This diary will be the first part of a 2-parter focusing on the transition from Barack Obama to Donald Trump as our next Commander-in-Chief and Joe Biden to Mike Pence as our next Vice-President. The first focuses on Obama/Biden, while the 2nd will focus on Trump/Pence.
We’ll begin the 2-parter diary with the outgoing President in Barack Obama and his Vice President Joe Biden.
Pre-Presidential Run Career
On August 4th, 1961, Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii at the Kapiolani Maternity and Gynecological Hospital.
In late 1988, he entered into Harvard Law School, in which he later became the editor of the Harvard Law Review.
For 12 years, from 1992 to 2004, he taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School. The first four were as a Lecturer, while the last eight were as a Senior Lecturer.
On October 3rd, 1992, Barack married Michelle LaVaughn Robinson to be his wife, who then became Michelle Obama. As of this writing, they are still married.
In 1995, to replace the retiring State Senator Alice Palmer (D) in the 13th Senatorial district of Illinois, Obama ran for the nomination. He run unopposed after his primary challengers got knocked off the ballot. He served 3 terms in the Illinois State Senate.
In September 1999, then-State Senator Obama decided to run against incumbent Congressman Bobby Rush (D) in the 2000 primary for his House seat in the 1st Congressional district. He lost big to the incumbent Rush by nearly 30%.
In 2002, he introduced a bill that would have made Illinois an Instant Runoff Vote (IRV) state. The bill failed.
On January 21st, 2003, he announced that he was running for the US Senate seat vacated by the decision of the incumbent Senator Peter Fitzgerald (R) to retire. On March 16th, 2004, he won the primary over his closest competitor Daniel Hynes by close to 30%. He was set to face off against Jack Ryan (R), but a few months after his primary win for the GOP in 2004, he stepped down two days after Obama’s DNC speech on July 29th. He was then replaced by Alan Keyes (R) shortly afterwards.
At the 2004 DNC convention in Boston, Massachusetts on July 27th, he made his keynote speech focused on hope and a vision of the nation as the United States, not Red States or Blue States.
On November 2nd, 2004, Obama won the US Senate election by a big 70%-27% margin over Keyes. Both Keyes and Obama later ran for President in 2008 for their respective parties, with Obama winning his party’s, while Keyes dropped out of the GOP race and then ran for the Constitution Party’s nomination in which he then lost, causing him to form a new party called America’s Party. Keyes also became known for spreading Birther conspiracies.
On January 4th, 2005, he officially became a US Senator, a position that he held until November 13th, 2008.
Path to the Nomination
On February 10th, 2007, then-Senator Obama announced to the world that he was running for the office of President, facing off against Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Dennis Kucinich, John Edwards, Tom Vilsack, Mike Gravel, Chris Dodd and Evan Bayh for the right to gain the Democratic Party’s nomination.
Throughout 2007, Hillary was the favorite to clinch the nomination, but Obama and Edwards were closing in on her.
However, on January 3rd, 2008 in the Iowa Caucuses, Obama came home with the momentum-changing win, getting around 38% and 16 delegates. Edwards finished 2nd and presumptive favorite Clinton finished 3rd. Joe Biden, who was eventually chosen as the Vice President, dropped out of the race.
Five days later, in the New Hampshire Primary, the momentum was temporarily halted, as Hillary won with just over 39% of the vote and 9 delegates. Obama finished 2nd with 36.5% and also got 9 delegates.
On January 19th, 2008, the Nevada Caucuses were held. Although Clinton won the state with about 51%, Obama had won more delegates.
Seven days later, in the South Carolina Primary, Obama won by a margin of about 30% and got 33 delegates. Edwards withdrew a few days later.
On February 5th, 2008, also known as the first Super Tuesday, Obama won 13 primaries/caucuses and 847 delegates to Clinton’s 10 primaries/caucuses and 834 delegates. The race was still neck-and-neck at this point.
By the time February 19th, 2008 came calling, Obama expanded his delegate lead to a 101-delegate margin, by a tally of 1,323.5-1,222.5. It was a sign that the momentum was breaking towards him in a somewhat more decisive way.
