As we enter into the first days of 2017, we also enter into the end of the Obama Administration.  President Obama, following in the footsteps of President George Washington, has scheduled a farewell address next week in Chicago to say goodbye before he leaves office.  During the presidential election, Obama campaigned for Hillary Clinton by talking about the achievements of his presidency.  Democrats think we can expect much of the same in his farewell address.

While President Obama has made mistakes during his administration, he has also had many achievements.  During his presidency, 15 million new jobs were created, we have higher incomes, the unemployment rate has dropped, there is less poverty, more clean energy and less foreign oil, gas prices have dropped, same-sex marriage was legalized, and there are fewer troops overseas.  Obama also created 22 new National Parks, equaling 548 million acres under US protection.  He placed more land under national protection than any president since President Theodore Roosevelt, who founded the National Parks and reserved 290 million acres.

Another outcome of Obama’s presidency was the Affordable Care Act.  Since its adoption, Obamacare has been a source of controversy for the whole country.  On Wednesday, Obama met with Democrats on Capitol Hill to urge resistance against efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.  Many noted that his speech was very nostalgic.  In his speech, Obama noted that while the Republicans want to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, they don’t want to get rid of all the reforms.  Since the Republicans have yet to come up with a replacement plan, Democrats are hoping to reform the Act instead.

Most presidents take the time between the Election and Inauguration Day, but Obama seems to be continuing his work.  Inauguration Day is January 20.  On this day, we will say goodbye to President Obama and swear in President Elect Trump.