News > After Barack Obama, America will never be the same

After Barack Obama, America will never be the same

It isn’t that he got everything right. No president does. And there always will be a debate about how much the election of the first Black president contributed to the reactionary backlash that yielded Donald Trump. But the history is clear: Barack Obama led the nation through an epic economic crisis and war, passed landmark legislation on health care and strengthened the social safety net, bolstered America’s standing in the world and, in most painful moments, comforted the nation by speaking eloquently.