Thanks, Obama

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Thanks, Obama is an internet meme both seriously and satirically used regarding to former US President Barack Obama's policies.

History[]

Riding Herd Twitter
@ridingherd

Obamas failure is looking to be so complete he will ahnd the Republicans the white house for another 8 years. #thanksobama #tcot #hcr

Sep 4, 2009[1]

The saying first appeared in 2009 using the hashtag #thanksobama in a tweet about President Obama's policies. Three months later, it was used in a motivational poster.[2]

When the Republicans gained control of the House in the U.S. midterm election of 2010, the meme changed, no longer being used just by frustrated conservatives; a photo of a tired-looking Obama became the background for a meme that blamed Obama for all kinds of societal and economic ills.[2] During that time, liberals took the meme up as well, in a satirical reversal.[3]

One notable[4] example came in 2012, when a picture of a man spilling food with the "Thanks Obama" caption was popular. In December 2012, the /r/thanksobama subreddit was started.[5]

By 2015, it seemed the meme had run its course[2] after Obama used it in a BuzzFeed video.[6] Obama himself revived it in 2016, using it to poke fun at his critics[7] and to thank a supporter who, during a speech, yelled out at and thanked him for $2 gas.[8]

On January 19, 2017, episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Obama's last full day in office, Stephen Colbert's original conservative character from The Colbert Report used the phrase to express gratitude to Obama for helping the Republican Party find a message of united opposition against him and succeed electorally again, only to later plead in fear for Obama to stay in office.[9]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Riding Herd [@ridingherd] (September 4, 2009). "Obamas failure is looking to be so complete he will ahnd the Republicans the white house for another 8 years. #thanksobama #tcot #hcr" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ a b c Schwarz, Hunter (February 13, 2015). "'Thanks Obama.' The evolution of a meme that defined a presidency". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  3. ^ Roberts, Dan (May 7, 2016). "#ThanksObama: president's greatest legacy may be Trumping of the GOP". The Guardian. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  4. ^ u/Martholomule (November 2012). "My Family's Reaction to the Last Four Years". Reddit.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ "Thanks, Obama". Dictionary.com. Retrieved August 2, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Izade, Elahe (September 3, 2016). "The most memorable comedy moments of the Obama presidency". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  7. ^ "President's 'Thanks Obama' lets him have fun with critics". ABC7. March 7, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  8. ^ "Obama thanks himself for lower gas prices #ThanksObama". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  9. ^ Robinson, Will (January 20, 2017). "Stephen Colbert Says Thanks, Obama On President's Last Day". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
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