Comparing and Contrasting the Achievements of Richard Milhous Nixon and Barack Obama

Throughout history, many people have shaped the field of humanities through their contributions and achievements in various areas. Barack Hussein Obama was the US President between 2009 and 2017. Just like Nixon, he went through experiences that shaped his political career and informed the decision to join politics. Therefore, this paper explains how the Health Insurance policies by Nixon influenced the Affordable Healthcare Act by Obama.

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Nixon was born on 9th January 1913. (Bew, 2014) California, United States of America. His mother and father were Hannah Nixon and Francis Nixon respectively. His parents moved to Whittier where they had a grocery store. When he was schooling at Whittier high school, he would go with the family truck to purchase vegetables. He would wash them and display them before going to school. Although he was offered a tuition grant to attend Harvard School, he declined the opportunity because it was expensive for him and most of the family funds were spent in taking care of his sickling elder brother. Therefore, he chose to attend Whittier College with financial support from his maternal grandmother. Here, he became a championed debater and founded the Orthogonian Society (Bew, 2014). After he graduated, he received a scholarship to study law from the Duke University and was elected as the President of the Duke Bar Association.

Obama was born on 4th August 1961, Honolulu, Hawaii (Obama, 2018). His mother was a white woman from Kansas while his father was from Kenya. He attended Indonesian-language speaking schools and was also home-schooled by his mother. Then, he attended Punahou School which was a private college preparatory school. His parents divorced, and his father returned to Kenya. Nevertheless, with the support of his mother and extended family members, he attended Occidental College, Columbia University, and Harvard University (Obama, 2018). Obama made his first public speech while at Occidental College on the need for people to oppose the apartheid policies that were being implemented in South Africa. The backgrounds of Nixon and Obama, although different, reflect their interest in politics. It shows their determination to be successful despite the challenges they faced.

The main difference between Nixon and Obama is that Nixon was persuaded while Obama willingly joined politics. In 1954, there was an urgent need for a strong candidate against Jerry Voorhis from the Democratic Party (Bew, 2014). Herman Perry recommended Nixon to the Republican committee. He had known Nixon while he was in the management at Whittier College. At that time, Nixon was in the navy. He left and moved to California. He embarked on a vibrant campaign. Consequently, He won the Southern California District Seat. He gained public attention in 1948 during the Hiss spy scandal. Nixon believed that Hiss, a former State Department Official was a spy. Therefore, he investigated the role of the committee on Alder Hiss Spy Case (Bew, 2014). He managed to get access to documentaries and films which were claimed to be accessible by only Alder Hiss. He was considered to be a national hero. In 1950, he became a senator. He championed for anti-communist ideologies. He was elected as a running mate in 1952 and later vied as president in 1969 (Bew, 2014). He became the president and was re-elected 1972 (Bew, 2014). On the other hand, Obama willingly joined politics as Illinois Senator. The seat was declared vacant after the then-senator, Alice Palmer expressed interest in joining the House Of Representatives. He was re-elected in 1998 (Obama, 2018). During the two terms, Obama is significantly remembered for sponsoring many bills. Notably, he is remembered for the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 which improved the level of transparency and accountability in federal spending.

The healthcare policies of Nixon influenced Obama's Affordable care insurance policy. Nixon was a revolutionary leader because he always provided effective alternative ways to solve problems. One of the ways he did was through his bill that sought to provide quality healthcare to all Americans through the employer-sponsored insurance model. He revealed it in 1971(Bew, 2014). The model involved large and medium-sized employers paying health insurance for their employee. Also, the bill proposed that any employer that would fail to pay health insurance for their employees would have to pay the penalty. Further, the bill recommended that a federal healthcare plan should be used to replace medicaid for needy families. The Republicans embraced the bill because they believed that it would help the poor afford healthcare services. However, the Democrats opposed the bill because they thought that it was too liberal. Similarly, during Obama's term as the President, he signed the Affordable Care Act into law in 2010 (Obama, 2018). Being that Nixon's healthcare insurance bill was opposed, the number of uninsured citizens increased hence increasing healthcare costs. According to statistics, the number of hospitals that closed increased. Therefore, the Affordable Healthcare Act 2010 was created to protect uninsured people from the high costs of health services and bankruptcy (Obama, 2018). Based on the objectives of the Affordable Care of 2010 and Nixon's proposed health insurance policies, there are similarities. Both of them targeted reduced the cost burden of healthcare, especially among poor people. Also, both of them focused on creating equality in accessing healthcare services.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Nixon and Obama contributed to the field of humanities through impacting access to healthcare among their citizens. However, there are differences based on their socio-economical background and introduction to politics. Nixon came from a low-income family. His elder brother was sickling hence most of the family finances catered for the latter's treatment. He had to attend school only after going to the market to pick vegetables for sale. He declined scholarship from Harvard because it was expensive. He attended Whittier College using financial support from his grandmother.

On the other hand, Barack Obama's parents were both students at the University of Hawaii Manoa. He attended a private preparatory college, Occidental College, Columbia University, and Harvard School of Law. Despite the different backgrounds, both of them joined politics and contributed through their revolutionary ideas hence making the garner public support. Nixon is relevant to the contemporary society because his proposed policies in healthcare influenced the creation of the Affordable Care Act during President Obama's term. Although his bill did not pass into law, his ideas enable all Americans to access quality healthcare services regardless of their economic background.

References

Bew, J. (2014). A beast that fights best on its back. New Statesman, 143(5227), 28-33. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=98134243&site=ehost-live

OBAMA, B. (2018). Given the Strange and Uncertain Times We're in. Vital Speeches of the Day, 84(9), 234-242. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=131528370&site=ehost-live