Between Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama, President Obama was the most successful both on domestic and international fronts. Healthcare is one of the most important metrics of success. Obama oversaw the biggest reforms in healthcare by presiding over the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA expanded Medicare eligibility, which significantly reduced the number of uninsured people (Lambrew, 2018). Similarly, President Clinton wanted to expand coverage, which he hoped to do by introducing the Health Security Act. However, this law failed due to many factors, including infeasibility, lack of Congress support, vague budgetary projections, and Hillary Clinton’s involvement in it (Lambrew, 2018). In spite of his intentions of bringing healthcare reforms, Clinton’s plan was purely executed, leading to its failure. In contrast, President Bush vetoed the State Children’s Health Insurance Program that would have provided healthcare coverage to children from low-income families. Despite the fact that this program would have helped marginalized children, Bush opposed it on the grounds that it would help families make money unfairly.
Aside from domestic affairs, President Obama was more successful than Presidents Bush and Clinton on the international front. Obama’s administration was strongly against military occupation. Upon his election, he began withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. Obama improved relations with Iran, thereby repairing the two countries’ thirty-year adversarial relationship (Freedman, 2018). In contrast, President Bush launched the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, making him the worst of the three presidents with regard to international relations. President Clinton launched a war on Iran, terming the country as a rogue state (Cristol, 2018). His administration imposed sanctions on the country, which further worsened the relationship between the two countries (Cristol, 2018). It is essential to note that even though Obama used combative tactics in the Middle East, he inherited the wars started by his predecessors; he did not start them.
References
Cristol, J. (2018). United States foreign policy in the Middle East after the Cold War. In Stivachtis, Y. A. (Ed.) Conflict and Diplomacy in the Middle East. E-International Relation, pp. 48-64.
Freedman, R. O. (2018). George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. In The Middle East and the United States (pp. 262-293). Routledge.
Lambrew, J. M. (2018). Getting ready for health reform 2020: What past presidential campaigns can teach us. Commonwealth Fund.