In a historic election, Barack Obama, the nation’s first African-American president, has been re-elected to the presidency. Four years ago, President Obama came into office in a landslide election with an unprecedented victory and popular support. That popular support waned at times as the difficulties of governing became apparent. However, there was still enough popular support to give the president another four years in office.
In his first term in office, the president worked with Congress and passed a plethora of bills in a short amount of time. So much so, that the 111th Congress, according to Bloomberg News, was the most productive since the 1960s during the great society era.
It’s easy to see why President Obama’s first two years in office were so productive in terms of passing legislation. These are just some of the major bills that were passed during those two years: The Lily Ledbetter Act (equal pay for women), The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus), The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and finally the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
These productive years gave way to a crushing defeat in the 2010 midterm elections where emboldened Republicans swept the House of Representatives, gaining a total of 63 seats. This setback to the president was most apparent in the productivity of the subsequent 112th Congress.
The 112th Congress was the least productive in decades and according to The New York Times, passed only 173 bills as of September. This is in comparison to the 906 bills passed by the so- called “do nothing” Congress famously labeled by then President Harry Truman in 1948.
Republicans were so entrenched in their opposition to the president from day one that any compromise was out of the question. There were the unprecedented actions by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) where he famously yelled out, “You lie!” towards the president during his 2012 State of the Union address.
Many Republican legislators openly flirted with the “birther” movement. Never before has there been such a blatantly dishonest and disrespectful questioning of an American president’s own citizenship. The president had an uphill battle to build any consensus with a party that refused to even view him as legitimate.
The American public, in their wisdom, saw past these flagrant attacks and judged the president on his accomplishments and the record he has to show. While Republicans were questioning President Obama’s birth certificate, the president was passing bills to ensure that women get equal pay and that the uninsured could afford health insurance and he was overseeing the operation that killed Osama Bin Laden.
Despite the divisive rhetoric and the intense polarization of the public, America still got the healthy dose of democracy and the exchange of ideas that happens every four years. Mitt Romney, despite his loss, will continue to shape Republican politics for years to come. Some of the ideas in his campaign may still come to fruition as President Obama will work with Republicans on a plethora of issues such as tax and immigration reform.
It remains to be seen whether the next four years will bring about the same kind of hostility towards the president or whether his re-election can finally bring compromise in certain areas between Republicans and Democrats.
Whatever may come, it can still be said that democracy worked in the end and the American public was able to choose the person they wanted to be president. That deserving person this election cycle was Barack Obama.
Alex Caraballo can be reached at alex.caraballo@spartans.ut.edu