<p>Eight years of Obama administration ended with the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States on January 20th of this year. Generally, commentators, analysts and historians take some time before they discuss in detail issues related to the departing administration. There is a contrasting development this time.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Media is replete with commentaries and analytical articles assessing the successes and failures of the Obama Administration. Why?&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>First, the outcome of the 2016 presidential election is historical, as was the 2008 one when the American electorate chose for the first time an African-American as their president. In 2016, they chose a billionaire who is an outsider to the Republican Party, to the Beltway politics and who possesses zero experience in legislative politics, military service or to bureaucratic assignments.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Experts are quick to make an assessment of the African-American president&rsquo;s performance with an eye on the prevailing uncertainty over the future of their country under the new Trump administration.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Secondly, Obama himself decided to project his achievements in the light of challenges posed by Donald Trump to undo some of his signature policies, such as Affordable Care Act, Iran Nuclear Deal, employment generation to name some prominent ones.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Thirdly, supporters of Trump&rsquo;s policies need to highlight the drawbacks of the Obama administration to push forward policy changes.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>Obama undoubtedly stabilised the inherited grungy national economy</h5>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>It is a truism to say that no administration can claim absolute success. An assessment report will always be a mixed bag. Administrative and policy decisions always have owners and losers and their perceptions are accordingly shaped.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Likewise, countries around the globe assess the successes and failures of any US administration on the basis of their respective equations with the United States. Having said that, the following observations can be made about the Obama legacy for the US and the world.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>To begin with, Obama undoubtedly stabilised the inherited grungy national economy to a great extent with an unprecedented record of jobs creation, manageable inflation and wealth creation in the midst of war expenditures abroad.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Secondly, he gave respectability to the LGBT community in the US. Thirdly, bringing millions of Americans under health insurance scheme against all odds will get a place in the American history books, irrespective of its fate in the hands of the Trump administration.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>Muslim minorities in the US did not appear to have lived fearlessly</h5>
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<p>But the confrontational race relationship in the US has worsened during Obama&#39;s&nbsp;administration and he appeared helpless in fixing it. In the midst of his wars against Islamic radicals and militants abroad, the Muslim minorities in the US did not appear to have lived fearlessly.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Moreover, while his stimulus economic package did stop the erosion of US economy, it was a large number of unemployed in the rust belt who catapulted Trump to victory in the 2016 election.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>While Obama sought to assuage the sentiments of millions of Americans against persistent wars abroad by ending the US military intervention in Iraq and combat operations in Afghanistan, an unprecedented level of drones used in the wars brought considerable anti-American sentiments in the war zones.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>President Obama influenced the course of the developments that facilitated the rise of ISIS in the Middle East</h5>
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<p>This is where one may draw attention to both successes and failures of the Obama administration, in the foreign policy and national security fields. Significantly, the end of military operations in Iraq by President Obama influenced the course of the developments that facilitated the rise of ISIS in the Middle East. Secondly, a drawdown of US forces in Afghanistan coincided with the Taliban regaining vast space in that country.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>There is no doubt that Obama succeeded in persuading Iran to abandon the nuclear path without firing a shot. But it was a time-bound achievement, and analysts felt that Iran could emerge as a nuclear weapon power after fifteen years which simply means that Israel, principal US ally in the region, is not safe!&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>In addition, Obama could do precious little in reigning in the North Korean nuclear weapon/missile programme. His responses to Arab Spring, Russian muscle flexing in Eurasia and Chinese in the South China Sea were weak at best. Obama&nbsp;was almost losing strategic partnership with India when Narendra Modi became the prime minister of India and rescued and invigorated it. Obama was helpless in assisting the European Union to fix the financial and economic downturn.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Historians may applaud Obama&rsquo;s liberal diplomacy in normalising ties with Cuba and handling Iranian nuclear issue in non-military ways, yet hard analysis will most likely blame him for leaving a&nbsp; world behind with more chaos than when he assumed the most powerful office in the world.</p>


Obama is leaving a world behind with more chaos than when he assumed the most powerful office in the world

