Barack Obama, My Leader
Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He went to Columbia University and Harvard Law School. He became a civil attorney and professor, teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School. From 1997 to 2004 Obama served in the Illinois State Senate and became the United States Senator from Illinois in 2005. Though, Obama gained international attention when he was the elected President of the United States in 2009. Being first coloured President of the “Free World” the news of this took the world by storm and was a very big deal because it was a sign of change as 20 years ago this would have never happened. What Obama has done to enhance the lives of others is one, he ended the 2008 Great Recession.
Before Obama went into office the American economy wasn’t doing too well, many people were out of jobs, and businesses were losing money. When Obama came into power he helped to set America back on track. Taking charge he set in an economic stimulus package which helped to grow the economy, by July 2009 the recession was over and the economy was back on track. He also reformed the American Healthcare System, since health care costs were the number 1 cause of bankruptcy in the US something needed to be done. He introduced the Affordable Care Act which reduced the number of expensive visits to emergency rooms, helping out many in the US. Lastly, he raised fuel efficiency standards for everything from power plants to cars, bettering the environment.
Obviously the leader any country especially the United States needs to be a not only a good one but a great one, what makes Barack Obama a great leader is his great leadership qualities. To name a few is his perseverance, his willingness to make hard decisions, and his desire for change for the better. Obama is a very perseverant man, this is the quality that brought his to his Presidency. He had to face a lot of criticism and racism from a lot of the white conservatives of the United States as he is a black liberal. Many people didn’t like him just for the reason he was black, and openly protested against his presidency, these people include groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
Though Obama ignored and persevered through the hate, setting on his eyes on the goal of becoming the president and only focusing on the positive support from his supporters. Secondly, Obama was a great leader because he was willing to make those hard decisions that come with being the President. When Obama came into power he had a war and an economic crisis on his hands.
There were many decisions to be made in order to come to a solution for these issues and they all rested on Obama. He ended up making the right decisions as he got the US out of the War in Iraq and got the Us out of their major recession. Lastly, his desire for change for the better is another one of his leadership qualities. When he got into power he wanted to make a difference and help those who lived in the US. He saw the issues in the country and made an effort to fix them. An example would be the Affordable Health Care Act he put in place to help people pay their hospital bills.
Obama has inspired me since he got into the oval office back in 2009. I was only 7 then and being the first black President of the United States was something that took the world by storm. It inspired me because it showed me that world is a changing place and anyone can be anything they want. He showed me that dreams can come true and goals are never too far out of reach no matter what anyone says. He also inspires me to stay happy, as even though he had the most stressful job in the world you always see him in a lot of photos.
Lastly, Obama inspires me to remember my family in everything I do. Obama was always very busy while he was the President but he always took the time to be with his family. He never went a day without seeing them and took them everywhere he went whenever he could. Some challenges Obama faced while in his Presidency that he had to overcome was one, racism. There was a huge population, mainly in the south, that didn’t want Obama as the President just because of his skin colour, not because of his politics.
How he overcame the hate that he received was that he embraced it. He focussed on those who supported him and those who hated him he ignored as he knew that it wasn’t their fault they were racist, but the mentality they were taught from a young age. Another challenge Obama faced was, American in a lot of financial ruin and it all being up to him to fix. Everything from America’s debt to crippling student loan debt was on the rise. He knew the American people needed these financial problems to be fixed, and if he didn’t start to work them out he would never get reelected. He and Congress needed to figure out a solution to create a better country and free the trillions of dollars in debt that laid on the country. It took time for their solutions they put in place to work but they did have a positive effect on the economy and the people of the US, Freeing many from debt and bring jobs to the jobless.
Lastly, when Obama was a teen he started to smoke weed because he felt he needed it to relieve the stress in his life. But he knew that it was illegal and a problem in his life so he made the effort to move away from doing it and bettering his life. What I can learn from Obama is to believe in my dreams, and express my feeling. Obama was the first African American President, something never even imaginable years before. He is proof that believing in your dreams and yourself can lead you anywhere you want to go. Also, Obama was never afraid to express himself to the world, if something wasn’t the way he felt it should be he told his opinion on it. He was never quite about something he was passionate about. I aspire to be like that, to express what I’m thinking whenever I can, to put my opinion and feelings into everything I do. Common qualities I share with Obama are a sense of humor,