On March 4th, 2008, aka Super Tuesday II, both Obama and Clinton got 187 delegates apiece. Obama won the Texas Caucuses and the Vermont Primary, while Clinton won Ohio, Rhode Island, and the Texas Primaries. The delegate lead was Obama +97, by a 1,506.5-1,409.5 tally.
When April dawned, while Clinton had a long shot chance, it was pretty much Obama’s nomination for the taking.
On April 22nd, 2008, Clinton’s big win in Pennsylvania made the race closer.
However, on May 6th, 2008, Obama’s big win in North Carolina pretty much ran the clock out on Clinton’s chances of coming back and sewing up the nomination for himself.
Clinching The Nomination
On June 3rd, 2008, the primaries were over, and Barack Obama became the Democratic Party’s presumptive Presidential nominee.
Four days later, Hillary Clinton, who was his main challenger, conceded the race. She would later go on run for President again in 2016.
At the DNC, the final tally (including Superdelegates) was 3,188.5 Obama-1,010.5 Clinton.
The Pick of Joe Biden as his VP
On August 23rd, 2008, just a couple of days before the 2008 DNC convention in Denver, Obama selected Delaware Senator and fellow candidate Joe Biden (D) to be his VP. The pick was widely praised and offered an experienced hand alongside him.
The Road To Victory
By the end of the DNC, his path to the general included one last obstacle: Arizona Senator John McCain (R) and his VP pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R).
There were three debates and a vice presidential one.
- 09.26.2008: University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS. [Moderator: Jim Lehrer, PBS]
- 10.02.2008 (VP): Washington University, St. Louis, MO. [Moderator: Gwen Ifill, PBS]
- 10.07.2008: Belmont University, Nashville, TN. [Moderator: Tom Brokaw, NBC]
- 10.15.2008: Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY. [Moderator: Bob Schieffer, CBS]
On September 24th, 2008, just before the first debate in Oxford, Mississippi, McCain made a decision that turned out to irreparably end his chances of winning the election. The decision was to briefly suspend his campaign to help craft a bailout package for the financial industry that was defeated in the House. He later reversed his suspension decision, further wounding his campaign.
On to the debates: The first debate was seen as either a draw or an Obama win, the 2nd was seen as a clear Obama win, and the third was seen as yet another Obama win. The VP debate was seen as a Biden victory.
The Victory: 2008
The people went out and voted on November 4th, 2008 (or earlier if you went the absentee or early ballot route), and they chose Obama/Biden to lead the nation for at least the next four years by a 365-173 [+192 ECVs] Electoral College vote margin and a 69,498,516-59,948,323 [+9,550,193 PV] popular vote margin. The vote for Obama/Biden and Democrats down the ballot was a vote that I proudly casted for the first time ever in my life, considering that I just turned 18 a couple of months earlier. I have remained that way ever since in both the primaries and the general.
At 11PM EST/10PM CST/8PM PST, he was officially declared the President-Elect of the United States, becoming the 44th President of our nation. McCain conceded roughly a half-hour later.
At 12 Midnight EST/11PM CST/9PM PST, Obama made his victory speech in Grant Park, Chicago.
The Transition
The next day, on November 5th, 2008, he completed his transition team to guide him through the process.
On November 16th, 2008, he resigned from his Senate Seat. The decision to appoint a successor to his seat was a controversial one that ended up getting the then-Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) thrown into the slammer by attempting to sell bribes to fill the vacancy of the seat. Roland Burris (D) was appointed to serve the remainder of his term out. In 2010, the next time the seat came up for election, Congressman Mark Kirk (R) defeated Alexi Giannoulias (D) for both the remainder of Obama/Burris’s term and the full 6-year term.
On January 15th, 2009, five days before the inauguration, Biden resigned from his Senate seat. His seat was filled by Ted Kaufman (D) until a special election was held in 2010. The moment that Christine O’Donnell (R) won the nomination for her party was the moment that Chris Coons (D) won it.
The key appointments that the President made for his cabinet were as follows:
- Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff.
- Valerie Jarrett, David Axelrod, and Pete Rouse as Senior Advisors to the President.
