What Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump — and Yes, Biden — Really Left Behind

Over the past 25 years, the legacy projects of five U.S. presidents—Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden—have been dressed up as progress. But beneath the PR, each administration left the working class poorer, democracy weaker, and corporate power stronger. This is not failure by accident — it’s failure by design.

Bill Clinton (1993–2001) built his legacy by abandoning labor and embracing neoliberalism. He slashed welfare under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, pushing millions into deep poverty (Abramovitz, 2006). He passed NAFTA, accelerating the offshoring of American manufacturing and devastating the Rust Belt (Scott, 2011). His so-called surpluses were won through austerity, exploding inequality, and Wall Street speculation — and that bubble burst as he left office. Clinton governed like Reagan’s heir, not FDR’s.

George W. Bush (2001–2009) didn’t just “get bad intel” — he and his administration lied the U.S. into a war in Iraq. The intelligence community, the UN, and international inspectors all reported that Iraq had no WMDs. Bush and Cheney cherry-picked lies to justify invasion (Risen, 2014). The result? Hundreds of thousands dead, trillions spent, and global instability still unfolding. Domestically, Bush gutted civil liberties, slashed taxes for the rich, botched Katrina, and left the economy in shambles.

Barack Obama (2009–2017) campaigned on hope, then governed on hedge fund logic. He bailed out Wall Street but let millions of homeowners drown. His Affordable Care Act cemented the power of private insurers and ditched the public option (Taibbi, 2010). His DOJ looked forward, not backward, as bankers skated and whistleblowers burned. Yes, he brought dignity back to the office—but his foreign policy expanded drone warfare, deported record numbers, and escalated surveillance. He neutralized the left while letting the right fester.

Donald Trump (2017–2021) governed like a corrupt CEO on a revenge bender. His tax cuts funneled billions to the wealthiest. His “America First” trade war tanked supply chains. His COVID-19 denialism killed hundreds of thousands. Trump’s only lasting legacy is a packed Supreme Court and a playbook for authoritarian grift (Gonsalves, 2020). He didn’t drain the swamp—he sold VIP passes to it.

Joe Biden (2021–2024) promised to “Build Back Better.” What we got instead was managed decline. The $15 minimum wage? Killed. Student debt forgiveness? Gutted. Voting rights? Abandoned. Police reform? Dead. His “Inflation Reduction Act” gave fossil fuel companies new drilling rights alongside clean energy tax credits (NYT, 2022). Foreign policy returned to Cold War dynamics, while domestically, the working class sank further under rent, inflation, and broken systems.

Even his withdrawal from Afghanistan—originally scheduled under Trump—was botched so badly it left allies behind and his approval ratings in freefall. His COVID response declared victory too early, leaving states to improvise disaster control. Despite early promise, Biden governed like a political custodian, not a reformer. When he dropped out of the 2024 race, the DNC installed Kamala Harris without a primary — a move that felt less like democracy and more like dynasty.

Conclusion

Clinton sold out labor. Bush lied us into war. Obama defanged the left. Trump lit the match. Biden tried to mop it up with a wet napkin. What links them all is the consolidation of corporate power, military empire, and elite rule. This isn’t about parties anymore. It’s about a bipartisan system designed to fail the many while protecting the few.

References

Abramovitz, M. (2006). Under Attack, Fighting Back: Women and Welfare in the U.S. Monthly Review Press.
Scott, R. E. (2011). The high price of ‘free’ trade: NAFTA’s failure has cost the United States jobs across every state. Economic Policy Institute. https://www.epi.org/publication/nafta_losses/
Risen, J. (2014). Pay Any Price: Greed, Power, and Endless War. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Taibbi, M. (2010, March 31). Obama’s Big Sellout. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/obamas-big-sellout-195629/
Gonsalves, G. (2020, April 3). COVID-19 and the American death cult. The Nation. https://www.thenation.com/article/society/covid-19-death-cult/
New York Times. (2022, Aug 16). The Inflation Reduction Act expands oil and gas drilling. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/16/climate/inflation-reduction-act-fossil-fuels.html

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