Introduction
President Obama and first lady Michelle leave the Capitol on Jan. 20, 2009, after his inauguration as the nation's first African-American president. Obama outlined an ambitious agenda in his inaugural address and quickly began reversing policies adopted by his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush. Within less than three weeks, he had signed into law a $787 billion stimulus package aimed at ending the worst recession since the Great Depression. (AFP/Getty Images/Tannen Maury)
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As Barack Obama nears the end of eight years in the White House, he has several major accomplishments to point to, but a longer list of unfinished initiatives and unrealized ambitions. Obama started strong in 2009 with a Democratic-controlled Congress that approved, in the face of Republican opposition, a much needed economic stimulus and later the intensely controversial Affordable Care Act. But he had fewer legislative victories after 2010, when Republicans won a majority in the House. Obama wound down the U.S. role in Afghanistan and Iraq even as the Islamic State posed new dangers to American interests in the region. The economy has improved, but many Americans are pessimistic about the future. And while Obama had hoped to bring Americans together, race relations remain tense and political polarization persists. In addition, some of Obama's important projects in such areas as immigration, climate change and trade are on hold in the courts or in Congress. His legacy may depend on the outcome of the bitterly divided presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
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