Abstract

The presidency of Barack Obama presents us with a paradox, in that it was both a policy success and a political failure, two states that seemingly contradict with one another. His presidency is considered a policy success due to its ability to successfully pass many key pieces of legislation, despite several challenges. On the other hand, Obama's presidency is also considered a political failure primarily due to the election of Donald J. Trump, someone who is not an ally to the Obama administration and has worked to undo Obama's accomplishments as president in nearly every area. Today, Obama's legacy as president continues to play a large impact on American politics given the high stakes nature of the current 2020 presidential election and the strong connection that both candidates running has with President Obama. As a result, examining Obama's presidency and the impact it left behind is more important than ever. This research takes into consideration the large amount of literature on the paradox and evaluates several arguments by a variety of authors in four different areas of the Obama presidency to determine the strength of these arguments.

Thesis Completion

2020

Semester

Fall

Thesis Chair/Advisor

Marien, Daniel

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Release Date

12-1-2020

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