I think it’s unfair to lay the decline of Sears at Obama’s feet simply because Sears has been in a complete and utter tailspin for well over a decade, exacerbated by the foolish decisions to acquire/merge with K-Mart and to sell their exclusive Craftsman line outside of their own store and catalog system.
Sears used to be the best place to go for appliances, but it would take longer to check out and schedule a delivery, thanks to poorly-trained staff and antiquated systems, than it took to shop and compare the items in the first place.
Merge is accurate, acquire is not. K-Mart acquired Sears - which makes it even more pitiful.