Hope: A word that can define the last seven years of  Barack Obama’s presidency. Don’t get me wrong, I am a big advocate for change but this election season has me all riled up. I’m feeling a slight Bern, I’m sort of with her and I want to barf when I hear the words “Make America Great Again.”

Yet, I see no hope all across the board. Looking forward, it’s hard to get my head around a White House without the Obama Administration.

It bothers me to think that Obama’s only regret about being president are the devisive politics that he could not reconcile. Every candidate on the campaign trail is only making it easier for me to miss the calm and professional demeanor of the first African-American president.

Let me be perfectly clear for a moment, I am not pushing a liberal agenda. If I wanted to do so, I would be campaigning for the Democratic candidate I see most fit. Nor am I chanting incessantly at a Ted Cruz rally. I just believe someone who commands grace and respect should represent the United States, which is something that Obama has done considerably well.

When Vice President Joe Biden had to apologize to Mexico, as reported by an article on The Epoch Times, for the “dangerous damaging, and incredibly ill-advised” rhetoric being spewed by a party that wants to reclaim the White House, it puts the United States in a precarious situation. Forget about being politically correct or incorrect, it’s a matter of choosing to be the better example in the eyes of the world. When did politics and diplomacy become similar to a children’s playground? 

Let’s examine the true worth of the Obama presidency. Here you have a man who, as dedicated as he has been to his idea of hope, strives to bridge divides. He encourages views that challenge his own and is not afraid to stand up for his actions. The epitome of this can be encompassed by what he said to the Republican Senate as of late: “I intend to do my job between now and Jan. 20, 2017. I expect them to do their job as well.”

I let out the most horrific laugh when Ben Carson said “Can someone attack me please?” in the last GOP debate broadcasted on CNN. That’s not to take away from the low blow attacks that Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders give each other regarding how liberal they are or what their support of Obama has been.

This kind of behavior is embarrassing and should not be looked at as entertainment. I cringe at every disparaging comment made by both sides when they critique Obama, when they know darn well that he has been obstructed at every turn with a Congress that won’t even consider reaching compromises.

“It used to be that with the old GOP you could work. That old GOP is something we need back, if nothing else, just to keep the far left from spending itself into oblivion,” Eric Kamm, a graduate student of history pedagogy, said. 

The height of hypocrisy is blaming Obama for not following the Constitution with his executive orders while at the same time obstructing him from nominating a Supreme Court justice.

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center last year, “across the 40 countries polled, a median of 65 percent say they have confidence in Obama to do the right thing in world affairs.”

Despite this, Obama hasn’t had the same results at home, which is really disappointing.

“Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill would spar from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., but both parties would work together. I don’t think you see that in the Obama Administration,” Jared Smith, chair of Cal Lutheran College Republicans, said.

Despite the highly contested election season that we keep witnessing on television, let us not forget the man who is departing the Oval Office with the same hope that, if not united the country, strengthened people’s convictions to seek out the truth and act even more humanely. I, for one, will deeply miss Obama.

Mario Granados
Staff Writer
Published March 9th, 2016