OPINION| Mike Hardman: Obama Bashers Need To Fact Check

In a Presidents Day column, I rated the five worst presidents of all-time. The minute I sent it, I knew the President Barrack Obama bashing would start. Actually, it took about a minute on Facebook for the first one to appear and they lasted over a day.With the current political climate, that was hardly a surprise.

President Trump and his administration launched a major assault on anything related to Obama.While his presidency is complicated, Obama’s accomplishments were numerous as pointed out in a Washington Monthly piece.

After George W. Bush’s eight years in office, the country was in a very rough place, dealing with a recession and two wars, which were never declared.Obama was able to turn the country downturn around with the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009. In six years, there were 15.5 million new jobs and the country set a record with 73-straight months of private sector job growth.

That progress is continuing because of the policies of the Obama administration.Signing the Affordable Care Act in 2010 was a historic accomplishment and something other presidents were unable to get done. By 2015, the number of uninsured people had dropped to 9-percent after being at 16-percent in 2010.

More than 20 million people gained insurance. Obama obtained Wall Street Reform by signing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010. The bill also created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which uncovered abuses in lending and financial services.

Internationally, Obama gave the order to eliminate Osama bin Laden, ended combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and ended Iran’s nuclear program.

Obama was also a leader with gay rights, supporting the federal recognition of same-sex marriage and repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell."

Clearly, Obama took the country in the right direction and history will show that to be true. Obama bashers you are on the clock.

Mike Hardman is the digital managing editor at WBSM. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.