Obama’s valedictory warning of democracy’s decline

WHEN President Barack Obama steps down after serving 8 years as US President, he will leave an exceptional legacy. In his own words: the US was able to “reverse a great recession, reboot [their] auto industry, unleash the longest stretch of job creation in [US] history… open up a new chapter with the Cuban people, shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons program without firing a shot, take out the mastermind of 9-11...win marriage equality, and secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million [Americans].”

Clearly, President Obama is among the world’s most charismatic leaders in modern times.

Columnists and thought leaders from all political spectrums have written (and are still writing) much about the decency, integrity, competence, optimism, and humanity he brought to the White House.

Yet, even with such widespread popularity, Obama faced formidable blockades created by his political opponents, such as the birther movement that questioned his citizenship or Republican lawmakers’ refusal to conduct hearings on the confirmation of his nominee for a vacant Supreme Court post.

Obama came into power when the US, one of modern history’s vibrant democracies, was already being weakened by internecine partisan warfare. Ultimately, politics and politicking heavily constrained what was possible during his term. In a 2014 speech, he said Republicans had filibustered up to 500 bills, blocking important reforms even before he became president.

Perhaps his most notable message for us looking up to the US is this: America’s democracy is threatened whenever it is taken for granted, as he called on all Americans, regardless of party, to throw themselves into the task of rebuilding their democracy’s institutions.

He said, “When voting rates in America are some of the lowest among advanced democracies, we should be making it easier, not harder to vote… When trust in our institutions is low, we should reduce the corrosive influence of money in our politics, and insist on the principles of transparency and ethics in public service…When Congress is dysfunctional, we should draw our districts to encourage politicians to cater to common sense and not rigid extremes.”

Obama’s cautionary tale should always remind us that even for a powerful nation with the world’s biggest and most innovative economy, politics can trump economics.