Barack Quote by Cass Sunstein
“I think President Barack Obama has been an extraordinarily successful president, and that this period will record that with a bunch of exclamation points. But obviously not everybody thinks that.”
About This Quote
The speaker praises Obama’s presidency as highly successful, acknowledging that public opinion is divided.
In simple terms: Praise of Obama, acknowledging dissent
Key Takeaway
Success is subjective
Themes
politics
leadership
public opinion
polarization
evaluation
Mood
optimistic
critical
Type
opinion
political
When to use this quote
- political commentary
- historical analysis
- media critique
Key Concepts
presidential performance
media narrative
Practical Applications
- academic discussion
- public debate
Questions to Reflect On
- What metrics define a successful presidency?
- How does partisan bias shape historical assessments?
A Different Perspective
Some argue Obama's policies had mixed outcomes, challenging the notion of unqualified success.
![“I think what President [Barack] Obama has done is to chart a steady course. When I was there, the first four years we had a lot of cleanup to do. We inherited a lot of bad feelings from the [George W.] Bush administration, and much of what I spent my time doing was traveling around the world…” quote by Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/394/hillary-clinton-51_administration_i-think-what-president-barack-obama-has_792820.jpg)
![“I think, in fact, I think President [Barack] Obama could step up.” quote by John Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f2a/john-lewis-1310_barack_i-think-in-fact-i-think-president-barack_1924932.jpg)
![“I can't imagine that I would be asked that by the president-elect [Donald Trump], or then-president [Barack Obama]. But it's - I'm very clear. I voted for the change that put the Army Field Manual in place as a member of Congress. I understand that law very, very quickly and am also deeply aware…” quote by James Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/761/james-mattis-9515_army_i-can-t-imagine-that-i-would-be-asked-th_3990.jpg)
![“The president [Barack Obama] asked for a commitment of, I think, 100,000 jobs for veterans and military spouses over the next couple of years. And we announced during the tour last week that we have gotten more than 60,000 jobs, and we're well on our way to just crashing that goal out of the…” quote by Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/83d/michelle-obama-518_barack_the-president-barack-obama-asked-for-a-c_15651.jpg)
![“I think the president's [Barack Obama] position has been very clear on Syria. He wants more aggressive, he's put the Special Ops on the ground, in fact one of the Republican criticisms is he's got thousands of Americans there. We just don't call them troops on the ground, we don't admit to it. But…” quote by Juan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f9c/juan-williams-7909_aggressive_i-think-the-president-s-barack-obama-pos_17086.jpg)
![“It cannot be an American fight. And I think what the president [Barack Obama] has consistently said - which I agree with - is that we will support those who take the fight to ISIS. That is why we have troops in Iraq that are helping to train and build back up the Iraqi military, why we have…” quote by Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f1e/hillary-clinton-51_agree_it-cannot-be-an-american-fight-and-i-thi_19737.jpg)
![“It wasn't [Barack] Obama per se; it was the feeling on the ground; it was seeing an old black woman in a wheelchair being wheeled by her son waving a big American flag, and then seeing a guy with his baby in his arms saying, "I didn't want her to miss tonight! I wanted to be able to tell her!" And…” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/806/bill-ayers-1848_able_it-wasn-t-barack-obama-per-se-it-was-the_20409.jpg)