- Robert Gibbs as Press Secretary.
- Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
- Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture.
- Ray LaHood (R) as Secretary of Transportation.
- Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor.
- Timothy Geithner as Secretary of the Treasury.
- Ken Salazar as Secretary of the Interior.
- Steven Chu as Secretary of Energy.
- Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.
- Robert Gates (R) as Secretary of Defense.
- Eric Holder as Attorney General.
- Janet Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security.
- Leon Panetta as Director of the CIA.
- Susan Rice as US Ambassador to the United Nations.
The Obama/Biden 1st Term
On January 20th, 2009, Obama and Biden officially began their first term in office with an inauguration ceremony.
His 1st inauguration speech largely focused on national unity and responsibility.
A couple of days later, on January 22nd, 2009, he signed an executive order calling for Guantánamo Bay’s closure within a year and prohibiting torture and waterboarding during interrogations. As of this writing, Gitmo’s still open (although that one’s mostly on the Congress).
On January 29th, 2009, he signed his first bill that came onto his desk into law, called the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The bill promoted fair pay, irrespective of age, race, or sex.
On February 9th, 2009, he traveled to Elkhart, Indiana to discuss the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, aka the Stimulus. On that same night, he returned to the White House and gave his first nationally televised press conference since becoming officially sworn in as President.
On February 19th, 2009, his first trip abroad as President was to head up north to the Canadian national capital in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
On February 24th, 2009, President Obama spoke at a joint session to members of Congress. Attorney General Eric Holder was the event’s Designated Survivor. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) was given the rebuttal duties for the GOP, in which he was heavily pilloried for.
On March 30th, 2009, he announces new plans and restructuring ultimatums for General Motors (GM) and Chrysler.
On April 9th, 2009, he held the first-ever White House Passover Seder. It has become an annual tradition ever since.
On April 29th, 2009, the first 100 days were completed.
On May 9th, 2009, he spoke at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Wanda Sykes was the special guest host.
On May 17th, 2009, he delivered the commencement address at Notre Dame, which came with some controversy due to his positions on abortion and stem cell research.
On May 26th, 2009, he announced that Sonia Sotomayor was picked to fill the vacancy of retiring justice David Souter, a Bush 41 appointee. Sotomayor was confirmed in August of that year.
On May 31st, 2009, he condemned the killing of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller. This was the day I became aligned with the pro-choice side of the abortion debate.
On June 4th, 2009, he made a speech in Cairo, Egypt that called for improved mutual understanding and relations between the Islamic World and the West.
On June 26th, 2009, he signed the Cash For Clunkers bill.
On July 22nd, 2009, he gave a primetime news conference on the concerns of the proposed health care bill and the wrongful arrest and the police actions during the arrest of Henry Louis Gates.
Eight days later, on July 30th, 2009, he held a beer summit between him, his vice president Biden, Gates, and the arresting officer Sgt. James Crowley.
On August 29th, 2009, he gave the eulogy at the funeral of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D).
On September 8th, 2009, he made a speech on education that was heard in schools and elsewhere in this country. It drew complaints about “indoctrination” from conservatives.
The next night, on September 9th, 2009, in his joint speech to Congress, he announced his plan for health care reform. Energy Secretary Steven Chu was the event’s Designated Survivor. Louisiana Congressman Charles Boustany (R) was the official rebuttal giver. The speech was also known for the “you lie” outburst from South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson (R).
On October 9th, 2009, President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
On October 28th, 2009, he signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law. Around this time, I was becoming more supportive of LGBTQ rights and marriage equality.
On January 27th, 2010, President Obama held his first State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress. Newly elected Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) was the rebuttal giver. Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan was chosen as the event’s Designated Survivor. The key themes were criticism of the SCOTUS’s heinous Citizens United v. FEC ruling in which Justice Alito mouthed off the words “not true”, job creation, health care reform, childhood obesity, repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and immigration reform.
On March 23rd, 2010, he signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) into law that was narrowly passed in the House a couple of days earlier. The bill and its effects was one of the main culprits of the massive wipeout of the Dems in the 2010 elections. The bill was heavily opposed by conservatives, who misleadingly claimed that the law would lead to “death panels.” It was later upheld in 2012 in NFIB v. Sebelius by a 5-4 ruling. Nowadays, a lot of its provisions are popular.
