Today, the continued existence of racism in America has become, due to the backlash against the election of President Obama, a regular topic of discussion in forums that rarely mentioned the subject in 2008; it was the very infrequent exception, not the rule, for the 2008 Presidential campaigns to directly address racism. In 2008, Wall Street, enabled by eight years of neglected federal regulatory interest, drove the World economy, including the US economy, into the ditch; President Obama hopped in and drove 'em back out. Marriage equality was still political poison in the minds of most authorities in 2008, but today a Constitutional wave moves across the country that will soon have most, if not all Americans living where the law guarantees marriage rights to all. In 2008 even modest relaxation of marijuana criminalization remained a nonstarter in most parts of the country and medical marijuana was just becoming a thing; now, widespread national legalization seems within reach. In 2008 two horribly costly, protracted and intractable foreign wars raged on in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the USA is now done with both of those missions. In 2008, the federal government had no role in regulating the business of insurance and no program to assist those in need in obtaining affordable health insurance on fair terms; now we have the increasingly popular and successful ACA. In 2008 national environmental and energy policy favored fuel extraction industries and ignored anthropogenic climate warming resulting from the use of those fuels. Now the Administration is willing to fight for regulation of greenhouse gases and supports cutbacks on subsidies of the extraction industries.
The continued growth of the surveillance state, the horribly costly drone attacks overseas, Gitmo's seeming immortality, wobbliness on entitlement protection, net neutrality and other problems blemish President Obana's record, but the records of all Presidents show mistakes and failures. Notwithstanding any such failures, and likewise not accounting for the the vast amount of change that remains needed in America, President Obama appears to have delivered on his promises that his election would change America and that we, ourselves, were the change we had been waiting for.
History gives American Presidents the credit and blame for the major events and evolutions that occur during their Administrations. President Obama's election and tenure has changed the trajectory of American life in more ways, and more rapidly, than at any time during my 65 years, including the 1960's. All of the good changes mentioned and others left out, have happened in the face of implacable Republican opposition.
Think for a moment about the America we would live in if these beneficial changes had all been successfully blocked by the GOP's opposition. Then go out and find somebody in the base and start working on them so that they will vote in November.