A Transitional President

For the last six years, as friends of mine complained that President Obama has been ineffective and a centrist, I've been responding that these are the good old days. That is, we will look back at Obama the way some look back on FDR or I look back at the 1960s.

Obama has been a transitional President, helping to mold massive shifts in our national reality. We recovered from a Great Recession. Health care for everyone has been established as a human right. Gays have achieved something close to full rights. We elected an African-American President twice. We pulled our military back from massive vigilante invasions. Latinos have stepped forward. We no longer have to pretend that Robert E. Lee was a nice old dude who treated his slaves well and fought brilliant campaigns he inexplicably lost. Lee's flag is descending.
 
In our history we've had only a handful of good Presidents. In this lifetime we may not see the like of Obama for some time.