Eight years of Obama administration ended with the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States on January 20th of this year. Generally, commentators, analysts and historians take some time before they discuss in detail issues related to the departing administration. There is a contrasting development this time. Media is replete with commentaries and analytical articles assessing the successes and failures of the Obama Administration. Why? First, the outcome of the 2016 presidential election is historical, as was the 2008 one when the American electorate chose for the first time an African-American as their president. In 2016, they chose a billionaire who is an outsider to the Republican Party, to the Beltway politics and who possesses zero experience in legislative politics, military service or to bureaucratic assignments. Experts are quick to make an assessment of the African-American president’s performance with an eye on the prevailing uncertainty over the future of their country under the new Trump administration. Secondly, Obama himself decided to project his achievements in the light of challenges posed by Donald Trump to undo some of his signature policies, such as Affordable Care Act, Iran Nuclear Deal, employment generation to name some prominent ones. Thirdly, supporters of Trump’s policies need to highlight the drawbacks of the Obama administration to push forward policy changes. Obama undoubtedly stabilised the inherited grungy national economy × It is a truism to say that no administration can claim absolute success. An assessment report will always be a mixed bag. Administrative and policy decisions always have owners and losers and their perceptions are accordingly shaped. Likewise, countries around the globe assess the successes and failures of any US administration on the basis of their respective equations with the United States. Having said that, the following observations can be made about the Obama legacy for the US and the world. To begin with, Obama undoubtedly stabilised the inherited grungy national economy to a great extent with an unprecedented record of jobs creation, manageable inflation and wealth creation in the midst of war expenditures abroad. Secondly, he gave respectability to the LGBT community in the US. Thirdly, bringing millions of Americans under health insurance scheme against all odds will get a place in the American history books, irrespective of its fate in the hands of the Trump administration. Muslim minorities in the US did not appear to have lived fearlessly × But the confrontational race relationship in the US has worsened during Obama's administration and he appeared helpless in fixing it. In the midst of his wars against Islamic radicals and militants abroad, the Muslim minorities in the US did not appear to have lived fearlessly. Moreover, while his stimulus economic package did stop the erosion of US economy, it was a large number of unemployed in the rust belt who catapulted Trump to victory in the 2016 election. While Obama sought to assuage the sentiments of millions of Americans against persistent wars abroad by ending the US military intervention in Iraq and combat operations in Afghanistan, an unprecedented level of drones used in the wars brought considerable anti-American sentiments in the war zones. President Obama influenced the course of the developments that facilitated the rise of ISIS in the Middle East × This is where one may draw attention to both successes and failures of the Obama administration, in the foreign policy and national security fields. Significantly, the end of military operations in Iraq by President Obama influenced the course of the developments that facilitated the rise of ISIS in the Middle East. Secondly, a drawdown of US forces in Afghanistan coincided with the Taliban regaining vast space in that country. There is no doubt that Obama succeeded in persuading Iran to abandon the nuclear path without firing a shot. But it was a time-bound achievement, and analysts felt that Iran could emerge as a nuclear weapon power after fifteen years which simply means that Israel, principal US ally in the region, is not safe! In addition, Obama could do precious little in reigning in the North Korean nuclear weapon/missile programme. His responses to Arab Spring, Russian muscle flexing in Eurasia and Chinese in the South China Sea were weak at best. Obama was almost losing strategic partnership with India when Narendra Modi became the prime minister of India and rescued and invigorated it. Obama was helpless in assisting the European Union to fix the financial and economic downturn. Historians may applaud Obama’s liberal diplomacy in normalising ties with Cuba and handling Iranian nuclear issue in non-military ways, yet hard analysis will most likely blame him for leaving a world behind with more chaos than when he assumed the most powerful office in the world.