On April 8th, 2010, he, along with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, signed the New START treaty.
On April 23rd, 2010, he strongly criticized Arizona’s anti-immigrant SB1070 law at a naturalization ceremony for active duty military forces.
On May 10th, 2010, he announced that Solicitor General Elena Kagan was picked to fill the vacancy of retiring justice John Paul Stevens, a Ford appointee. Kagan was confirmed in August of that year.
On July 21st, 2010, he signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law.
On August 13th, 2010, in a speech at a White House Iftar dinner gathering, he came out in support of Park51 (aka “Ground Zero Mosque”). Park51 has since been built and opened with different plans, but not before an Islamophobic scare campaign to demonize the plan occurred.
On December 22nd, 2010, he signed the bill that repealed the unjust Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law. Its repeal meant that openly gay, bisexual, and lesbian people could serve in the military.
On January 2nd, 2011, he signed the Zadroga Act to provide financial aid and health monitoring to the first responders of the 9/11 attacks.
On January 25th, 2011, President Obama held his second State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress. Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan (R) was the official rebuttal giver in English. Florida Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R) was the official rebuttal giver in Spanish. Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann delivered an unofficial rebuttal for the Tea Party Express. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar was chosen as the event’s Designated Survivor. The key themes were Social Security reform, ban on congressional earmarks, elimination of oil company tax breaks, and replacing No Child Left Behind. This State of the Union is where a new tradition of seating Congress members together irrespective of party affiliation began.
On February 24th, 2011, he announced the his DOJ will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act.
On April 4th, 2011, he announce he was running for re-election in a bid to retain the office.
On April 27th, 2011, to mollify concerns from the paranoid racist Birther fringe who falsely claim that President wasn’t born in the US led by Orly Taitz, Joe Arpaio, and Donald Trump, he released his long-form birth certificate. The racist and fact-free Birther conspiracies continued on, but more have come to terms with accepting that he was born in America.
On May 2nd, 2011, he announced to the nation and the world that terrorist mastermind and Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden was dead via the Navy SEAL Team Six’s killing of him. There was much celebration when this news was announced.
On May 29th, 2011, he visited Joplin, Missouri in the wake of the tornado destruction that town suffered.
On August 2nd, 2011, he signed legislation to raise the federal debt ceiling, avoid default, and create a bipartisan "super committee".
On August 18th, 2011, he called for the stepping down of Bashar al-Assad as Syria’s leader.
On October 21st, 2011, he announced that the Iraq War would be over and nearly all troops would leave. It later led to the rise of ISIS, which will be chronicled more in his 2nd term.
On January 4th, 2012, he appointed Richard Cordray to head up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
On January 18th, 2012, he rejected a proposed extension of the Keystone Pipeline.
On January 24th, 2012, President Obama held his third State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels (R) was the official rebuttal giver in English. 2012 Presidential candidate Herman Cain (R) gave the unofficial rebuttal for Tea Party Express. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was chosen as the event’s Designated Survivor. The key themes were income inequality, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, and Israel.
On March 23rd, 2012, he weighed in on the shooting death of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman with this: “My main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. You know, if I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon.” The death of Martin and the not guilty verdict of Zimmerman in July 2013 laid the foundations of #BlackLivesMatter to form, which will be chronicled more in his 2nd term.
On April 4th, 2012, in an effort to combat insider trading, he signed the STOCK Act into law.
On May 6th, 2012, in a big sign of things to come, Vice President Biden announce his support for marriage equality, becoming the first sitting VP to do so.
A few days later, on May 9th, 2012, President Obama became the first sitting President to announce support for marriage equality. He supported marriage equality back in the 1990s while a State Senator, then modified it to a pro-civil unions/anti-marriage equality position while running for US Senate and the Presidency. In making this announcement, he reverted to his pro-marriage equality position. The decision proved to be beneficial.
On June 15th 2012, he signed an executive order ending deportation of young undocumented immigrants.
