Why Obama mattered

When I reflect on Barack Obama's term as President of the United States, the word that comes to mind is monumental.

I grew up as an American-born Sri Lankan in the United States. My Sri Lankan family was used to not seeing people like ourselves on television, in positions of power or in offices of government in the U.S. White faces dominated these places, and for many years, few were able to break through. Growing up, I remember learning about the Founding Fathers of the United States: George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin to name a few. They were the proud creators of the United States who we were taught to admire. Yet these fathers looked nothing like my own father, born and raised in Sri Lanka and brown-skinned like me. Over two hundred years had passed and 43 presidents had been selected that looked like those Founding Fathers, yet none of them looked anything like me.

Not excluded

President Obama's election to office was the first time many people of colour in the U.S. could finally feel that they were no excluded from the highest office in the country because of the colour of their skin. After years of racism, segregation, exclusion, discrimination and oppression, people of colour (the term used to describe minority races and cultures) finally felt their voice counted, and they can be represented in the ultimate arena of American government.

The social impact of having an African American citizen elected to President gave the African American community an unfathomable sense of hope and achievement. It was evident in the tearful yet smiling faces of audience members during President Obama's first inauguration. Many who had been the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of former slaves brought forcibly from Africa described how their elders never thought the day would come when an African American person would be able to take office and lead the country. Washington D.C. burst at the seams as thousands came to witness the first African American man to be sworn into office.

Change

When President Obama was inaugurated in January 2009, he inherited a country that was in the depths of recession. Many of Obama's dissenters still try to blame him for the slowed economy in his first years in office. But the economy had been crushed by years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Citizens who had been pushed by risky home loans were losing homes they could not afford and many people were being laid off from work at an alarming rate.

President Obama was able to turn the country's course and as of his last week of office, unemployment is well under half of what it was when he began. Most of the troops abroad have been able to come home again. He was able to create a new programme to allow more people to access healthcare in the U.S. While not perfect, it has helped more people to access preventative and long-term care and may have even brought down the rate of abortions in the country as more women have access to free birth control. As a clinical psychologist, I see directly how expanded government healthcare for the poor and disabled have helped many get help who would otherwise by debilitated by their mental illness.

Besides the economic and legislative changes President Obama successfully made, he brought a sense of finesse and grace to the White House that the previous administration lacked. He referred to members of the press not by their first names or nicknames, but as “Mr.” or “Ms.” The themes of his speeches were positive and inspiring even in the face of conflict, danger and tragedy. He spoke firmly, but with respect to his opponents and welcomed the new president-elect to the White House despite a very contentious election. President Obama was able to offer avenues of peace and renewal with long-standing enemies of the U.S. While many pugnacious critics decried President Obama for reaching out to Cuba and Iran after many years of sanctions, he reached out to seek solutions rather than more threats and posturing.

President Obama's family was an admirable example of a typical American family that just happened to also live at the White House. He was a model father to Sasha and Malia, who had the difficult job of growing up under the extreme spotlight of the White House. He acknowledged the challenges imposed on them many times in speeches, both in seriousness and jest. He welcomed his wife Michelle's mother to the home to help raise his daughters, mirroring many of the multigenerational households in the U.S. The candid pictures of him and Michelle Obama in affectionate moments were a testament to their lifetime partnership, even under the stress of being the President of the United States.

Approachable

Both President Obama and Michelle Obama gave the appearance of being approachable, hip and humorous. Mrs. Obama was not afraid to get up and dance with schoolchildren to encourage them to exercise and eat healthy. She could joke and participate in skits with talk show hosts. President Obama was able to crack jokes and poke fun at himself in front of the press. He was also a good sport when it came to political satire. In a popular comedy skit show Key and Peele, President Obama is portrayed with his normal calm, collected demeanour by comedian Jordan Peele. What is assumed to be his repressed, angry side is embodied by Luther, his Anger Translator portrayed by partner comedian Keegan-Michael Key. Rather than expressing indignation to the comedic pair for their colourful portrayal of the president's repressed anger during challenging situations in office, he embraced it.

He actually invited Key to the Annual White House Correspondents’ Association's dinner where Key, as the character Luther accompanies the President to help the press interpret how the President really feels about them. Luther is eventually is interrupted by the President himself who takes his anger into his own hands. Luther has to comically hold back the President and stop him before he goes too far. This unexpected skit showed a humorous side of President Obama that no other President had expressed in quite the same way.

The future president has a very high bar set for being the personable, approachable president that Barack Obama was. I am glad to have been able to witness Obama's presidency and look forward to seeing future presidents of colour and maybe even a female president in America's future.