I vowed to myself that I would never get political during content creating simply because of how toxic the arena has become particularly in the US. However, since it is election season, I believe it is appropriate timing and just could not help myself as this will probably the last one.

To preface this article, I would like to start off by saying this election season has got to be one of the worst election cycles probably in recent memory. This is not breaking news. It is disgusting. This is a far far cry from the feeling the nation was at particularly amongst the millennial generation upon the election of then-Senator Barack Obama. I am sure the readers out there will choose to blame one side or another for the reasons for why this election has reared its ugly head. The ‘spinning’ has gotten out of hand. Both of the major parties and Presidential candidates are incredibly flawed. Both are scandal-ridden in their own right and more and more Americans feel uninspired about the electoral process. It is sad.

I remember that feeling of the election of 2008. It was an interesting time having being a University student and coming across the fact that the nation will appoint its first black president. It was also a scary time because as an economics major, 2008 will always stick out in my mind for how I and the millennial generation see the world politically and economically. 2008 was significant because it marked a turning point. The nation had been dragged into 2 wars; the threat of terrorism loomed; the financial markets were reeling and the United States seemed to be running out of money to counteract the recession’s effects. [Insert a BIG thank you to Wareen Buffet here]. Millions of Americans lost everything from their jobs to their homes and the entire workforce landscape changed and what is worse? We have an incompetent and useless Congress with historically low ratings who is more divided than ever. It is embarrassing in the eyes of the world.

The Congress situation has not changed. Surprise, surprise –they are still terrible. The nation’s stance economically got worse in 2009 before it began to improve. Some will attribute this to President Obama and his administration’s policies, while others like economists will point to more of the natural phase of the economic cycle.

This article will not defend nor bash the current administration’s policies but rather to focus on what we are about to lose beginning on the evening of November 8^th on a personal aspect.

1. Class. We are about to lose a President and a First Lady who ensured that the Office of the President would be held with the utmost class and dignity. The family conducted themselves with the greatest honesty, class and dignity. They made sure that every ethnicity celebrating their religious holidays would be granted well-wishes throughout the holiday season. They would be courteous to other nations and willing to adapt to other cultures when they would visit countries around the world. Nevermind the fact they dealt with an unruly Congress in which some members tried to de-legitimize his Presidency. They always kept their composure.
2. Knowledge. President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are scholars! They are students of history. Ivy League with a Harvard Law education to top it off, they took pride in understanding history and the lessons it has to teach us. In fact, many political figures President Obama had looked up to were Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln. I fear we will not see this again.
3. Intentions. Personally, there were many policies that I did not agree with. However, for some reason, I could not argue with the Obamas’ hearts and where their intentions were. For instance, the initiative to ensure Americans had the right to healthcare is an important right. The healthcare law of 2010 is definitely flawed, but bringing that fight to legislature in the first place head-on is an important right. No one should die because they cannot afford healthcare. Another instance is the First Lady’s initiative to ensure that young children develop proper eating habits throughout their personal lives and ensuring the nation’s educational system maintains those protocols to provide that platform.
4. Integrity. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ONE and we Americans will miss dearly. President Obama and the Obama Administration according to the National Review and several media outlets have been shocked about the lack of scandals the Obama Presidency has faced. Sure, some may cite a certain Secretary of State during his tenure claiming a scandal in Benghazi back in 2012. But in regards to the inner circle around President Obama or himself being involved in a scandal? Well there was never one. (i.e. think of the Iran-Contra scandal under the Reagan Presidency and the Lewinsky Scandal of the Clinton Administration). Scandal-free presidency is something will not see this election cycle.
5. Inspiration. Like many other voters in 2008, that feeling of turning the page, electing our first black president, electing someone who is knowledgeable and understanding of other ethnicities’ cultures. Let us not forget his orator skills. His speeches and the delivery of those speeches were at times – jaw dropping. As an aspiring future business leader, I would study the delivery of those speeches closely, and on replay to try and incorporate them into my own. They were incredibly powerful.

Make no mistake – President Obama and the Obama Presidency was not a perfect one by any means. There were many policies one could argue for and against, domestically or internationally. We have a long way to go as a nation – racially, politically and economically. From his own words, he even expressed regrets about not being able to completely unite the country and congressional divides.

As Obama’s Presidency winds down (a Presidency that began with unrealistic expectations) – his approval ratings continue to increase and is about to leave office alongside Ronald Reagan with one of the highest approval ratings of any US Presidents and with polling one of the highest approval averages throughout the duration of any Presidency.

This is a sign that Americans and even the world is coming to terms with the fact that the Obamas will greatly be missed. They held the office with class, honesty and dignity. I will miss feeling proud about my President as I travel around the world.

Whatever the results are beginning November 8^th will be an incredibly severe downgrade. Americans deserve much better than electing scandal-ridden, highly polarizing and highly unfavorable candidates who by the way happen to be one of the oldest Presidential candidates to ever run for office. We dropped the ball this year.

So to this I say, like many other Americans:

Thank you for serving as our President, Mr. Obama. You will be missed.