On June 28th, 2012, he got some good news: In a 5-4 ruling on Obamacare in NFIB v. Sebelius, the law (or at least its popular provisions) was here to stay.
On September 6th, 2012, both Obama and Biden spoke the 2012 DNC Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina in a bid to win re-election.
On October 31st, 2012, he toured with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to view the damage caused by Superstorm/Hurricane Sandy.
On November 6th, 2012, Obama and Biden won re-election for a 2nd term, which is chronicled in more detail in The Victory Redux: 2012 section.
On November 16th, 2012, he and congressional leaders met to discuss the fiscal cliff fiasco.
On December 14th, 2012, he addressed to the nation in a somber way in the wake of the Sandy Hook Shooting. This speech was seen as the turning point in which he put more of his energy fighting against gun violence.
On December 19th, 2012, he was selected as Time’s Person Of The Year.
On January 20th, 2013, at 12PM EST/11AM CST/9AM PST, his first term officially ended.
The first term closed with a lot of successes to this ticket’s record.
The Road To Victory Redux
By the end of the DNC, his re-election path included one last obstacle: Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan (R).
There were three debates and a vice presidential one.
- 10.03.2012: University of Denver, Denver, CO. [Moderator: Jim Lehrer, PBS]
- 10.11.2012 (VP): Centre College, Danville, VA. [Moderator: Martha Raddatz, ABC]
- 10.16.2012: Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY. [Moderator: Candy Crowley, CNN]
- 10.22.2012: Lynn University, Boca Raton FL. [Moderator: Bob Schieffer, CBS]
On to the debates: The first presidential debate was seen as a Romney win. The VP Debate was seen as a Biden victory. The 2nd presidential debate was seen a close Obama win, but not without some controversy over Crowley’s job. That debate also featured the “binders full of women” remark by Romney. The 3rd presidential debate was seen as a more resolute Obama win.
Romney’s 47% tape revealed that he was callous to those with lower incomes than him and it sunk him. Ironically, that percent is what he got for the popular vote nationwide.
The Victory Redux: 2012
The people went out and voted on November 6th, 2012 (or earlier if you went the absentee or early ballot route), and they chose Obama/Biden to lead the nation again for the final time by a 332-206 [+126 ECVs] Electoral College vote margin and a 65,915,795-60,933,504 [+4,982,291 PV] popular vote margin.
At just past 11:15PM EST/10:15PM CST/8:15PM PST, when Ohio was called, he was officially declared the winner of the election.
At approximately 1AM EST/12 Midnight CST/10PM PST, Romney conceded.
At 1:37AM EST/12:37AM CST/10:37PM PST, Obama made his victory speech in Chicago.
The Obama/Biden 2nd Term
On January 20th, 2013, at 12PM EST/11AM CST/9AM PST, Obama and Biden officially began their second and final term in office. The next day, his 2nd and final inauguration was held.
His 2nd inauguration speech largely focused on domestic issues: LGBTQ rights, climate change, women’s rights activism, immigration reform, and gun safety.
On February 4th, 2013, he signed the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 into law.
On February 12th, 2013, President Obama held his fourth State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress. Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R) was the official rebuttal giver in both English and Spanish. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul (R) gave an unofficial rebuttal for the Tea Party crowd. Energy Secretary Steven Chu was chosen as the event’s Designated Survivor. He was previously chosen as one during the speech known for the “you lie” outburst in September 2009. The key themes were gun safety, income inequality, immigration, minimum wage, early childhood education, trade, and infrastructure rebuilding.
On March 1st, 2013, he signed the Sequestration act into law.
On March 7th, 2013, he signed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act into law.
On April 18th, 2013, he spoke at a prayer service honoring the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombing.
On June 21st, 2013, he nominated James Comey (R) as FBI director. The decision later proved to be a massive mistake, as his fateful letter that he announced on October 28th, 2016 likely played a big role in handing the election to Trump and costing Hillary a win.
On July 19th, 2013, six days after George Zimmerman was ruled not guilty in a court of law in the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin, President Obama mentioned the state of race relations, racial profiling, and “stand your ground” laws. His most famous (and starkly accurate) quote out of that speech was “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.”
