In July 2010, the Federal Reserve noted that economic activity continued to increase, but its pace had slowed, and chairmanBen Bernanke said the economic outlook was "unusually uncertain".[268] Overall, the economy expanded at a rate of 2.9 percent in 2010.[269]
Job growth during the presidency of Obama compared to other presidents, as measured as a cumulative percentage change from month after inauguration to end of his term
TheCongressional Budget Office (CBO) and a broad range of economists credit Obama's stimulus plan for economic growth.[271][272] The CBO released a report stating that the stimulus bill increased employment by 1–2.1million,[272][273][274] while conceding that "it is impossible to determine how many of the reported jobs would have existed in the absence of the stimulus package."[271] Although an April 2010, survey of members of theNational Association for Business Economics showed an increase in job creation (over a similar January survey) for the first time in two years, 73 percent of 68 respondents believed the stimulus bill has had no impact on employment.[275] The economy of the United States has grown faster than the other originalNATO members by a wider margin under President Obama than it has anytime since the end ofWorld War II.[276] TheOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development credits the much faster growth in the United States to the stimulus plan of the U.S. and the austerity measures in the European Union.[277]
On April 20, 2010, an explosion destroyed an offshoredrilling rig at theMacondo Prospect in theGulf of Mexico, causing amajor sustained oil leak. Obama visited the Gulf, announced a federal investigation, and formed a bipartisan commission to recommend new safety standards, after a review bySecretary of the InteriorKen Salazar and concurrent Congressional hearings. He then announced a six-month moratorium on newdeepwater drilling permits and leases, pending regulatory review.[282] As multiple efforts by BP failed, some in the media and public expressed confusion and criticism over various aspects of the incident, and stated a desire for more involvement by Obama and the federal government.[283] Prior to the oil spill, on March 31, 2010, Obama ended a ban on oil and gas drilling along the majority of theEast Coast of the United States and along the coast ofnorthern Alaska in an effort to win support for an energy and climate bill and to reduce foreign imports of oil and gas.[284]
In July 2013, Obama expressed reservations and said he "would reject theKeystone XL pipeline if it increased carbon pollution [or] greenhouse emissions."[285][286] On February 24, 2015, Obama vetoed a bill that would have authorized the pipeline.[287] It was the third veto of Obama's presidency and his first major veto.[288]
In December 2016, Obama permanently banned new offshore oil and gas drilling in most United States-owned waters in theAtlantic and Arctic Oceans using the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Act.[289][290][291]
Obama emphasized theconservation offederal lands during his term in office. He used his power under theAntiquities Act to create 25 newnational monuments during his presidency and expand four others, protecting a total of 553,000,000 acres (224,000,000 ha) of federal lands and waters, more than any other U.S. president.[292][293][294]
Obama called forCongress to pass legislation reforminghealth care in the United States, a key campaign promise and a top legislative goal.[295] He proposed an expansion of health insurance coverage to cover the uninsured, cap premium increases, and allow people to retain their coverage when they leave or change jobs. His proposal was to spend $900billion over ten years and include a government insurance plan, also known as thepublic option, to compete with the corporate insurance sector as a main component to lowering costs and improving quality of health care. It would also make it illegal for insurers to drop sick people or deny them coverage forpre-existing conditions, and require every American to carry health coverage. The plan also includes medical spending cuts and taxes on insurance companies that offer expensive plans.[296][297]
On July 14, 2009, House Democratic leaders introduced a 1,017-page plan for overhauling the U.S. health care system, which Obama wanted Congress to approve by the end of 2009.[295] After public debate during the Congressional summer recess of 2009, Obama delivereda speech to a joint session of Congress on September 9 where he addressed concerns over the proposals.[299] In March 2009, Obama lifted a ban on using federal funds for stem cell research.[300]
On November 7, 2009, a health care bill featuring the public option was passed in the House.[301][302] On December 24, 2009, the Senate passed its own bill—without a public option—on a party-line vote of 60–39.[303] On March 21, 2010, thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA, colloquially "Obamacare") passed by the Senate in December was passed in the House by a vote of 219 to 212. Obama signed the bill into law on March 23, 2010.[304]
