Barack Obama's mark in the sprint phase

(Baonghean) - Last week, public opinion witnessed a series of remarkable events such as the ceasefire in Syria coming into effect; the visit to the US by Myanmar's State Counselor; the record US military aid agreement for Israel; and the continued heated race for the White House. Notably, all of these events bear the mark of US President Barack Obama.

With not much time left in his final term, Mr. Obama's image in a series of important domestic and foreign events is portraying a unique black President in American history.

President Barack Obama speaks in support of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia on September 13. Source: AFP

Fierce internal affairs

Last week, while the American public was still buzzing about the health of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, President Obama surprised the public. Although he has publicly supported Mrs. Clinton for many months, this is the first time Mr. Obama personally stood up to run for the Democratic candidate.

Accordingly, on September 13, Mr. Obama gave a speech reaffirming his support for Mrs. Clinton, and at the same time presented a series of convincing arguments to voters. He said that Mrs. Clinton had been treated harshly, while she had demonstrated transparency in providing documents on her health and finances as well as publicizing her personal tax records. These are things that Republican candidate Donald Trump refused to do.

In addition to strong criticisms such as saying that candidate Donald Trump always makes controversial statements and is not qualified to be President, Mr. Obama in his recent speech also focused on another major weakness of the Republican candidate, which is his indifference to the working class. Not only that, Mr. Obama also cleverly cited figures showing that the income of the American people is increasing, to prove the wrong view of candidate Donald Trump that the US economy is declining.

According to observers, at the present time, Mr. Obama could be the deciding factor in 50% of the Democratic Party's victory or defeat. Mrs. Clinton's poor health is making voters and the Democratic Party's leadership restless.

This is also the reason why billionaire Trump's approval rating has always been higher in recent weeks. Mrs. Clinton herself has lost some of her competitiveness compared to her opponent. Therefore, Mr. Obama's decision to run for election is not only to support Mrs. Clinton personally but also to save points for his Democratic Party.

Flexible foreign affairs

Decisive and sharp in his domestic presidential campaign, last week Mr. Obama also did not forget to make new strides in his relationships with important partners.

US President Barack Obama (right) meets with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China on September 5. Source: Ria Novosti

In the context of the US-Israel alliance facing many cracks, the agreement on a record military aid package worth 38 billion USD just signed on September 14 has surprised the public. The surprise is because the negotiations on this aid package have lasted for nearly 10 months with the Israeli side hesitant. The leaders of the two sides have too many disagreements on the Iran nuclear deal as well as the Middle East peace process.

In addition, Tel Aviv wanted to delay and hoped that the agreement would have more favorable terms for Israel when the US has a new administration later this year. Therefore, convincing Israel to "nod" to this 10-year agreement can be said to be an impressive success of Mr. Obama. With this agreement, the US will be completely assured of its presence in the Middle East geopolitical region for a long time to come.

Not only did he make the US-Israel relationship “smooth sailing”, Mr. Obama also recently had a significant contribution to the ceasefire in Syria that was recently reached between Russia and the US. The lightning meeting between the two Russian and US leaders on the sidelines of the G20 Summit held in Hangzhou, China on September 5th to discuss Syria showed the efforts of both sides.

Particularly from the US side, there is information that the Obama administration proactively proposed this meeting. Afterwards, during the negotiations between the two foreign ministers, the attitudes of both Russia and the US had significant adjustments and finally reached a historic agreement that the ceasefire in Syria will take effect from September 12.

In addition to handling the Middle East hot issues flexibly, President Barack Obama last week also took another important foreign policy step in the US. That was welcoming Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi on a historic visit to the US. A series of key issues were raised during this trip, such as the US's support for Myanmar's democratic process or efforts to cooperate and promote trade between the two sides.

Observers say that the US easing of economic sanctions, removing many Myanmar figures and companies from the blacklist, and supporting Myanmar in resolving ethnic tensions will all be carefully evaluated. These are clear manifestations of the Obama administration's pivot to Asia policy.

President Obama receives Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi during his historic visit to the US. Photo: Internet

In parallel with rolling out the red carpet for Myanmar, President Obama also proved to be a world-class diplomat in his relations with another Asian country, the Philippines. The public has certainly witnessed a series of rude criticisms of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte recently aimed at Mr. Obama.

However, in response, people saw a polite American leader with the statement that the US-Philippines relationship will not be affected by such small matters. Public opinion assessed that this was Mr. Obama's tactical persistence in the face of the Philippine President's temperament and erratic reactions. The ultimate goal was to ensure stability and maintain relations with America's leading important ally in Asia.

With a series of recent performances, it is perhaps not an exaggeration to say that President Obama is shining brightly in the final stages of his term. Not only has he affirmed the image of a prominent black President in the history of the United States, but he has also created momentum for Democratic candidates to move towards victory in the important election in November later this year.

Phuong Hoa