On August 28th, 2013, on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, he spoke about racial equality, LGBTQ equality, women’s rights, and income inequality.
On October 17th, 2013, he signed HR2775 that ended both the GOP-caused government shutdown and the debt ceiling crisis.
On December 10th, 2013, he attended the funeral of deceased 1st post-Apartheid South African President Nelson Mandela.
On January 28th, 2014, President Obama held his fifth State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress. Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R) was the official rebuttal giver in English. Florida Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R) was the official rebuttal giver in Spanish. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul (R) and Utah Senator Mike Lee (R) gave unofficial rebuttals for the Tea Party crowd. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz was chosen as the event’s Designated Survivor. The key themes were minimum wage increases, health care reform, immigration reform, education, and moving off the warpath.
On February 12th, 2014, he signed an executive order increasing the minimum wage for federal contractors.
On March 6th, 2014, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Crimea, he announced financial sanctions for Russia.
On March 27th, 2014, he met with Pope Francis in the Vatican.
On April 11th, 2014, he appoints Sylvia Mathews Burwell to replace the outgoing Sebelius as the new HHS Secretary. The RFRA case Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby has been renamed to Burwell v. Hobby Lobby to reflect this change.
On July 21st, 2014, he signed Executive Order 13672, which granted workplace protections for LGBT federal contractors and employees.
Ten days later, on July 31st, 2014, he signed Executive Order 13763, which ensured that all Americans get fair pay and a safe workplace.
On August 1st, 2014, he signed the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, in which repealed the law banning the unlocking of cell phones.
On August 7th, 2014, two days before the killing of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the President announced that he was authorizing targeted airstrikes against ISIS.
On August 14th, 2014, the President stated that there was “no excuse” for violence against police or against protesters in Ferguson.
On August 18th, 2014, he once again weighed in on Ferguson, and demanded that the freedom of the press and assembly be protected.
On November 8th, 2014, just a few days after yet another large GOP wave, he announced the appointment of Loretta Lynch to head the DOJ to replace the outgoing Holder.
On November 20th, 2014, just a few days before the Darren Wilson grand jury verdict was handed down, he spoke on national television announcing his plans on immigration executive actions.
A few days later, on the night that Officer Wilson was handed a no true bill for the shooting death of Brown, he was making a statement about the verdict in a futile attempt to keep protests peaceful in Ferguson and elsewhere in America. While that was going on, images of riots and unrest were shown split-screen with the President’s speech across the news networks both local and cable (especially in the St. Louis DMA).
On December 17th, 2014, he announced the he was going to end the long-overdue Cuban Embargo and restart the process of normalizing relations with Cuba.
On January 7th, 2015, he gave remarks in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks.
On January 20th, 2015, President Obama held his sixth State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress. Newly elected Iowa Senator Joni Ernst (R) was the official rebuttal giver in English. Newly elected Florida Congressman Carlos Curbelo (R) was the official rebuttal giver in Spanish. Florida Congressman Curt Clawson (R), Texas Senator and 2016 GOP candidate Ted Cruz (R), and Kentucky Senator and 2016 GOP candidate Rand Paul (R) all had unofficial rebuttals. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx was chosen as the event’s Designated Survivor. The key themes were expanding community college access, LGBTQ rights, fight against ISIS, and paid sick leave. Many Congresscritters held pencils up in solidarity with the victims of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack and for the freedom of the press. His 2015 SOTU speech featured the words "lesbian", "gay", "bisexual", and "transgender" for the first time in such an address.
On February 12th, 2015, in an effort to combat suicide by military veterans, he signed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act.
On March 7th, 2015, he made a speech on race relations the main focus at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama for the 50th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery Marches.
On March 31st, 2015, the President signs the Memorandum of Disapproval to SJR 8.
On May 19th, 2015, he signed the National Blue Alert Act into law. The bill provides nationwide alerts against threats to officers. Several states already have such systems into law or are considering such systems.
On June 25th, 2015, SCOTUS ruled 6-3 in favor of Obamacare subsidies in King v. Burwell, further cementing Obamacare’s place into the public conscience.
