Transformational President

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Prof. Kubik "Debating the Issues" April 7, 2013 Is Obama a Transformational President? What does it take to be considered a transformational president? Is it turning the economy around after a recession or is it changing the way Americans live their daily lives? In the history of the United States of America, there have been 44 presidents, including Barack Obama. Out of those 44, most Americans consider only a couple to be truly transformational. So before the question of whether Obama is transformational or not, Americans must understand what it takes to become transformational. Every president who takes office wants to be remembered as one who changed America and transformed people's lives. However, before Obama even stepped into the…show more content…
David Greenburg argues that, "presidents are never able to meet" the expectations of transformative change (Canon 221). These expectations are created during campaigns in order for a candidate to win over voters, however many always disappoint. Greenburg believes the expectations and promises made by presidents in our time are far too complicated to reach and to summarize it: no president, from now on, will ever have the chance to be transformational. On the contrary, Richard Lowry and Ramesh Ponnuru view Obama as transformational, but in a negative way. They say, "Obama is the first president to explicitly reject the notion of American exceptionalism--the idea that the United States is historically unique and has always differed from other democracies (Canon 222)." In their view, Obama has transformed America in the wrong way, although he is transformational is this sense. In order to solve the question of transformation, two arguements (one in favor of positive transformation and the other against transformation) are given to portray Obama's…show more content…
All the policies and action Obama is taking, will make him transformational in the end. He understands if we keep ignoring problems in our society and keep letting them become bigger, then America could essential be in the worst shape it has ever been. We need major reform and we need it now. Obama is attempting to not make everyone equal, but build up the middle class again. Americans are growing further and further apart when it comes to money, and this is contributing to the major problems like: unemployment, education, and inequality. Obama wants to become a model citizen for our country, so we may follow his lead and better our country through

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