Who was a better president: Obama or Clinton?

[Fuzzy Bear]

Obama.  A better President and a better man.

I voted for Bill Clinton twice.  He wasn't a terrible President, and his impeachment was, IMO, ridiculous and indefensible, all things considered.  But the man, to be blunt, just couldn't keep it in his pants.  Even Trump hasn't philandered as President (although his chickens are coming home to roost in this area).   

[Inmate Trump]

Obama.

[Progressive Pessimist]

I probably like Clinton's Presidency more than most Democrats here but Obama easily wins in this comparison.

[TPIG]

As a man - Barack Obama

In terms of policy/direction of the nation - Bill Clinton. He signed welfare reform, declared the era of big government to be over, signed DOMA, and presided over a booming economy.

[Senator Spark]

I don't really care for either one,  but I feel that Obama was a better president

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Clinton signed NAFTA, gutted welfare, repealed Glass Steagall, signed the Telecommunications Act, would have partially privatized Social Security if it wasn't for the Lewinsky scandal, ect. He was absolute garbage.

Obama launched secret TPP negotiations, enacted Cato Institute health reform, gave government domestic spying and torture free passes, let the bankers get away with gross mortgage fraud, wrecked Libya, starved and bombed Yemen, etc. He seems like a charismatic guy with a far less problematic personal life than Clinton, but that doesn't change all the horrible things he did.

[Sadader]

Clinton signed NAFTA, gutted welfare, repealed Glass Steagall, signed the Telecommunications Act, would have partially privatized Social Security if it wasn't for the Lewinsky scandal, ect. He was absolute garbage.

Obama launched secret TPP negotiations, enacted Cato Institute health reform, gave government domestic spying and torture free passes, let the bankers get away with gross mortgage fraud, wrecked Libya, starved and bombed Yemen, etc. He seems like a charismatic guy with a far less problematic personal life than Clinton, but that doesn't change all the horrible things he did.

TPP was great, healthcare reform was good, spying was bad (but every President has and will go for it (not an excuse, but still)) (and he prohibited torture with an EO in 2009 lmao, even thougn that can easily be overturned by Trump), “prosecuting the bankers” is a ridiculously stupid meme (literally no case), Libya was a tough call but arguably the correct foreign policy move (obviously one of the best parts of the administration was foreign policy) in a difficult situation (the war eould have been significantly prolonged without US help), Yemen was bad but that’s got more to do with Saudi Arabian policy which hasn’t got a huge amount to do with any individual Presidents.

[uti2]

whereas Obama took an active role in Hillary’s 2016 campaign but still failed to deliver it.

That's Hillary's fault. She lost because key Obama voters wanted nothing to do with her.

She lost because Obama appointed James Comey instead of Lisa Monaco to be the FBI Director.

All else being equal, Bill's administration did more work to help Gore more than Obama's did to help Hillary.

What critical election year decision that may have impacted the 2000 election did Bill make? Maybe Elian Gonzalez, but that didn't damage Gore's campaign anywhere near the level that Comey damaged Hillary's.

Obviously if you're a progressive - from a policy perspective - you'd prefer Obama over Clinton's centrism though.

[uti2]

Clinton signed NAFTA, gutted welfare, repealed Glass Steagall, signed the Telecommunications Act, would have partially privatized Social Security if it wasn't for the Lewinsky scandal, ect. He was absolute garbage.

Obama launched secret TPP negotiations, enacted Cato Institute health reform, gave government domestic spying and torture free passes, let the bankers get away with gross mortgage fraud, wrecked Libya, starved and bombed Yemen, etc. He seems like a charismatic guy with a far less problematic personal life than Clinton, but that doesn't change all the horrible things he did.

TPP was great, healthcare reform was good, spying was bad (but every President has and will go for it (not an excuse, but still)) (and he prohibited torture with an EO in 2009 lmao, even thougn that can easily be overturned by Trump), “prosecuting the bankers” is a ridiculously stupid meme (literally no case), Libya was a tough call but arguably the correct foreign policy move (obviously one of the best parts of the administration was foreign policy) in a difficult situation (the war eould have been significantly prolonged without US help), Yemen was bad but that’s got more to do with Saudi Arabian policy which hasn’t got a huge amount to do with any individual Presidents.

He could've appointed a special counsel to "find crimes" and gotten a bunch of convictions on process charges w.r.t to the Financial Industry. Prosecuting torturers would've served as a deterrent to future would be torturers, they wouldn't have been rewarded in the form of being appointed to lead the CIA.

The mandate for the special counsel would've been pretty simple: Investigate coordination between Investment Banks and Mortgage Lenders during the Housing boom and bust and prosecute any crimes arising from therein. Did Mortgage Lenders knowingly lend to people whom they knew couldn't afford their mortgages and did Investment Banks knowingly assist Mortgage Lenders in their efforts?

[Orser67]

I think Obama is the best president we've had since FDR. I think Clinton is an average president.

Perhaps the most important policy difference, and a reason why Obama can be regarded as a "better President" is that his attempt at Health Care reform actually succeeded. However, a big part of the reason why this was the case was that the Democratic congressional majority in 2008 was less based upon southern Conservative democrats and was more progressive.

That may be true, but there were still plenty of conservadems in office prior to the 2010 and 2014 mid-term elections; conservatives like Mark Pryor, Blanche Lincoln, and Ben Nelson all voted for the ACA. Clinton deserves a fair amount of his criticism for the process in which he introduced Hillarycare; it was a White House measure that he thrust on Congress. Obama learned from Clinton's mistakes and let the House and Senate each put together their own bills, then intervened at key points to ensure the bill's passage.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Obama.

Most eloquent of speakers.