From the first day of his eight-year presidency to the last, Barack Obama had to fight uphill to accomplish his goals of helping Americans. Members of the opposite political party committed themselves to frustrating his every move, not because what he wanted to accomplish would be harmful to Americans, but because he is black and he is a Democrat.

Yet he persisted, and against fierce opposition, he managed to accomplish a great deal of good, most notably bringing a measure of relief to a nation struggling to pay for medical care. The law, challenged by furious Republicans in Congress, was nevertheless supported by a divided Supreme Court. The Affordable Care Act, even with its imperfections, became the law of the land, helpful to Americans struggling to pay their bills.

Americans by the millions witnessed this eight-year shameful performance by those in  Congress and collectively determined to clean up their government. Drain the swamp, they said. Their presidential election ballot offered them a choice: One candidate is a poised, articulate, intelligent woman who possesses valuable experience gained from many years of public service at several levels of government, knowledge of both foreign and domestic affairs. Someone who knows Washington and how to get things done, what works and what doesn’t. The other candidate is a man, a real estate developer and television personality, with no knowledge of how government works, who prides himself on his wealth, much of it the result of his dexterity at manipulating business deals to his personal advantage.

So naturally, American voters, in an election clouded by the specter of interference by America’s principal enemy, chose the least qualified outsider, someone unstained by the filthy environment in Washington. Immediately, our Republican-dominated Congress resumed its campaign of undoing what good President Obama had been able to accomplish with dignity and class during his two terms. Now they had the enthusiastic support of the White House and a stacked Supreme Court.

So, eight months later, how is this working out? America finds itself with a revolving door, corrupt White House whose principal occupant can’t govern, can’t think clearly, can’t keep his childlike mouth shut, can’t deal intelligently with anyone outside the narrow world of his own fragile ego, certainly not with such important people as foreign leaders or his own Congress.

Ah, his Congress, attached to his hip, most of whose members freely display the poverty of their morality, continues to bathe in its majority power, caring most about two things: humiliating Obama and protecting their jobs.

Have we drained the swamp yet?