The ACA includeshealth-related provisions, most of which took effect in 2014, including expandingMedicaid eligibility for people making up to 133 percentof thefederal poverty level (FPL) starting in 2014,[305] subsidizing insurance premiums for people making up to 400 percentof the FPL ($88,000 for family of four in 2010) so their maximum "out-of-pocket" payment for annual premiums will be from 2 percent to 9.5 percent of income,[306] providing incentives for businesses to provide health care benefits, prohibiting denial of coverage and denial of claims based on pre-existing conditions, establishinghealth insurance exchanges, prohibiting annual coverage caps, and support for medical research. According to White House and CBO figures, the maximum share of income that enrollees would have to pay would vary depending on their income relative to the federal poverty level.[307]
Percentage of Individuals in the United States without Health Insurance, 1963–2015 (source:JAMA)[308]
The costs of these provisions are offset by taxes, fees, and cost-saving measures, such as new Medicare taxes for those in high-incomebrackets, taxes onindoor tanning, cuts to theMedicare Advantage program in favor of traditional Medicare, and fees on medical devices and pharmaceutical companies;[309] there is also a tax penalty for those who do not obtain health insurance, unless they are exempt due to low income or other reasons.[310] In March 2010, the CBO estimated that the net effect of both laws will be a reduction in the federal deficit by $143billion over the first decade.[311]
The law faced several legal challenges, primarily based on the argument that an individual mandate requiring Americans to buy health insurance was unconstitutional. On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court ruled by a 5–4 vote inNational Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius that the mandate was constitutional under the U.S. Congress's taxing authority.[312] InBurwell v. Hobby Lobby the Court ruled that "closely-held" for-profit corporations could be exempt on religious grounds under theReligious Freedom Restoration Act from regulations adopted under the ACA that would have required them to pay for insurance that covered certain contraceptives. In June 2015, the Court ruled 6–3 inKing v. Burwell that subsidies to help individuals and families purchase health insurance were authorized for those doing so on both the federal exchange and state exchanges, not only those purchasing plans "established by the State", as the statute reads.[313]
In February and March 2009, Vice President Joe Biden andSecretary of State Hillary Clinton made separate overseas trips to announce a "new era" in U.S. foreign relations with Russia and Europe, using the terms "break" and "reset" to signal major changes from the policies of the preceding administration.[314] Obama attempted to reach out to Arab leaders by granting his first interview to an Arab satellite TV network,Al Arabiya.[315] On March 19, Obama continued his outreach to the Muslim world, releasing a New Year's video message to the people and government of Iran.[316][317] On June 4, 2009, Obama delivered a speech atCairo University in Egypt calling for "A New Beginning" in relations between the Islamic world and the United States and promoting Middle East peace.[318] On June 26, 2009, Obama condemned the Iranian government's actions towards protesters followingIran's 2009 presidential election.[319]
In 2011, Obama ordered a drone strike in Yemen which targeted and killedAnwar al-Awlaki, an American imam suspected of being a leadingAl-Qaeda organizer. al-Awlaki became the firstU.S. citizen to be targeted and killed by aU.S. drone strike. The Department of Justice released a memo justifying al-Awlaki's death as a lawful act of war,[320] while civil liberties advocates described it as a violation of al-Awlaki's constitutional right todue process. The killing led to significant controversy.[321] Histeenage son andyoung daughter, also Americans, were later killed in separateU.S. military actions, although they were not targeted specifically.[322][320]
In March 2015, Obama declared that he had authorized U.S. forces to provide logistical and intelligence support to the Saudis in theirmilitary intervention in Yemen, establishing a "Joint Planning Cell" with Saudi Arabia.[323][324] In 2016, the Obama administration proposed a series ofarms deals with Saudi Arabia worth $115billion.[325] Obama halted the sale of guided munition technology toSaudi Arabia after Saudi warplanestargeted a funeral in Yemen's capital Sanaa, killing more than 140 people.[326]
On February 27, 2009, Obama announced that combat operations in Iraq would end within 18 months.[328] The Obama administration scheduled the withdrawal of combat troops to be completed by August 2010, decreasing troop's levels from 142,000 while leaving a transitional force of about 50,000 in Iraq until the end of 2011. On August 19, 2010, the last U.S. combat brigade exited Iraq. Remaining troops transitioned from combat operations tocounter-terrorism and the training, equipping, and advising of Iraqi security forces.[329][330] On August 31, 2010, Obama announced that the United States combat mission in Iraq was over.[331] On October 21, 2011, President Obama announced that all U.S. troops would leave Iraq in time to be "home for the holidays."[332]
