Perhaps I'm missing something here, but when did Republicans question the actual legitimacy of Obama's victories? They may have sought to minimize his political footprint, but that's what the opposition does in politics.
Frankly, I'm getting sick of hearing that Republicans obstructed Obama from Day 1. Dems took control of the White House, the Congress, and the Senate in January 2009. If Republicans were able to do so much damage while they held no power, then that's on the Dems. It seems the only thing Dems accomplished in those two years was to piss America off, and the proof in the pudding is that Republicans won a resounding victory in 2010. You can canonize Obama all you want, but the fact is that he oversaw every federal and state body of government go from Dem-controlled to Republican-controlled over his eight years.
And as far as 2016 goes...if the Democratic Party is such the inevitable colossus that this board makes it out to be, then maybe, just MAYBE they would've won the NPV by more than two points and the PV/EV split wouldn't have been an issue.
Fact check: False!
The Republicans actually planned to obstruct Obama BEFORE he was even inaugurated.
Republicans could've planned anything they wanted...they had no power. How did a party that controlled the White House and 59% of both houses of Congress manage to let Republicans "obstruct" them?
By making the mistake of treating them as decent human beings and legitimate partners in government?
