A Critical Look at Selected Aspects of Barack Obama's Presidency

I. Stimulant Problems
Reaching back into Obama's first term, the stimulant to the economy he proposed was too small, was split among infrastructure spending, tax cuts, and aid to strapped states. It didn't do anything to dissuade firms from laying off workers.

"In ruling out a housing bailout, the [Obama] Administration left itself at the mercy of the  real estate industry." The government could have insisted on a share of the future appreciation of the property, perhaps by issuing a second mortgage paid off upon a sale. [1]

Another mistake that President Obama was that he gave up an opportunity to split up the megabanks, such as Citibank and the Bank of America.

II. War and Peace in the Middle East
Whereas Barack Obama came into office with the high hopes of ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he "has reached a kind of grudging compromise with the world. Where once he  hoped to win the war..., he has stopped troop withdrawals from both countries and empowered the thousands of troops serving there -- about 5,000 as of now -- to engage in missions against the Taliban and ISIS." [2] He is now pushing to make the U.S. into a Pacific power to thwart Chinese advances in the region.

Obama is now the longest-serving wartime President.

III. The Drone War and a Bloated Baghdad Embassy
Drone strikes, electronic surveillance, and stealth engagements by military units, such as JSOC, as well as private corporations and mercenary armies are more common as tools of U.S. foreign policy than conventional warfare or diplomacy. [3]

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism estimates that the U.S. has killed on the order of 3,000 people in 319 drone strikes, some 600 of the victims being civilian bystanders, of which 174 of the 600 have been children. 84 percent of these casualties occurred during the Obama administration's tenure.

The U.S. embassy in Baghdad houses 16,000 people, most of them being civilian contractors. Also housed in the embassy are 2,000 diplomats and several hundred intelligence operatives. In comparison, the Foreign Service has fewer than 14,000 personnel. [4]

IV. Obama's Disastrous Effect on Democrats
During the reign of President Barack Obama, the Democratic Party has gone from a Senate caucus of 60 members to 46 and from a substantial majority in the House of Representatives to a seemingly permanent minority. In the states, the Democrats have lost ten state governor's offices and 910 legislative seats. [5]

ADDENDUM:
*Every Supreme Court nominee since 1875 has received either a hearing or a vote. Most confirmations have taken place within about three months  of nomination. Six justices, including Anthony Kennedy, have been confirmed in presidential election years since 1900. [6]

Footnotes
[1] John Cassidy, "Stimulant Problems," The New Yorker, March 26, 2012.

[2] Massimo Calabresi, "Obama at war and peace in the Middle East," Time, June 6, 2016.

[3] Juan Cole, "Shadow Power, The Nation, April 4, 2012

]4] Ibid.

[5] Jeffrey Toobin, "Court Politics," The New Yorker, March 28, 2016.

[6] Ibid.