In June 2014, following thecapture of Mosul byISIL, Obama sent 275 troops to provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. ISIS continued to gain ground and to commitwidespread massacres and ethnic cleansing.[333][334] In August 2014, during theSinjar massacre, Obama ordered acampaign of U.S. airstrikes against ISIL.[335] By the end of 2014, 3,100 American ground troops were committed to the conflict[336] and 16,000 sorties were flown over the battlefield, primarily by U.S. Air Force and Navy pilots.[337] In early 2015, with the addition of the "Panther Brigade" of the82nd Airborne Division the number of U.S. ground troops in Iraq increased to 4,400,[338] and by July American-led coalition air forces counted 44,000 sorties over the battlefield.[339]
Obama after a trilateral meeting with Afghan presidentHamid Karzai (left) and Pakistani presidentAsif Ali Zardari (right), May 2009
In his election campaign, Obama called the war in Iraq a "dangerous distraction" and that emphasis should instead be put on the war in Afghanistan,[340] the region he cites as being most likely where an attack against the United States could be launched again.[341] Early in his presidency, Obama moved to bolster U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan. He announced an increase in U.S. troop levels to 17,000 military personnel in February 2009 to "stabilize a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan", an area he said had not received the "strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires."[342] He replaced the military commander in Afghanistan, GeneralDavid D. McKiernan, with formerSpecial Forces commander Lt. Gen.Stanley A. McChrystal in May 2009, indicating that McChrystal's Special Forces experience would facilitate the use of counterinsurgency tactics in the war.[343] On December 1, 2009, Obama announced the deployment of an additional 30,000 military personnel to Afghanistan and proposed to begin troop withdrawals 18 months from that date;[344] this took place in July 2011.David Petraeus replaced McChrystal in June 2010, after McChrystal's staff criticized White House personnel in a magazine article.[345] In February 2013, Obama said the U.S. military would reduce the troop level in Afghanistan from 68,000 to 34,000 U.S. troops by February 2014.[346] In October 2015, the White House announced a plan to keep U.S. Forces in Afghanistan indefinitely in light of the deteriorating security situation.[347]
Regarding neighboring Pakistan, Obama called its tribal border region the "greatest threat" to the security of Afghanistan and Americans, saying that he "cannot tolerate a terrorist sanctuary." In the same speech, Obama claimed that the U.S. "cannot succeed in Afghanistan or secure our homeland unless we change our Pakistan policy."[348]
Starting with information received from Central Intelligence Agency operatives in July 2010, the CIA developed intelligence over the next several months that determined what they believed to be the hideout ofOsama bin Laden. He was living in seclusion ina large compound inAbbottabad, Pakistan, a suburban area 35 miles (56 km) fromIslamabad.[349] CIA headLeon Panetta reported this intelligence to President Obama in March 2011.[349] Meeting with his national security advisers over the course of the next six weeks, Obama rejected a plan to bomb the compound, and authorized a "surgical raid" to be conducted byUnited States Navy SEALs.[349] The operation took place on May 1, 2011, and resulted in the shooting death of bin Laden and the seizure of papers, computer drives and disks from the compound.[350][351] DNA testing was one of five methods used to positively identify bin Laden's corpse,[352] which was buried at sea several hours later.[353] Within minutes of the President's announcement from Washington, DC, late in the evening on May 1, there were spontaneous celebrations around the country as crowds gathered outside the White House, and at New York City'sGround Zero andTimes Square.[350][354]Reaction to the announcement was positive across party lines, including from former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.[355]
Obama meeting with Cuban presidentRaúl Castro in Panama, April 2015
Since the spring of 2013, secret meetings were conducted between the United States and Cuba in the neutral locations of Canada andVatican City.[356] The Vatican first became involved in 2013 when Pope Francis advised the U.S. and Cuba toexchange prisoners as a gesture of goodwill.[357] On December 10, 2013, Cuban PresidentRaúl Castro, in a significant public moment, greeted and shook hands with Obama at theNelson Mandela memorial service inJohannesburg.[358]
In December 2014, after the secret meetings, it was announced that Obama, with Pope Francis as an intermediary, had negotiated a restoration of relations with Cuba, after nearly sixty years of détente.[359] Popularly dubbed theCuban Thaw,The New Republic deemed the Cuban Thaw to be "Obama's finest foreign policy achievement."[360] On July 1, 2015, President Obama announced that formal diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States would resume, and embassies would be opened in Washington andHavana.[361] The countries' respective "interests sections" in one another's capitals were upgraded to embassies on July 20 and August 13, 2015, respectively.[362] Obama visited Havana, Cuba for two days in March 2016, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to arrive sinceCalvin Coolidge in 1928.[363]