On June 26th, 2015, the same day SCOTUS handed down a 5-4 decision legalizing marriage equality nationwide in Obergefell v. Hodges, the President delivered the eulogy of the nine African-Americans killed in the shooting at Mother Emanuel AME in Charleston, South Carolina by white supremacist Dylann Roof. In the eulogy, he sung Amazing Grace eloquently.
On July 14th, 2015, President Obama announced support for the Iranian nuclear deal.
On August 3rd, 2015, he announced the Clean Power Plan to cut carbon pollution by 32% in 2030.
On August 6th, 2015, on the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, he made a speech in a vigorous defense of voting rights.
On September 23rd 2015, the President welcomed Pope Francis into the White House. The next day, he spoke at a joint session to Congress.
On October 9th, 2015, he met the families of the victims of the Umpqua Community College shooting in Roseburg, Oregon.
On November 2nd, 2015, he delivered a speech on criminal justice reform at Rutgers University’s Newark campus.
On November 6th, 2015, his State Department announced the rejection of the Keystone Pipeline.
On November 13th, 2015, on the same day as the Paris attacks, he commented on the attacks.
On November 30th, 2015, President Obama went to Paris to participate in the UN Climate Change Conference that ended up getting the Paris Agreement ratified and signed.
On December 6th, 2015, in the wake of the San Bernardino shooting, he held an Oval Office address on the issue of terrorism and how to combat terrorism.
On January 5th, 2016, he announced an executive order on gun control measures such as closing the loophole that allowed people to buy guns online or at gun shows without background checks.
Two days later, on January 7th, 2016, he participated in a CNN town hall moderated by Anderson Cooper called Guns In America, held at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
On January 12th, 2016, President Obama held his seventh and final State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (R) was the official rebuttal giver in English. Florida Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart (R) was the official rebuttal giver in Spanish. Senate Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch (R) and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson (D) were chosen as the event’s Designated Survivors. The key themes were economy, education, strengthening Social Security and Medicare, Wall Street recklessness, climate change, stamping out the Ebola epidemic, and support for the TPP.
Just a few days after the 2016 SOTU speech, on January 16th, 2016, the President signs an executive order lifting some of the sanctions on Iran.
On January 27th, 2016, he met with Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (I/D) in the Oval Office.
On February 10th, 2016, in the building that the President got his political career started at in Springfield, Illinois, he addressed the Illinois General Assembly to make an attempt to end the gridlock in Washington and elsewhere in the country. He also touched on the state’s budget crisis in a general manner.
On February 23rd, 2016, he announced that he was going to close Gitmo for good. As of this writing, it is still open due to Congressional inaction on the issue.
On February 24th, 2016, in a step widely seen as a tool to promote the TPP, he signed HR 644 into law.
On March 16th, 2016, to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a Reagan appointee, he picked Merrick Garland to fill the slot. Due to the obstructionist stonewalling by the GOP-controlled Senate and the outcome of the Presidential election, Garland won’t be chosen to fill the seat, leaving Trump to pick the replacement for Scalia and keeping the SCOTUS composition at 4.5-4.5 or 4-4-1.
On March 20th, 2016, the President and his family traveled to Havana, Cuba, making him the first President since Calvin Coolidge (R) to travel to that nation.
On March 22nd, 2016, President Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro attended an exhibition baseball game between the AL East Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban National Baseball Team. On the same day, the President also addressed the Brussels bombings.
On April 22nd, 2016, he and British Prime Minister David Cameron held a joint press conference in a bid to get the UK’s citizens to vote Remain in the UK European Union Membership Referendum on June 23rd.
On May 4th, 2016, he visited Flint, Michigan to address the ongoing Flint water crisis.
On May 13th, 2016, his Justice Department and Department of Education issued a directive allowing transgender students to use facilities (restrooms, locker rooms, etc.) matching their gender identity in public schools across the nation.
On May 15th, 2016, he delivered a commencement speech called “Ignorance Is Not A Virtue” at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
On May 27th, 2016, for the first time since the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, he became the first sitting President to visit the city. In the speech, he called for the end of nuclear weapons.
