Portrayal of an Exiting President

     Every President of the United States of America has experienced some type of rise, and or fall, during his tenure in the White House. Many President-elects inherit what their predecessor left them, whether the country is in high spirits or struggling as a whole. In the latter situation, the media is typically quick to be judgmental on how the new Commander in Chief handles the circumstances and criticize his ability to enact change or improvement. This was the case with President Barack Obama. Obama took office with the remnants of George W. Bush's economic recession, as well as the unsettled dispute in the Middle East. Naturally, Obama took, and continues to take, a lot of heat over his handling of the Middle East, and foreign policy in general. It seems, however, that he was able to improve the state of our economy somewhat. 
     Halfway through his second and final term in office, President Obama faces a period approaching in his presidency known as the "lame duck" period. At the end of their second terms, presidents are portrayed by the media as useless and no longer engaged in their job. They spend their remainder making appointments and last minutes additions to legislation to prolong their impact. It seems as though Obama has been receiving a greater amount of criticism for his recent acts compared to, say, George W Bush. I am not sure if that is just because I am more engaged in news and politics than I was in 2006 through 2008, but I really think the media is being heavily critical of the President. One big stab news outlets took at him recently was his decision to take vacations and play golf while tensions were escalating with the terror group ISIS. I noticed that FoxNews, in particular, continually mentioned how frequently Obama takes vacations and were frustrated with his lack of responsibility. Ironically, George W. Bush took almost 300 more vacation days than Obama at the same point in their presidencies (PolitiFact). 
     Obama also has the lowest approval rating of his presidency currently, mainly due to his handling of foreign policy and the fiasco with the Affordable Care Act. Most recently, Obama's administration shot itself in the foot by posting a video of the President saluting U.S. Marines with a cup in is hand. Many Americans, especially conservatives, are furious and media outlets are running the video constantly. If Barack Obama wants to be remembered as a great president, he has some work to do before he punches the clock in January of 2017. At this rate, the media will continue to rip him apart, portraying him as just another declining president on his way out. 

Ferguson, MO

     The United States has a long history of racial divide, as does much of the world. In February of 2012, an African American teenager, Treyvon Martin, was shot to death by a police officer. The officer, George Zimmerman, claimed to have been attacked by Martin, and had no choice but to defend himself. American citizens, especially those of the African American race, were outraged, deeming the act by the officer as racially motivated. Similarly, on August 9, 2014, Michael Brown, a young African American man, was shot to death by a police officer after robbing a convenience store. The Ferguson Police Department also claimed that Brown resisted and attacked the officer who used lethal force to defend himself from Brown. On a much larger scale, the African American community responded to Brown's death by protesting, looting, and raiding the city of Ferguson, of which many reporters described it as a "war zone" for more than a week.
     In both of these incidents, I feel as though the media egged on the sentiments of citizens who adamantly believed that the victims were wronged, sensationalizing the situations in order to get more viewers. This was especially harmful in the Ferguson riots, I believe. These programs would have biased citizens and "experts" come on the air and talk about how wrong the law enforcers were to use deadly force to defend themselves. In the trial of State of Florida v. George Zimmerman, the jury found Zimmerman not guilty on all counts, so his defense must have been justified. While a verdict has not yet been reached on the killing of Brown, time will only tell as more facts and witness reports arise.
     Another problem with these incidents, related to media, is the image being drawn of African Americans vs. Law Enforcement. Talking heads like Rev. Al Sharpton, during the Ferguson riots, rallied the community together against the police department. Instead of encouraging the African American community to obey the law and be good citizens, he demands "justice to be served" for the man who committed a crime and, allegedly, attacked an officer. People like this are sending the wrong messages to our youth, as they are only increasing the racial divide that has seem to reappear. Americans, as a whole, would be much better off by simply obeying laws, doing good deeds for your fellow man, and not cause conflict without justification. Then, hopefully, the media would cease to continue to hurt the progress our nation has made.