>>509483651Obama was the direct anthesis of Roosevelt. Even if people think FDR made the depression longer and perhaps worse (he didn't) nobody can deny that FDR restored public trust in institutions that had been shattered by the depression. Obama came into office seeking to fix a broken system he inherited, while Roosevelt created a new one and reform the institutions in a way which saved them. Roosevelt was the ultimate insider, which gave him latitude to carry our major reforms.
All in all, Obama was a failure. He failed to grasp the existential national emergency America was in and failed to prevent the entire system coming apart. In the end, he was almost as impotent and useless as Gorbachev was trying to save the Soviet system.
The drama of the United States in the 21st century means I do not think it can arrest the decline - just as the decline of the Soviet Union could not be stopped. The profound failures of the American system were put on full display with the financial crisis.