What will be President Obama's economic legacy?

Farewell speech today

As outgoing President Barack Obama gives his farewell speech in Chicago later today, Aberdeen Asset Management's chief economist Lucy O'Carroll reflects on the US economy's progress throughout his tenure.

Barack Obama will enter the pantheon of great orators when he leaves office this month. It is easy to forget how much optimism and genuine hope he inspired on the campaign trail.  Even now, after a rancorous eight years in office, he has a profound skill to inspire with his words. What is less well remembered is was just how much of a rotten state the economy was in when he inherited the Presidency. In many ways, the financial crisis and its aftermath have been the spectre haunting his Presidency. The financial crisis was not one of Obama's making, but he had to deal with much of the ...