During the initial years of the Obama administration, the U.S. increased military cooperation with Israel, including increased military aid, re-establishment of theU.S.–Israeli Joint Political Military Group and the Defense Policy Advisory Group, and an increase in visits among high-level military officials of both countries.[364] The Obama administration asked Congress to allocate money toward funding theIron Dome program in response to the waves ofPalestinian rocket attacks on Israel.[365] In March 2010, Obama took a public stance against plans by the government of Israeli prime ministerBenjamin Netanyahu to continue building Jewish housing projects in predominantly Arab neighborhoods ofEast Jerusalem.[366][367] In 2011, the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution condemningIsraeli settlements, with the United States being the only nation to do so.[368] Obama supports thetwo-state solution to theArab–Israeli conflict based on the 1967 borders with land swaps.[369]
In 2013,Jeffrey Goldberg reported that, in Obama's view, "with each new settlement announcement, Netanyahu is moving his country down a path toward near-total isolation."[370] In 2014, Obama likened theZionist movement to thecivil rights movement in the United States. He said both movements seek to bring justice and equal rights to historically persecuted peoples, explaining: "To me, being pro-Israel and pro-Jewish is part and parcel with the values that I've been fighting for since I was politically conscious and started getting involved in politics."[371] Obama expressed support for Israel's right to defend itself during the2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.[372] In 2015, Obama was harshly criticized by Israel for advocating and signing theIran Nuclear Deal; Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had advocated the U.S. congress to oppose it, said the deal was "dangerous" and "bad."[373]
On December 23, 2016, under the Obama administration, the United States abstained fromUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which condemned Israeli settlement building in the occupiedPalestinian territories as a violation of international law, effectively allowing it to pass.[374] Netanyahu strongly criticized the Obama administration's actions,[375][376] and the Israeli government withdrew its annual dues from the organization, which totaled $6million, on January 6, 2017.[377] On January 5, 2017, the United States House of Representatives voted 342–80 to condemn the UN Resolution.[378][379]
In February 2011, protests in Libya began against long-time dictatorMuammar Gaddafi as part of theArab Spring. They soon turned violent. In March, as forces loyal to Gaddafi advanced on rebels across Libya, calls for a no-fly zone came from around the world, including Europe, theArab League, and a resolution[380] passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate.[381] In response to the passage ofUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 on March 17, the Foreign Minister of Libya Moussa Koussa announced a ceasefire. However Gaddafi's forces continued to attack the rebels.[382]
On March 19, a multinational coalition led by France and the United Kingdom with Italian and U.S. support, approved by Obama, took part in air strikes to destroy the Libyan government's air defense capabilities to protect civilians and enforce a no-fly-zone,[383] including the use ofTomahawk missiles,B-2 Spirits, and fighter jets.[384][385][386] Six days later, on March 25, by unanimous vote of all its 28 members, NATO took over leadership of the effort, dubbedOperation Unified Protector.[387] Some members of Congress[388] questioned whether Obama had the constitutional authority to order military action in addition to questioning its cost, structure and aftermath.[389][390] In 2016 Obama said "Our coalition could have and should have done more to fill a vacuum left behind" and that it was "a mess".[391] He has stated that the lack of preparation surrounding the days following the government's overthrow was the "worst mistake" of his presidency.[392]
On August 18, 2011, several months after the start of theSyrian civil war, Obama issued a written statement that said: "The time has come forPresident Assad to step aside."[393] This stance was reaffirmed in November 2015.[394] In 2012, Obama authorized multipleprograms run by the CIA and the Pentagon to train anti-Assad rebels.[395] The Pentagon-run program was later found to have failed and was formally abandoned in October 2015.[396][397]
On October 1, 2009, the Obama administration went ahead with a Bush administration program, increasing nuclear weapons production. The "Complex Modernization" initiative expanded two existing nuclear sites to produce new bomb parts. In November 2013, the Obama administration openednegotiations with Iran to prevent it from acquiringnuclear weapons, which included aninterim agreement. Negotiations took two years with numerous delays, with a deal being announced on July 14, 2015. The deal titled the "Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action" saw sanctions removed in exchange for measures that would prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons. While Obama hailed the agreement as being a step towards a more hopeful world, the deal drew strong criticism from Republican and conservative quarters, and from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[402][403][404] In addition, the transfer of $1.7billion in cash to Iran shortly after the deal was announced was criticized by the Republican party. The Obama administration said that the payment in cash was because of the "effectiveness of U.S. and international sanctions."[405] In order to advance the deal, the Obama administration shieldedHezbollah from theDrug Enforcement Administration'sProject Cassandra investigation regarding drug smuggling and from theCentral Intelligence Agency.[406][407]On a side note, the very same year, in December 2015, Obama started a $348billion worth program to back the biggest U.S. buildup of nuclear arms since Ronald Reagan left the White House.[408]