Assessing Obama era as Trump checks in

Terming the Republican presidential nominee &nbsp;as &quot;ridiculous&quot;, US President Barack Obama has assured to preserve the integrity of the voting process.<br />
<br />
&quot;I don&#39;t even really know where to start on answering this question. Of course the elections will not be rigged. What does that mean? The federal government doesn&#39;t run the election process, it is states, cities and communities all across the country. They are the ones who set up the voting systems and voting booths,&quot; Obama said during a news conference yesterday when asked about Trump&#39;s allegations.<br />
<br />
&quot;And if Mr Trump is suggesting that there is a conspiracy theory that is being propagated across the country, including in places like<br />
Texas, where typically it is not Democrats who are in charge of voting booths. That is ridiculous,&quot; he said.<br />
<br />
&quot;Trump&#39;s allegations do not make any sense and I don&#39;t think anybody would take that seriously,&quot; he added.<br />
<br />
&quot;We do take seriously, as we always do, our responsibility to monitor and preserve the integrity of the voting process. If we see signs that a voting machine or system is more vulnerable to hacking, then we inform those local authorities who are running the elections that they need to be careful,&quot; Obama said.<br />
<br />
&quot;If we see jurisdictions that are violating federal laws in terms of equal access and aren&#39;t providing ramps for disabled voters or are discriminating in some fashion, or are otherwise violating civil rights laws, then the justice department will come in and take care of that,&quot; he said.<br />
<br />
Taking a dig at Trump, Obama said this will be an election like every other election, and all of us at some points in our lives have played sports and sometimes some people, if they lose, they start complaining that they got cheated.<br />
<br />
&quot;But I never heard of somebody complaining about being cheated before the game was over, or before the scored was even tallied,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;So my suggestion would be go out there and try to win the election. If Mr Trump is up 10 or 15 points on election day and ends up losing maybe he can raise some questions. That doesn&#39;t seem to be the case at the moment,&quot; the US president said.<br />
<br />
Further attacking Trump, Obama urged the people of America to make their own judgements on the Republican presidential nominee.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
&quot;Just listen to what Mr Trump has to say and make your own judgement with respect to how confident you feel about his ability to manage things like our nuclear triad,&quot; he said.&nbsp;He said he has a very strong opinion about the two candidates who are running for president.<br />
<br />
Obama is supporting Hillary Clinton, Trump&#39;s Democratic presidential rival, in the upcoming presidential elections.<br />
<br />
&quot;One is very positive and one is not so much, and I guess you will just hear any further questions that are directed at this subject, I think you&#39;ll hear pretty much variations on the same thing,&quot; he said.<br />
<br />
&quot;What I can say is this is serious business, and the person who is in the Oval Office and who our secretary of defence, and our joint chiefs of staff, and our outstanding men and women in uniform report to, they are counting on somebody who has the temperament and good judgement to be able to make decisions to make America safe,&quot; Obama said.<br />
<br />
That should be very much on the minds of voters when they go to the voting booth in November. At the end of the day, it is the American people&#39;s decision, he said.<br />
<br />
Obama further said if someone wins the election and becomes the president, then his constitutional responsibility will be&nbsp;to peacefully transfer power to the individual and do everything to help them succeed.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
(PTI)

Trump claimed the upcoming election will be rigged. 'I never heard of somebody complaining about being cheated before the game was over...'

Terming the Republican presidential nominee as "ridiculous", US President Barack Obama has assured to preserve the integrity of the voting process. "I don't even really know where to start on answering this question. Of course the elections will not be rigged. What does that mean? The federal government doesn't run the election process, it is states, cities and communities all across the country. They are the ones who set up the voting systems and voting booths," Obama said during a news conference yesterday when asked about Trump's allegations. "And if Mr Trump is suggesting that there is a conspiracy theory that is being propagated across the country, including in places like Texas, where typically it is not Democrats who are in charge of voting booths. That is ridiculous," he said. "Trump's allegations do not make any sense and I don't think anybody would take that seriously," he added. "We do take seriously, as we always do, our responsibility to monitor and preserve the integrity of the voting process. If we see signs that a voting machine or system is more vulnerable to hacking, then we inform those local authorities who are running the elections that they need to be careful," Obama said. "If we see jurisdictions that are violating federal laws in terms of equal access and aren't providing ramps for disabled voters or are discriminating in some fashion, or are otherwise violating civil rights laws, then the justice department will come in and take care of that," he said. Taking a dig at Trump, Obama said this will be an election like every other election, and all of us at some points in our lives have played sports and sometimes some people, if they lose, they start complaining that they got cheated. "But I never heard of somebody complaining about being cheated before the game was over, or before the scored was even tallied," he said. "So my suggestion would be go out there and try to win the election. If Mr Trump is up 10 or 15 points on election day and ends up losing maybe he can raise some questions. That doesn't seem to be the case at the moment," the US president said. Further attacking Trump, Obama urged the people of America to make their own judgements on the Republican presidential nominee. "Just listen to what Mr Trump has to say and make your own judgement with respect to how confident you feel about his ability to manage things like our nuclear triad," he said. He said he has a very strong opinion about the two candidates who are running for president. Obama is supporting Hillary Clinton, Trump's Democratic presidential rival, in the upcoming presidential elections. "One is very positive and one is not so much, and I guess you will just hear any further questions that are directed at this subject, I think you'll hear pretty much variations on the same thing," he said. "What I can say is this is serious business, and the person who is in the Oval Office and who our secretary of defence, and our joint chiefs of staff, and our outstanding men and women in uniform report to, they are counting on somebody who has the temperament and good judgement to be able to make decisions to make America safe," Obama said. That should be very much on the minds of voters when they go to the voting booth in November. At the end of the day, it is the American people's decision, he said. Obama further said if someone wins the election and becomes the president, then his constitutional responsibility will be to peacefully transfer power to the individual and do everything to help them succeed. (PTI)

Obama hits back at Trump, calls his claims 'ridiculous'

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Assessing Obama era as Trump checks in

Obama hits back at Trump, calls his claims 'ridiculous'