I cannot imagine what it feels like to be the president of the United States. The pressures must be enormous and the opportunities to fail endless, and no matter what you do, however good it might be, there will always be the critics and scoffers. Truly, it is a remarkable accomplishment even to become the president, let alone be an effective president, and if most of us spent a day in the president’s shoes, we would probably temper our criticism dramatically.

The intent of this column, then, is not to throw stones, nor is it to demonize our outgoing president. Rather, it is to chart Barack Obama’s political journey thus far, from his rapid exaltation to superstar status to his current, dramatic decline, and to ask one question: Why?

It was in July, 2004 that Obama suddenly became a household name when he was chosen to be the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention — the New York Times recently referred to this as “The Speech That Made Obama” — and it seemed as if overnight, everyone was talking about the young, aspiring senator. I didn’t actually hear his speech, but I immediately heard about the speech, or, more specifically, about the speaker.

The media was buzzing with accolades, and I remember thinking to myself (or, more probably, repeating to myself what the talking heads were saying), “It looks like the Democrats have their new star.”

And so, while John Kerry was the king of this convention, it was clear who the prince was: a young, eloquent, African American with a compelling story.

Four years and one month later, Obama was crowned the leader and the face of the party, nominated as the first black presidential candidate, delivering his acceptance speech in a setting fit for the gods. As the Daily Mail exclaimed, “Obama God! Democrats build a temple for Barack,” and as Republican spokesman Danny Daz sarcastically remarked, “It’s only appropriate that Barack Obama would descend from the Heavens and spend a little time with us mere mortals.” (Fittingly, the set was “designed by Britney Spears’s concert team.”)

Yet the Obama legend continued to grow, as he addressed enormous crowds overseas (including a crowd of 200,000 at a free rock concert in Berlin), continued to be the darling of the mainstream media, and then became our nation’s first black president, thereby making history regardless of how he performed.

Today, a little more than 8 years after his garishly-adorned acceptance speech, he is not only a lame duck president — the eventual fate of every president at the end of his tenure — but he has been labeled a “political corpse” by his opponents in Russia, with the very real possibility that many of his proudest achievements as president will be quickly undone by the incoming Trump administration.

Democrats lost more than 1,000 seats during his tenure, and Sen. Ted Cruz recently excoriated him, along with John Kerry, saying, “Like bitter clingers, President Obama and Secretary Kerry are spending every last minute of this administration wreaking havoc domestically and abroad. … They are designed to secure a legacy, and indeed they have: history will record and the world will fully understand Obama and Kerry as relentless enemies of Israel.”

Cruz even spoke of “their radicalism and refusal to defend American interests,” sentiments with which many Americans concur.

How did this shining star fall so dramatically in the course of 8 short years? Here are some relevant reflections, none of which are meant to demonize him or to diminish his very real accomplishments.

Why He Fell

First, on a certain level, Barack Obama was set up to fall. No one can live up to the hype that initially surrounded him, especially since he was a relatively inexperienced politician, and with expectations so high, especially among many African Americans, he was doomed to disappoint. It was inevitable, and much of it was not his fault.

Second, he brought his community organizer, racially divisive, identity politics into the White House. That too is a path to failure, since the president can only succeed to the extent that he is perceived as the president of all the people. Not only so, but the president must be the ultimate patriot, someone who is proud of his country, despite its many shortcomings. Yet all too often, Obama felt the need to apologize for America, as if we should feel guilty for our exceptionalism. This too does not play well with the populace at large.

Third, although he modified his views in order to be elected — most notably, his views on same-sex “marriage” — he quickly returned to his true, radical roots, ending his administration with an aggressive overreach through the Department of Justice that would punish schools for refusing to allow 15-year-old boys who identified as girls to play on the girls’ sports teams and share their locker rooms and shower stalls. This too was out of step with millions of Americans, as was his positive identification with Islam and his last-minute betrayal of Israel.

Fourth, in keeping with his rapid ascension to the presidency, Obama often seemed like a boy among men — contrast his stature with that of a Reagan or a Putin — to the point that he is now being scorned by Russian leaders after deciding to retaliate against their alleged hacking. And while he has certainly conducted himself with a certain dignity and grace — in that sense, acting presidentially — he has been perceived as weak.

I personally hope that Barack Obama’s future will be bright, that he will learn from his time in the White House and will grow, that his family life will remain strong, and that, above all, his professed Christian faith would become more real to him than ever. This is hardly the end of his story.