Obama campaigned in 2008 as the man who could bridge the red/blue divide, and he meant it; he continued to reach out to the GOP years after it became clear that he could only make deals with them by using leverage. His administration was remarkably clean. His family life was beyond criticism, even from the religious right. The economy improved dramatically, and the deficit fell, during his tenure. For all that, red America hated him with a passion, and the divide was worse, not better, when he left office. Why?
The easy, but incomplete, answer to that is that he was African-American. I think there are three better responses:
- Everything about Obama screams “cosmopolitan” and “urban.” His race is part of that, but only part; his education, interests, and demeanor are part of it, too. He didn’t show much interest or sympathy for rural voters and culture, and he occasionally demeaned them on open microphones.
- His support for Black Lives Matter, gay marriage, and criminal justice reform made it appear that he was taking the blue side in the culture war.
- There were plenty of prominent GOP politicians and media figures who thought that they could benefit by throwing gas on the fire. They were right; it worked. The GOP is now in complete control of our government.