Was Barack Obama's election the greatest historical event in your lifetime?

Not even a better president than Taft.

Taft, you old dog.

ThomasFlynn wrote: »

Remember that iconic moment back in november 2008 when Barack Obama got elected? The first African American president ever to hold office?

There's a good chance Obama will go down as American greatest ever president by the time he leaves office in 2016, not that I agree with that, but just the sense of how popular he is within the world and the media that many can't help but call him that probably I suspect.

Would you regard Obama's election the most historic event you've witnessed in yourlife time? For those old enough, was it greater than the fall of the Berlin wall or man on the moon?

Are you an American with a massive hard-on for the democratics? I wasn't alive for either the fall of the Wall or the moon landing but I can guarantee you both were a 100 times better than Obama being elected. The only reason people in America talk about how significant it was that a non-white man was elected to the presidency is because America is a deeply troubled place where racism and sexism is rife. If a black person was elected to president or Taoiseach here it would not be such a massive deal.

Also, 9/11 is way more historically important than Obama's election was. And they are of the same vain as they are both political. 9/11 basically changed the way we go about security as a whole (especially America). It's also given rise to massive stereotyping and hatred of Arabs by the Americans, as well as an even deeper hatred for western cultural by radical Islamsits. Also, Obama will never be seen as the greatest president of all time. People like FDR and JFK were far better presidents than Obama ever will be.

Maybe if I was about five years old. Otherwise a lot of other more relevant stuff has happened.

Not even close to - band aid - 911 - chernobyl - the Berlin wall - DNA blueprint mapping

It was historical but there were way more important times.

He is not nearly the greatest president. He failed at many promises(although not having the congress majority didn't help) and lately he is being shady by bypassing congress a lot of the time. Sometimes it's bordering on illegal.
The latest 2 crisis that has hit him(the huge influx of illegal immigrants and the recent ISIS insurgency in Iraq) show that he is indecisive and a little weak, because he is still taking his sweet time to react to them properly.
I'm not so sure about his foreign policies. He failed to get better relations with Russia(In fact Russia are in a way stronger position in that relationship than they were before) and he has made the USA seem week. It'll take a long time before we see the true result of his foreign policies but i hope they do work - but i am dubious

That being said, i still rather him over McCain and Romney.

SEANoftheDEAD wrote: »

What was so great about 9/11?

I wouldn't class that as a great event.

It was historical though.

The Fall of the Berlin wall and the peace process in the North

Obama is a one trick pony

In no particular order: Berlin Wall, 9/11, Mary Robinson election (Iris focus on that one obviously), end of communism in Russia, Rwandan massacres, Bosnian War (Srebrenica in particular), more I can't recall right now.

But thanks to television, the Chilean Miners' rescue is something I'll remember as clearly as anything mentioned so far.

Optimalprimerib wrote: »

Tbh im not sure he made a great difference. Unless you were born in 2002, 9/11 wins this without a shadow of a doubt. Other huge events would be diana's death; for irish people, saipan; Pluto being demoted from being a planet; madeline mcanne; introduction of the Euro and depending on your age, the fall of the Berlin wall.

His election would still be on the list but really 9/11 and the implications that brought in terms of the wars, security increases and economic fallout cannot ever be surpassed.

the groutch wrote: »

That may be the dumbest sentence written in the history of the internet.

I was going through this thread wondering if anyone was going to comment on this!

Madeline McCann? Saipan? Pluto?

Very odd.

ThomasFlynn wrote: »

There's a good chance Obama will go down as American greatest ever president by the time he leaves office in 2016

Go down where? by who?

Skin colo(u?)r is not an achievement. If they voted in some crackhead from the ghettos of Detroit as Pres, would that make him the greatest ever by virtue of his skin? The Yes We Can thing has delivered nothing. Beyond fancy rhetoric he has done nothing for America.
But given the warmongering his predecessor Dubya got up to, maybe doing nothing is actually an achievement for a pres these days.
He has failed to unite a country that is becoming increasingly polarised on a left-right spectrum. He let Iraq go back to hell. The economy still struggles. Beyond the initial feelgood thing, it's been 6 years of underachieving. He'll be a lame duck for the remainder.
I don't care if the next guy is purple with pink spots but he better get America back on track.