Barack Obama’s legacy is being erased, says Rich Lowry, but his reputation will survive. Indeed,
the mythology surrounding his presidency will only grow in the years ahead. He is destined to be
“remembered – and revered – by his admirers as his generation’s JFK”. But not so much for what
he accomplished, as for what he stood for. A young, photogenic African-American man with
impeccably liberal values, he was a symbol of generational and cultural change. His election was a
genuine “milestone” in America’s history, and his two terms of office saw some big shifts in public
attitudes. “In the space of about seven years, [Obama] went from some definitions of marriage to
lighting up the White House in rainbow colours to celebrate the Supreme Court’s marriage decision.”
If and when America’s liberals return to the political ascendancy, Obama will be remembered as
the architect of the progressive revival. And in the meantime, he’s not going anywhere. He’ll remain
in the public eye as a memoirist, lecturer and talk-show guest, “representing enlightened liberalism
in exile, stoking nostalgia and yearning among his supporters”. Obama’s substantive legacy may be
crumbling, but his “apotheosis” has only just begun.
