What obstacles did President Barack Obama face in his first term as US President?

Answer 1

Republican politicians (and Congress) who had gone so far as to take a vow to make President Obama have a one term presidency as their primary goal during that time (rather than serving the people). They were "The Party of NO". They voted against the good of the majority of the US people to seek this end when considering legislature, starting on his first days in office. They did this knowing, and despite, the negative effects that it would have on the economy, recovery, real human lives, and other realities that are not always evident on the surface of what people in politics say. They held the public hostage to their demands and obstructions.

Upon taking office as President, Barack Obama was faced with the collapse of the US financial markets and, by extension, the US economy, including the auto industry, and the continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other problems.

Answer 2

One obstacle Barack Obama had was being biracial. Back when he was born in Hawaii in 1961, his parents' marriage was unusual (his mom was white, his dad was black); in fact, in some states, a marriage between a black person and a white person was still illegal. Another obstacle was having no father around-- his biological father left when young Barack was only two, and had little contact with him after that. Another obstacle was having to move to Indonesia when his mom remarried; he had to learn a new language and a new culture.

And then there was his name-- this became an obstacle when he entered politics. Because his name sounded foreign, some people questioned whether he was really an American, and later, some of his political enemies spread the rumor that he was a Muslim (in reality, he was a Christian). Related to that when he decided to go into politics for the first time in 1996, he had no political experience and no wealthy donors to support his campaign; he had to use his powers of persuasion to convince people that he was in fact a viable candidate who could win an election.