Obama meets Russian presidentVladimir Putin in September 2015
In March 2010, an agreement was reached with the administration of Russian PresidentDmitry Medvedev to replace the1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with a new pact reducing the number of long-range nuclear weapons in the arsenals of both countries by about a third.[409] Obama and Medvedev signed theNew START treaty in April 2010, and theU.S. Senate ratified it in December 2010.[410] In December 2011, Obama instructed agencies to considerLGBT rights when issuing financial aid to foreign countries.[411] In August 2013, he criticized Russia's law that discriminates against homosexual people,[412] but he stopped short of advocating a boycott of the upcoming2014 Winter Olympics inSochi, Russia.[413]
Obama playing golf with Argentinian presidentMauricio Macri, October 2017
Obama's presidency ended on January 20, 2017, uponthe inauguration of his successor,Donald Trump.[416][417] The family moved to a house they rented inKalorama, Washington, D.C.[418] On March 2, theJohn F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum awarded theProfile in Courage Award to Obama "for his enduring commitment to democratic ideals and elevating the standard of political courage."[419] His first public appearance since leaving the office was a seminar at theUniversity of Chicago on April 24, where he appealed for a new generation to participate in politics.[420] On September 7, Obama partnered with former presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush to work withOne America Appeal to help the victims ofHurricane Harvey andHurricane Irma in theGulf Coast andTexas communities.[421] From October 31 to November 1, Obama hosted the inaugural summit of theObama Foundation,[422] which he intended to be the central focus of his post-presidency and part of his ambitions for his subsequent activities following his presidency to be more consequential than his time in office.[423]
Obama was reluctant to make an endorsement in the2020 Democratic presidential primaries because he wanted to position himself to unify the party, regardless of the nominee.[431] On April 14, 2020, Obama endorsed his former vice president,Joe Biden, the presumptive nominee, for president inthe presidential election, stating that he has "all the qualities we need in a president right now."[432][433] In May, Obama criticized President Trump forhis handling of theCOVID-19 pandemic, calling his response to the crisis "an absolute chaotic disaster", and stating that the consequences of theTrump presidency have been "our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before."[434] On November 17, Obama's presidential memoir,A Promised Land, was released.[435][436][437]
In February 2021, Obama and musicianBruce Springsteen started a podcast calledRenegades: Born in the USA where the two talk about "their backgrounds, music and their 'enduring love of America.'"[438][439] Later that year, Regina Hicks had signed a deal withNetflix, in a venture with his and Michelle's Higher Ground to develop comedy projects.[440]
Obama with President Joe Biden and Vice PresidentKamala Harris in the White House, April 5, 2022
On March 4, 2022, Obama won an Audio Publishers Association (APA) Award in the best narration by the author category for the narration of his memoirA Promised Land.[441] On April 5, Obama visited the White House for the first time since leaving office, in an event celebrating the 12th annual anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act.[442][443][444] In June, it was announced that the Obamas and their podcast production company, Higher Ground, signed a multi-year deal withAudible.[445][446] In September, Obama visited the White House to unveil his and Michelle's official White House portraits.[447] Around the same time, he won aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Narrator[448] for his narration in the Netflix documentary seriesOur Great National Parks.[449]
In 2022, Obama opposed expanding the Supreme Court beyond the present nine Justices.[450]
In March 2023, Obama traveled to Australia as a part of his speaking tour of the country. During the trip, Obama met with Australian prime ministerAnthony Albanese and visitedMelbourne for the first time.[451] Obama was reportedly paid more than $1 million for two speeches.[452][453]
In October 2023, during theGaza war, Obama declared thatIsrael must dismantleHamas in the wake of theHamas-led attack on Israel.[454] Weeks later, Obama warnedIsrael that its actions could "harden Palestinian attitudes for generations" and weaken international support for Israel; any military strategy that ignored the war's human costs "could ultimately backfire."[455]
Obama in 2025.
