Obama has been photographed repeatedly

[Skybird]

Then I precise myself and must disgaree with his mere intentions already, on many issues. Especially foreign politics. He welcomed in the Muslim brotherhood in Egypt, and messed up relations with Israel. He endlessly babbled of red lines in syria, and then did nothing. He balked about Ukraine and Russia, but had no horse in this race either. He did his share to add to the confusion and mess the aftermath of the so-called Arab Spring was. The strategic interest of the US in the ME has been even more damaged by him after the damage already done by Bush, its due to his indifference as well that the region now is more instabile. He brokered the Iranians a deal that gives them what they want: time to complete their task.

The internal American policies are not so much my interest. The Americans have to sort them out themselves. And it seems Trump already has distributed sledge hammers for that task. Not much will remain from the Obama era.

So Obama hardly has left a lasting, not to mention a positive footprint in history, I think. The echo already is fading. He was sympathetic - but unimportant at best.

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Then I precise myself and must disgaree with his mere intentions already, on many issues. Especially foreign politics. He welcomed in the Muslim brotherhood in Egypt, and messed up relations with Israel. He endlessly babbled of red lines in syria, and then did nothing. He balked about Ukraine and Russia, but had no horse in this race either. He did his share to add to the confusion and mess the aftermath of the so-called Arab Spring was. The strategic interest of the US in the ME has been even more damage by him after the damaged already done by Bush, its due to his indifference as well that the region now is more instabile. He brokered the Iranians a deal that gives them what they want: time to complete their task.

The internal American policies are not so much my interest. The Americans have to sort them out themselves. And it seems Trump already has distributed sledge hammers for that task. Not much will remain from the Obama era.

So Obama hardly has left a lasting, not to mention a positive footprint in history, I think. The echo already is fading. He was sympathetic - but unimportant at best.

That's fair, I agree with most of that. You and I see differently on the importance of some of these actions and the intentions of the nations involved in them so I won't go any further than that, but you're right, he hasn't left a big footprint in history, but equally it wasn't a wholeheartedly negative footprint, and sandwiched in-between Bush Jr and Trump as he was...I feel that future historians may look back on him with a more sympathetic light than he currently do.