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00:00Why did we choose to visit D.C. on the snowiest day of the year?
00:07My ears are about to freeze off.
00:13Lucky.
00:16Dear Tim and Moby, can you tell us about our 44th President, Barack Obama?
00:21From Zach.
00:22Sure, Zach.
00:25Barack Hussein Obama was elected President in 2008.
00:30It is a unique name, and it reflects his remarkable background.
00:34His mom was from Kansas, and his dad came from a small village in the East African nation
00:39of Kenya.
00:40They fit right in to the diverse culture of Hawaii, where Obama was born in 1961.
00:46To this day, he credits his home state with shaping his political views.
00:51Its open, tolerant culture can be seen in Obama's governing style.
00:56Throughout his career, he sought to forge compromises between opposing points of view.
01:01But he governed at a time of growing partisanship, fighting between political parties that gets
01:07in the way of getting stuff done.
01:11Obama first made a name for himself by speaking out against partisanship.
01:15He was a guest speaker at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, the big get-together
01:20where the party chooses its presidential candidate.
01:24Most people had never heard of Obama.
01:25He was a brand-new senator from Illinois.
01:28But he spoke stirringly of his vision for the nation.
01:33Political differences were starting to tear the country apart.
01:37Americans seemed to be splitting into increasingly hostile camps.
01:41In Washington, Republicans and Democrats could find almost no common ground.
01:47Obama reminded Americans that their shared values were far stronger than any divisions.
01:53Viewers were captivated by his energy and optimism.
01:57The wave of enthusiasm carried him to the Democratic Party's nomination for president
02:01in 2008.
02:04Running on the themes of hope and change, Obama outlined a bright vision for the country,
02:10and sharply contrasted himself with the sitting president, George W. Bush.
02:14Bush was waging a war in Iraq that many Americans had come to see as a mistake,
02:19and his administration was plagued by scandal after scandal.
02:24Obama promised a government that was more responsive to ordinary folks,
02:28and not so focused on war and anti-terror efforts.
02:32Most of all, he wanted to change the tone in Washington.
02:36He said he'd bring Republicans and Democrats together to get stuff done.
02:42But Obama won in a landslide, becoming the first African-American president,
02:47and the Democrats picked up majorities in both houses of Congress.
02:52That gave the party a solid mandate, the backing of the people, to fix America's problems.
02:59A financial panic earlier in the year had set off a worldwide recession, or economic
03:04slowdown.
03:05Jobless rates soared, and millions of people lost their homes.
03:10In response, Democrats pushed an economic relief plan through Congress.
03:15The stimulus cut taxes and pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy,
03:20and a loan to GM and Chrysler kept America's auto industry afloat.
03:25As things stabilized, Obama and his allies in Congress focused on social issues.
03:32They lifted the military's ban on LGBT service members,
03:37and strengthened laws to help women get equal pay at work.
03:41But the centerpiece of their efforts was health care reform.
03:46Millions of Americans couldn't afford medical insurance.
03:49That meant they often had to go without basic health care,
03:53and if they ever needed something serious, it could bankrupt them.
03:57Fixing this problem had long been a goal of the Democratic Party.
04:02So in 2010, Congress narrowly passed the Affordable Care Act, and Obama signed it into law.
04:09Though its passage was a huge victory, it also became a potent weapon against him.
04:15Republicans fiercely opposed what they called Obamacare.
04:19They argued that it was too expensive, and that they'd been shut out of the process.
04:24But mixed in with that criticism were a lot of false reports,
04:28like that the law would establish so-called death panels.
04:31And employees deciding who would and wouldn't get life-saving medicine.
04:37Some lies were aimed at Obama himself.
04:39Biased news stories implied that he wasn't an American citizen,
04:43that he was planning to revoke our constitutional rights,
04:47and that he was secretly a Muslim.
04:51Right, like that's something to be ashamed of in the first place.
04:53These fake stories had begun when Obama was running for president.
04:58They picked up steam during his first term, fueling the rise of the Tea Party.
05:02This was a new wing of the Republican Party.
05:05They wanted to cut government spending on health care and other social programs.
05:10Energized by Tea Party voters, Republicans took back the House of Representatives in 2010.
05:16Their stated mission?
05:17Repeal the Affordable Care Act, and do everything possible to oppose Obama.
05:22Denying him victories in Congress would hurt his chances for re-election.
05:28Despite this resistance, Obama achieved some major goals.
05:32He oversaw the mission to kill Osama bin Laden, the chief planner of the 9-11 terrorist attack.
05:38That same year, he ended the war in Iraq, and began reducing forces in Afghanistan.
05:44Through all the pressures of his first term, he never seemed to show any signs of stress.
05:49Others started calling him No-Drama Obama.
05:53He easily won his re-election bid in 2012.
05:58Unfortunately, Obama's relationship with Congress only grew more strained.
06:03Senate Republicans blocked his nomination for judges and other important posts.
06:09And each year, he tangled with the House over the federal budget.
06:12Within Congress, there was gridlock and inability to pass laws on the major problems of the day.
06:18Immigration, gun violence, climate change, all of these issues went unaddressed.
06:24So in his second term, Obama used the power of the presidency to act on his own.
06:31Well, like forging a deal with Iran to halt its nuclear weapons program, and protecting
06:37the children of undocumented immigrants from being deported.
06:41Meanwhile, Obama's steady economic leadership was bearing fruit.
06:45By the end of 2016, the stock market had tripled in value from when he took office.
06:50And unemployment sank as Americans returned to work.
06:54Plus, more people than ever could afford health insurance.
06:58Well, no, there's stuff to criticize, too.
07:04Obama extended the power of the presidency in some scary ways, like increasing the use
07:08of drones to kill suspected terrorists, and using federal agencies to spy on and pressure
07:15journalists.
07:17Even if you trusted Obama with these powers, what about the next president, and the one
07:21after that?
07:23He'd also been faulted for that no-drama style of his.
07:27Some say that if he'd been more confrontational, it might have helped the situation in the
07:31Middle East.
07:32Under his administration, war and unrest spread throughout the region.
07:37Millions of people fled their countries, becoming refugees.
07:41On the home front, a lot of Obama's supporters wish he'd taken a tougher stand with Congress.
07:46If he'd called them out for blocking his agenda, maybe he could have gotten more done.
07:51True, he was elected on the promise of easing partisanship, not joining in on the fight.
07:58But maybe Washington, and the rest of the country, wasn't ready for it.
08:02In 2016, Republicans kept their hold on Congress, and won the presidency as well.
08:08They're still committed to rolling back Obamacare, and other projects of his.
08:12That makes it difficult to judge Obama's legacy.
08:15I think people will remember his steady leadership through troubled times.
08:20He may not have changed the tone in Washington, but he set an example of civility, even with
08:24bitter opponents.
08:26Anyway, now I'm freezing and thirsty.
08:29Think we can go get some hot chocolate?
08:31Gee, thanks!