Agrégation anglais 2021. the obama presidency (2009-2017)

The election of the first African-American president raised enormous expectations. As a candidate, Barack Obama embodied and campaigned on the idea of “Hope” and “Change”. Most presidents usually fall short of their lofty campaign promises. Yet, because Obama’s promises were loftier than most, the gap between the campaign’s rhetoric and the drab reality of leading the US administration appeared more stark. Barack Obama came to power at a time when polarization within elected officials, the electorate and society at large was growing. Despite the balm of his rhetoric of unity and his efforts to appeal to Republicans, his presidency seemed to supercharge this dynamic. To a large portion of conservatives, he was an illegitimate dictator determined to destroy the American way of life and a weak commander in chief who surrendered US supremacy on the world stage. To many Democrats, he was the symbol of America’s forward stride in