Editorial: Obama struggled to achieve ideals during time in office

How will outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama be evaluated in U.S. history? What legacy he has left to the world? It is difficult to answer these questions.

Obama has sought to realize his ideals. He was elected president after calling for "change" in the United States, which had been plagued by wars and an economic slump. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for advocating "a world without nuclear weapons" in a speech in Prague.

He endeavored to end U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and showed his readiness to reconcile with the Arab and Islamic worlds in his speech in Cairo. His election campaign slogan, "Yes We Can," swirled through the United States.

True, the United States changed under Obama's leadership. The previous government of George W. Bush was under the influence of neo-conservatives who attempted to use U.S. influence to change the world, and ask various countries whether they are U.S. allies or enemies in its fight against terror.

President Obama has never shown such arrogance. In his book, "The Irony of American History," political scientist Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971), whom Obama respects, warned the United States, which has become a superpower after World War II, that strong countries tend to be blind to hatred and egotism and take the wrong path.

The Obama administration has been extremely reluctant to intervene in any new armed conflicts not only because the United States cannot afford to do so but also because it was wary of unexpected pitfalls a superpower can encounter in exercising its influence. Obama has been an undoubtedly unique U.S. president in terms of humility.

The Obama government overcame the economic crisis triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers and pulled U.S. troops out of Iraq in his first four-year term. In his farewell speech, President Obama cited the restoration of U.S. diplomatic relations with Cuba and agreement on Iran's nuclear development as his diplomatic achievements in his second and last term.

Obama urged the public to protect their democratic society, saying, "Our democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted." He concluded his speech by asking Americans to believe "Yes We Can," based on that spirit of "change" that began eight years ago.

On the diplomatic front, Obama's visit to the atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima in May last year is notable. Little progress has been made on nuclear disarmament and North Korea has repeatedly conducted nuclear tests as if to provoke the international community. Under the circumstances, Obama may have believed that the only action he was able to take as a step toward a world without nuclear weapons was to visit Hiroshima to overcome a U.S. taboo. Even so, it was a significant and courageous visit.

At the same time, the idealistic president faced a gap between his ideals and reality and lacked the ability to get things done, while continuing to struggle to break political deadlocks.

A typical example is his administration's response to the Syrian crisis. In his farewell address, Obama made no mention of Syria while proudly describing the killing of Osama bin Laden and anti-terror measures his government has taken during his eight years in office.

When it became obvious in 2013 that the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons, the Obama administration threatened to launch an airstrike against Syria but abandoned it after being persuaded by Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the time, Obama clearly said, "America is not the world's policeman."

However, it was clear that Syrian government forces and the Islamic State (IS) militant group would get a boost if the United States, which had wielded strong influence on the Middle East since the 1991 Persian Gulf War, became weak-kneed. The about-face by the Obama administration, which described Syria's use of chemical weapons as a red line, was quite grave.

One cannot help but wonder whether the United States has done its best to settle the civil war in Syria, which has caused an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. The political responsibility of Obama for the Syrian crisis will likely continue to be called into question.

Moreover, the year after Obama abandoned conducting an air raid on Syria, Russia occupied the Crimea Peninsula, the IS declared that it had founded an independent country, and China's moves to reclaim part of the South China Sea moved into high gear. China, Russia and North Korea have apparently made little of the Obama government despite the "rebalancing" policy in which the administration attaches more importance to Asia.

Obama is the first black president of the United States in history. He apparently wanted to draw a new picture of his country. He thought the United States should not be the world's only policeman but that relevant countries should shoulder appropriate levels of burden to achieve world peace. He also aimed to achieve an equal international society in which major countries should not be arrogant and smaller countries will not have to curry favor with big nations. Such an ideal is not wrong.

However, it takes a long time to build an ideal society. Obama underestimated the role that the United States should play in the international community and drew too small a picture of the country. In contrast, President-elect Donald Trump has apparently drawn too large a portrait of the United States. As such, the international community now sees a double image of the United States.

Obama, who has been free from scandals during his eight years in office, has been a calm and intellectual president. On the other hand, he has stuck to his own style and tended to avoid dealing with difficult issues. Even though he was restrained by the Republican Party that has a majority in Congress, there is no denying that Obama lacked power to break political deadlocks as president.

Just as then Democratic President Bill Clinton unsuccessfully sought to achieve peace in the Middle East in 2000 through summit talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Obama should have shown his determination to dedicate himself to the international community even if he were to be blamed for failing to achieve his goal.

There were certainly "changes" Obama could have achieved in taking such action.