In July 2024, Obama expressed concerns about Biden's campaign viability after his critically maligneddebate performance against former president Trump.[456] On July 21, Bidenwithdrew his candidacy and swiftly endorsed Vice President Harris right after to run as the Democratic nominee. Obama endorsed Harris alongside his wife Michelle five days later and delivered a speech at the2024 Democratic National Convention formally endorsing her.[457] He joined Harris on the campaign trail in October, traveling to various swing states and emphasizing her record as a prosecutor, senator, and vice president and advocating for increased voter turnout, and his criticisms of Donald Trump and the Republican Party were widely reported by various media outlets.[458][459] After Trump was declared the winner of the election on November 6, Obama and Michelle congratulated him and Vice President–electJD Vance while praising the Harris campaign and calling on liberal voters to continue supporting democracy and human rights.[460]
Obama's family history, upbringing, andIvy League education differ markedly from those of African-American politicians who rose to prominence in the 1960s through their involvement in the civil rights movement.[462] Expressing puzzlement over questions about whether he is "black enough", Obama told an August 2007 meeting of theNational Association of Black Journalists that "we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white folks then there must be something wrong."[463] Obama acknowledged his youthful image in an October 2007 campaign speech, remarking: "I wouldn't be here if, time and again, the torch had not been passed to a new generation."[464] Obama has frequently been referred to as an exceptional orator.[465] During his pre-inauguration transition period and continuing into his presidency, Obama delivered a series of weekly video addresses onYouTube.[466]
Job approval
Graph of Obama's approval ratings per Gallup
According to theGallup Organization, Obama began his presidency with a 68 percentapproval rating,[467] the fifth highest for a president following their swearing in.[468] His ratings remained above the majority level until November 2009[469] and by August 2010 his approval was in the low 40s,[470] a trend similar to Ronald Reagan's and Bill Clinton's first years in office.[471] Following thedeath of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011, Obama experienced a small poll bounce and steadily maintained 50–53 percent approval for about a month, until his approval numbers dropped back to the low 40s.[472][473][474]
His approval rating fell to 38 percent on several occasions in late 2011[475] before recovering in mid-2012 with polls showing an average approval of 50 percent.[476] After his second inauguration in 2013, Obama's approval ratings remained stable around 52 percent[477] before declining for the rest of the year and eventually bottoming out at 39 percent in December.[472] In polling conducted before the2014 midterm elections, Obama's approval ratings were at their lowest[478][479] with his disapproval rating reaching a high of 57 percent.[472][480][481] His approval rating continued to lag throughout most of 2015 but began to reach the high 40s by the end of the year.[472][482] According to Gallup, Obama's approval rating reached 50 percent in March 2016, a level unseen since May 2013.[472][483] In polling conducted January 16–19, 2017, Obama's final approval rating was 59 percent, which placed him on par withGeorge H. W. Bush andDwight D. Eisenhower, whose final Gallup ratings also measured in the high 50s.[484]
Obama has maintained relatively positive public perceptions after his presidency.[485] In Gallup's retrospective approval polls of former presidents, Obama garnered a 63 percent approval rating in 2018 and again in 2023, ranking him the fourth most popular president since World War II.[486][487]
Foreign perceptions
Polls showed strong support for Obama in other countries both before and during his presidency.[488][489][490] In a February 2009 poll conducted in Western Europe and the U.S. byHarris Interactive forFrance 24 and theInternational Herald Tribune, Obama was rated as the most respected world leader, as well as the most powerful.[491] In a similar poll conducted by Harris in May 2009, Obama was rated as the most popular world leader, as well as the one figure most people would pin their hopes on for pulling the world out of the economic downturn.[492][493]
On October 9, 2009—only nine months into his first term—theNorwegian Nobel Committee announced that Obama had won the2009 Nobel Peace Prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples",[494] which drew a mixture of praise and criticism from world leaders and media figures.[495][496][497][498] He became the fourth U.S. president to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and the third to become a Nobel laureate while in office.[499] He himself called it a "call to action" and remarked: "I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments but rather an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations".[500]
Legacy and recognition
Obama has been described as one of the most effective campaigners in American history (his 2008 campaign being particularly highlighted) as well as one of the most talented political orators of the 21st century.[501][502][503] HistorianJulian Zelizer credits Obama with "a keen sense of how the institutions of government work and the ways that his team could design policy proposals." Zeitzer notes Obama's policy successes included the economic stimulus package which ended theGreat Recession and theDodd-Frank financial and consumer protection reforms, as well as theAffordable Care Act. Zeitzer also notes the Democratic Party lost power and numbers of elected officials during Obama's term, saying that the consensus among historians is that Obama "turned out to be a very effective policymaker but not a tremendously successful party builder." Zeitzer calls this the "defining paradox of Obama's presidency".[504]