On June 9th, 2016, just a couple days after Hillary Clinton (D) clinched the Democratic Party’s nomination over Sanders, Obama endorsed her for President. He met with Bernie Sanders, the challenger to Clinton.
On June 16th, 2016, he traveled to Orlando, Florida to meet with the survivors and their families of the survivors of the Pulse Nightclub shooting.
On June 24th, 2016, one day after the Leave side won the Brexit EU referendum, he announced that Stonewall Inn will be declared the first national monument dedicated to LGBTQ history in the USA.
On July 7th and 8th, 2016, the President devoted portions of his speeches in Warsaw, Poland to the police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile and the killings of the 5 Dallas police officers protecting the protesters in the wake of the Sterling and Castile shootings.
On July 14th, 2016, about a week after the shootings of Sterling and Castile and the 5 Dallas police officers, President Obama held an ABC/ESPN town hall on race and police. The event was criticized by #BlackLivesMatter supporters and Eric Garner’s daughter, especially on the account that Garner wasn’t allowed to speak.
On July 25th, 2016, his wife Michelle spoke at the 2016 DNC convention, and most well-known for this line: “When they go low, we go high.”
On July 27th, 2016, both he and his ticketmate Biden spoke at the DNC, and made an excellent case for their legacy and for Hillary’s bid to win the Presidency.
On August 23rd, 2016, the President toured Baton Rouge to survey the damage and to comfort the victims.
On September 24th, 2016, he presided over the dedication of the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in DC.
On September 28th, 2016, he was subjected to his first-ever veto override, as both the House and Senate overrode his veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act.
On November 8th and 9th, 2016, in the Presidential election to replace the termed-out Barack Obama (D), Donald Trump (R) won the election to become our 45th President of this nation, and the GOP kept control of the House and the Senate. Early on November 9th, after the election was called for Trump, he called to congratulate the soon-to-be next leader of the free world on winning the election.
On November 10th, 2016, he had a meeting between him and the next President to discuss the transfer of power.
On November 11th, 2016, the President made the wise decision to drop his plans to push through the TPP.
On November 26th, 2016, he spoke on the death of Cuban tyrant Fidel Castro.
On December 14th, 2016, he signed the 21st Century Cures Act into law to expand funding for medical research.
On December 23rd, 2016, the UN Security Council passed UNSC Resolution 2334 concerning Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories in a 14-0-1 vote. The lone abstaining nation was the United States. That abstention decision has proven to be controversial among conservatives and the Israeli lobby.
On January 10th, 2017, he gave an eloquent yet somber farewell address at McCormick Park in Chicago, Illinois.
On January 12th, 2017, he ended the long-controversial “Wet Foot, Dry Foot” policy regarding Cuban immigrants/refugees entering the USA.
On January 17th, 2017, he commuted Chelsea Manning’s sentence to be released in May 2017 instead of 2045.
On January 20th, 2017, at 12PM EST/11AM CST/9AM PST, his second and final term will officially end.
Conclusion/Post-Presidency
Their eight years in office were a drastic improvement over the Bush/Cheney years on most fronts. A lot of progress has been made on several important issues over these years, most notably on LGBTQ rights (with marriage equality, nondiscrimination laws, and transgender rights as most prominent), criminal justice reform, health care, the economy in most sectors (although some sectors are stagnating or even getting worse), minimum wage increases, reproductive justice, the recovery of the auto industry, and immigration reform.
I proudly voted for Obama/Biden both times they were on the ballot and won. He will go down as a Top 10 president by historians several years and decades down the road.
As for their successors to the Presidency, Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine lost to Donald Trump and Mike Pence in a 306-232 [+74 ECVs] Electoral College victory prior to faithless electors changing the calculus to a 304-227-7 [+77 ECVs] loss. They did, however, win the popular vote by a 65,844,954-62,979,879 [+2,865,075 PV] margin, which sadly doesn’t decide the Presidency. The election was the 5th time in history and 2nd in the last 16 years that the national popular vote winner differed from that of the Electoral College’s.
As their terms wrap up, Obama and Biden will be missed, as they were beacons of leadership in some not-so-stable times in our world.