The Black Ballot – Episode 13: The First “Worst” President
To put it simply, George W. Bush was not very well liked. By the time he left office he was talked about as one of the worst Presidents in history. From the Iraq war to failed policies, his record wasn’t great but compared to his Republican President predecessors he did make solid attempts to help the black community more than he did hurt them. Bush was known for compassionate conservatism (opposite of Ronald Reagan) and would appoint several black republicans to his cabinet, who today would be seen as very moderate. The Iraq War, 9/11, Katrina and a crashing economy tanked his approval ratings and he was not very well liked so when Barack Obama came around talking about “HOPE” and “CHANGE” — America was more than ready. When Barack Obama announced he was running for President no one took him seriously, including black folks. He was relatively unknown and no one thought a black man had a real chance getting in the White House. Most political and public support was behind Hillary Clinton until the primaries started showing that actually he did have a chance and then the momentum began to take off. Still, a large portion of America was not happy with a Black man running and racism showed it’s face. The right attempted to add diversity to their ticket when John McCain made Sarah Palin his VP but after several interview mishaps that choice began to back fire quickly. Obama won the election realizing a dream African American’s at the time never thought was possible. But the day after he won reality set in as America’s economy was in a downward spiral and as President Elect he was tasked with forming his team to save the country literally on Day One.