TheBrookings Institution noted that Obama passed "only one major legislative achievement (Obamacare)—and a fragile one at that—the legacy of Obama's presidency mainly rests on its tremendous symbolic importance and the fate of a patchwork of executive actions."[505] David W. Wise noted that Obama fell short "in areas many Progressives hold dear", including the continuation of drone strikes, not going after big banks during the Great Recession, and failing to strengthen his coalition before pushing for Obamacare. Wise called Obama's legacy that of "a disappointingly conventional president".[506]
Obama's most significant accomplishment is generally considered to be the Affordable Care Act (ACA), provisions of which went into effect from 2010 to 2020. Many attempts by Senate Republicans to repeal the ACA, including a "skinny repeal", have thus far failed.[507] However, in 2017, the penalty for violating the individual mandate was repealed effective 2019.[508] Together with theHealth Care and Education Reconciliation Act amendment, it represents the U.S. healthcare system's most significant regulatory overhaul and expansion of coverage since the passage ofMedicare and Medicaid in 1965.[509][510][511][512]
Many commentators credit Obama with averting a threateneddepression and pulling the economy back from the Great Recession.[507] According to theU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, theObama administration created 11.3 million jobs from the month after his first inauguration to the end of his second term.[513] In 2010, Obama signed into effect the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Passed as a response to the2008 financial crisis, it brought the most significant changes tofinancial regulation in the United States since the regulatory reform that followed theGreat Depression under Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt.[514]
In 2009, Obama signed into law theNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, which contained in it the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the first addition to existing federal hate crime law in the United States since Democratic President Bill Clinton signed into law the Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996. The act expandedexisting federal hate crime laws in the United States, and made it a federal crime to assault people based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.[515]
As president, Obama advanced LGBT rights.[516] In 2010, he signed theDon't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act, which brought an end to "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the U.S. armed forces that banned open service fromLGBT people; the law went into effect the following year.[517] In 2016, his administration brought an end to the ban ontransgender people serving openly in the U.S. armed forces.[518][240] AGallup poll, taken in the final days of Obama's term, showed that 68 percent of Americans believed the U.S. had made progress on LGBT rights during Obama's eight years in office.[519]
Obama substantially escalated the use ofdrone strikes against suspected militants and terrorists associated with al-Qaeda and theTaliban.[520] In 2016, the last year of his presidency, the U.S. dropped 26,171 bombs on seven different countries.[521][522] Obama left about 8,400 U.S. troops inAfghanistan, 5,262 in Iraq, 503 in Syria, 133 in Pakistan, 106 in Somalia, seven in Yemen, and two in Libya at the end of his presidency.[523]
According toPew Research Center andUnited States Bureau of Justice Statistics, from December 31, 2009, to December 31, 2015, inmates sentenced in U.S. federal custody declined by five percent. This is the largest decline in sentenced inmates in U.S. federal custody of any president sinceJimmy Carter. By contrast, the federal prison population increased significantly under presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.[524]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) called Obama's human rights record "mixed", adding that "he has often treated human rights as a secondary interest—nice to support when the cost was not too high, but nothing like a top priority he championed."[223]
Obama left office in January 2017 with a 60 percent approval rating.[525][526] He gained 10 spots from the same survey in 2015 from the Brookings Institution that ranked him the 18th-greatest American president.[527] In Gallup's 2018 job approval poll for the past 10 U.S. presidents, he received a 63 percent approval rating.[486]
The Barack Obama Presidential Center is Obama's plannedpresidential library. It will be hosted by the University of Chicago and located inJackson Park on the South Side of Chicago.[528]
——————— (1990). "Tort Law. Prenatal Injuries. Supreme Court of Illinois Refuses to Recognize Cause of Action Brought by Fetus Against Its Mother for Unintentional Infliction of Prenatal Injuries.Stallman v. Youngquist, 125 Ill. 2d 267, 531 N. E.2d 355 (1988)".Harvard Law Review.103 (3):823–828.doi:10.2307/1341352.JSTOR1341352. Uncredited case comment.[530]
^Barreto, Amílcar Antonio; O'Bryant, Richard L. (November 12, 2013)."Introduction".American Identity in the Age of Obama. Taylor & Francis. pp. 18–19.ISBN978-1-317-93715-9. RetrievedMay 8, 2017.
Merida, Kevin (December 14, 2007)."The ghost of a father".The Washington Post. p. A12.Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. RetrievedJune 25, 2008.
^Reyes, B.J. (February 8, 2007)."Punahou left lasting impression on Obama".Honolulu Star-Bulletin.Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. RetrievedFebruary 10, 2007.As a teenager, Obama went to parties and sometimes sought out gatherings on military bases or at the University of Hawaii that were attended mostly by blacks.
for analysis of the political impact of the quote and Obama's more recent admission that he smoked marijuana as a teenager ("When I was a kid, I inhaled"), see:
Possley, Maurice (March 30, 2007)."Activism blossomed in college".Chicago Tribune. p. 20.Archived from the original on October 9, 2010. RetrievedMay 12, 2010.
Secter, Bob; McCormick, John (March 30, 2007)."Portrait of a pragmatist".Chicago Tribune. p. 1. Archived fromthe original on December 14, 2009. RetrievedMay 18, 2012.
^abcMatchan, Linda (February 15, 1990)."A Law Review breakthrough".The Boston Globe. p. 29.Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. RetrievedJune 15, 2008.
Corr, John (February 27, 1990)."From mean streets to hallowed halls"(paid archive).The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C01.Archived from the original on August 28, 2019. RetrievedJune 6, 2008.
