The morning of January 20, 2009 was one of the coldest days on record in Washington, DC. But this was nothing compared to the chill wind blowing through the American economy and body politic. The nation was facing economic challenges unseen since the Great Depression: Americans were losing their jobs at a frightening rate of 800,000 per month; the national unemployment rate had risen to 7.8 percent and would continue to climb until reaching its peak of 10.0 percent in October 2009.
For African Americans, the numbers were much grimmer: A jobless rate of 13.5 percent in January 2009 which would grow to 16.5 percent by the end of the year. And on top of this, tens of thousands of American families each month were losing their health insurance and their homes to foreclosure. The United States was still bogged down in the quagmire that was the Iraq War and young people by the thousands were being forced to defer or drop out of college because of lack of financial aid. And the average price of gas exceeded $4 per gallon.
It was against this backdrop that I watched from the inaugural platform as Barack Obama, surrounded by his radiant and beautiful wife, Michelle, and their two adorable daughters, rose to take the oath of office. After being sworn in as the nation’s 44th president of the United States, Obama reassured an anxious but hopeful nation, saying:
“Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met.”
Watching Barack Obama address the nation that day, spectators in attendance and viewers across the country and around the world understood they were witnessing a historic president, the first African American ever to hold the nation’s highest office.
But more than being a historic president, Barack Obama’s actions and leadership over the ensuing seven years would demonstrate that his would be a consequential presidency that changed America for the better.
His first and most pressing task was to rescue an economy on the brink of collapse. Working with the Democratic-controlled Congress, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed, which created 3.7 million jobs and saved the jobs of millions of teachers, firefighters, police officers and social service providers. The Recovery Act also cut taxes for working families, extended unemployment insurance, and expanded the Earned Income and Child Credit Tax Credits, which disproportionately benefit African American families.
Seven years later the verdict is in on the economic plan put in place by President Obama and the Democratic Congress. The Recovery Act ended the Great Recession, transformed the economy from one hemorrhaging jobs to one that has created more than 16 million new jobs over a record 71 consecutive months. The national unemployment rate has dipped under 5 percent for the first time since President Clinton left office, the deficit has been cut by 71 percent and the Dow Jones stock market index topped 18,000 in 2015, an increase of 177 percent over where it stood the day President Obama took office.
And, as an added benefit, the average price of gasoline has been reduced from more than $4.11 per gallon to $1.80, the lowest price since before the tragedy of September 11. The seven years of Obama also effected policy change in the areas of criminal justice reform, health and education, national security and foreign affairs.
President Obama also made history by appointing two women to the U.S. Supreme Court, including the first Hispanic American to serve on the Court. He appointed the first African American man and woman to serve as attorney general and the first woman to chair the Federal Reserve Board.
In the area of foreign affairs and national security, President Obama ended the Iraq War, assembled and led an international coalition to impose sanctions on Iran that were so crippling that it was forced to the negotiating table. That yielded the Iran Nuclear Agreement that prevents Iran from ever attaining a nuclear weapon. And of course, as the world knows, because of President Obama’s leadership, General Motors is alive and Osama Bin Laden is dead.
For seven years, President Barack Obama has represented our country with grace, integrity, honor, and distinction. He has provided consolation, hope, and healing in the face of unspeakable tragedies such as the massacre of innocent children at Sandy Hook, worshippers at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, spectators at the Boston Marathon, and mass shootings in Aurora, Colorado and Tuscon, Arizona. He expressed and symbolized our joy and pride in the progress made over the last half century – and the distance we still have to travel – when he marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge and addressed the multitude from the spot on the steps where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. shared his dream for America’s future.
So as President Obama serves the final year of his presidency, it is clear beyond doubt that he kept the promise he made to the nation seven years ago on that cold day in January when he said:
“Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. . . . But know this America: They will be met.”
They were more than just met; they were overcome under his leadership. And because of President Barack Obama, today the United States is stronger, more prosperous and better positioned than ever to win the future.
And that is what makes his one of the most consequential presidencies in American history.
Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat representing Houston in the U.S. House of Representatives, is a senior member of the House Committees on Homeland Security and the Judiciary. She is the Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
