As President Obama is making his farewell tour this week in advance of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, many people, including the President are talking about his legacy, what lasting impact he had on the nation and how he will be remembered in the history books.

Of course, how you view his accomplishments over the last eight years will be colored with your own political views, whether you are on the left or the right, so it would seem that the outgoing president’s actual legacy would be somewhere in between.

In his farewell speech in Chicago, President Obama said the country was much better off than it was when he took office in 2009, but voters across the nation back in November said they didn’t agree, and voted to make some changes.

The problem with President Obama’s legacy is that he governed as if the Democrats would always remain in power and whatever legislation and executive orders he put in place would simply be rubber stamped by the Clinton administration and any other progressive leaders that may follow.

Part of this was the President’s own arrogance, believing that he was in the right and that any enlightened citizens would agree and continue his policies over the objections of the “deplorables” and “irredeemables” on the other side.

The same thinking that doomed the Clinton campaign, that believed voters who has always supported the Democrats would continue to do so and were not worth trying to reach out and listen to their concerns.

And the news media and elitists on the coasts fed into the narrative, and since they were the only ones that had the President’s ear, convinced him he was almost invincible.

In short, President Obama governed as a ruler, and not a representative of the people who elected him, and in the process, took down himself, as well as the Democratic Party that followed his lead.  He made few attempts to reach out across the aisles for compromise with Republicans and conservatives, but instead wielded his phone and pen as a magic wand.

And while those on the coasts were patting themselves on the back, the everyday Americans across the country were taking notice that their lifestyles were not improving so much and that climate change was not their number one concern.  These Americans, struggling to pay their bills, find a job, or afford insurance they were forced to buy, began to question what they were being told by the administration and the compliant media.

After blaming everything else first, the Progressives will have to reconcile that the failed policies of the Obama administration brought about Donald Trump’s victory.  And despite all the last-minute scrambling, President Obama’s signature legislative win, The Affordable Care Act, is about to be recorded in history as a failed experiment.  And because of his decision to use executive order instead of the legislative process, most of his other “accomplishments” are about to be undone as well.

A nuclear Iran, the Middle East in tatters, and emboldened Russian and Chinese interventions across the world still stand as part of his legacy at this point, but hopefully some of that can be dialed back as well by the new administration.

But that is also an unknown, in that Trump is not exactly the type of president Americans have traditionally seen, and the way he will react to foreign powers has many apprehensive about the future.  I am praying for Trump to be the best president ever, but I have concerns over his temper, his rhetoric, and his knee-jerk reactions that may cause major problems over the next four years.

Trump should take note of the past eight years and try to be more inclusive of those who may disagree with his policies, lest he do the same harm to the Republican Party as his predecessor did to his party.

President Obama had the opportunity to a great president.  Sadly, it could be that all that remains of his legacy is the fact that his administration provided an avenue for Donald Trump to become president.