^Obama, Barack (August–September 1988). "Why organize? Problems and promise in the inner city".Illinois Issues. Vol. 14, no. 8–9. pp. 40–42.ISSN0738-9663. reprinted in: Knoepfle, Peg, ed. (1990).After Alinsky: community organizing in Illinois. Springfield, Illinois: Sangamon State University. pp. 35–40.ISBN978-0-9620873-3-2.He has also been a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, an organizing institute working throughout the Midwest.
^Obama, Auma (2012).And then life happens: a memoir. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 189–208,212–216.ISBN978-1-250-01005-6.
^Joey Del Ponte; Somerville Scout Staff."Something in the Water".Somerville Scout. No. January/February 2014. p. 26. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. RetrievedJanuary 1, 2020.Barack Obama lived in the big, ivy-covered brick building at 365 Broadway... From 1988 to 1991, the future president resided in a basement apartment while attending Harvard Law School.
^abLevenson, Michael; Saltzman, Jonathan (January 28, 2007)."At Harvard Law, a unifying voice".Boston Globe. p. 1A.Archived from the original on August 3, 2016. RetrievedJune 15, 2008.
Mundy, Liza (August 12, 2007)."A series of fortunate events".The Washington Post. p. W10.Archived from the original on August 14, 2007. RetrievedJune 15, 2008.
Starr, Alexandra (September 21, 2008)."Case study".The New York Times Magazine. p. 76. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2010.
Hundley, Tom (March 22, 2009)."Ivory tower of power".Chicago Tribune Magazine. p. 6. Archived fromthe original on April 13, 2010. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2010.
Reynolds, Gretchen (January 1993)."Vote of confidence".Chicago Magazine. Vol. 42, no. 1. pp. 53–54.ISSN0362-4595.Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. RetrievedJune 6, 2008.
Anderson, Veronica (October 3, 1993). "40 under Forty: Barack Obama, Director, Illinois Project Vote".Crain's Chicago Business. Vol. 16, no. 39. p. 43.ISSN0149-6956.
^Branigin, William (January 30, 2009)."Steelers Win Obama's Approval".The Washington Post.Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. RetrievedAugust 21, 2017.But other than the Bears, the Steelers are probably the team that's closest to my heart.
^Stolberg, Sheryl Gay; Kirkpatrick, David D.; Shane, Scott (January 22, 2009)."On First Day, Obama Quickly Sets a New Tone".The New York Times. p. 1.Archived from the original on January 23, 2009. RetrievedSeptember 7, 2012.
^"American President: Barack Obama". Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. 2009. Archived fromthe original on January 23, 2009. RetrievedJanuary 23, 2009.Religion: Christian
Miller, Lisa (July 18, 2008)."Finding his faith".Newsweek.Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. RetrievedFebruary 4, 2010.He is now a Christian, having been baptized in the early 1990s at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
Sullivan, Amy (June 29, 2009)."The Obama's find a church home—away from home".Time. Archived fromthe original on April 4, 2010. RetrievedFebruary 5, 2010.instead of joining a congregation in Washington, D.C., he will follow in George W. Bush's footsteps and make his primary place of worship Evergreen Chapel, the nondenominational church at Camp David.
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^Garrett, Major; Obama, Barack (March 14, 2008)."Obama talks to Major Garrett on 'Hannity & Colmes'". RealClearPolitics. RetrievedNovember 10, 2012.Major Garrett, Fox News correspondent: So the first question, how long have you been a member in good standing of that church? Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), presidential candidate: You know, I've been a member since 1991 or '92. And—but I have known Trinity even before then when I was a community organizer on the South Side, helping steel workers find jobs... Garrett: As a member in good standing, were you a regular attendee of Sunday services? Obama: You know, I won't say that I was a perfect attendee. I was regular in spurts, because there was times when, for example, our child had just been born, our first child. And so we didn't go as regularly then.
"Obama strongly denounces former pastor". NBC News. Associated Press. April 29, 2008. RetrievedNovember 10, 2012.I have been a member of Trinity United Church of Christ since 1992, and have known Reverend Wright for 20 years. The person I saw yesterday was not the person [whom] I met 20 years ago.
Miller, Lisa (July 11, 2008)."Finding his faith".Newsweek. Archived fromthe original on July 20, 2013. RetrievedNovember 10, 2012.He is now a Christian, having been baptized in the early 1990s at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
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Maraniss 2012, p. 557: "It would take time for Obama to join and become fully engaged in Wright's church, a place where he would be baptized and married; that would not happen until later, during his second time around in Chicago, but the process started then, in October 1987... Jerry Kellman: 'He wasn't a member of the church during those first three years, but he was drawn to Jeremiah.'"
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