On Tuesday night, Barack Obama finally said the heart-wrenching goodbye to the country as the president with a message of hope and change.
In his speech, the famous but politically humbled president told the nation that he still holds tight to his vision of progressive change. However, he cautioned that the change now comes with a new set of caveats.
During the 50-minute speech, Obama frankly admitted that political discourse has soared under his watch and urged Americans to renew efforts at reconciliation.
“It falls to each of us to be those anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy,” the President said. “To embrace the joyous task we’ve been given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours.”
He further spoke on a sensitive topic of race, saying that talk of a ‘post-racial America’ after he was elected ‘was never realistic.’
Obama also emphasised on solidarity despite the fact that the presidency was sometimes at odds with Congress.”Democracy does not require uniformity,” Obama said. “Our founders quarrelled and compromised, and expected us to do the same. But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity — the idea that for all our outward differences, we are all in this together; that we rise or fall as one.”
“Democracy does not require uniformity,” Obama said. “Our founders quarrelled and compromised, and expected us to do the same. But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity — the idea that for all our outward differences, we are all in this together; that we rise or fall as one.”
In a frank way, he said that his kind of progressive politics is frustrated in Washington, saying “for every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back – a comment that was received by a whooping audience as a reference to the election of Trump
Continuing, he urged Americans to be watchful and to protect basic American values he fears might be under threat.
But the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all and not just some.
Speaking to the emotional audience, he told the story of a tenure that experienced both mishap and progress.
“Democracy can buckle when we give in to fear. So just as we, as citizens, must remain vigilant against external aggression, we must guard against a weakening of the values that make us who we are. After eight years as your President, I still believe that. “And it’s not just my belief. It’s the beating heart of our American idea — our bold experiment in self-government.”
Narrating the crucial parts of his presidency, he said if he’d told voters eight years back that he’d change the Great Recession, save the auto industry, usher in the longest stretch of job growth in the nation’s history, thaw relations with Cuba, strike a nuclear deal with Iran, win the battle over gay marriage, give healthcare to 20 million and ‘take out the mastermind of 9/11’, – ‘you might have said our sights were set a little too high.”But that’s what we did. That’s what you did. You were the change,’ he told his supporters. ‘ You answered peoples’ hopes. And because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started.”
‘But that’s what we did. That’s what you did. You were the change,’ he told his supporters. ‘ You answered peoples’ hopes. And because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started.”
On Race
Noting that race relations have entered into a fraught new era during his time in the White house, Barrack Obama proclaimed that
“Brown kids will represent a larger share of America’s workforce” in the years ahead. He also called for better rules that will help the children of immigrants succeed.He further warned that “laws alone won’t be enough” in resolving persistent differences between Americans.
He further warned that “laws alone won’t be enough” in resolving persistent differences between Americans. “Hearts must change.He urged the African-Americans and minorities to view with empathy “the middle-aged white man who from the outside may seem like he’s got all the advantages, but who’s seen his world upended by the economic, cultural, and technological change.”
He urged the African-Americans and minorities to view with empathy “the middle-aged white man who from the outside may seem like he’s got all the advantages, but who’s seen his world upended by the economic, cultural, and technological change.”
He also called on whites to regard the protests of minorities as a fight “not demanding special treatment, but the equal treatment our Founders promised.”
Revealing his belief that an engaged populace can heal the racial, political and economic issues rocking the nation, he said;”Regardless of the station we occupy, we have to try harder. To start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own.”
“Regardless of the station we occupy, we have to try harder. To start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own.”And he warned against turning inward, warning Democrats that only by involving themselves in a real political discourse could they hope to renew the hopeful vision he brought to the White House eight years ago.
And he warned against turning inward, warning Democrats that only by involving themselves in a real political discourse could they hope to renew the hopeful vision he brought to the White House eight years ago.
The president was accompanied on his trip by First Lady Michelle Obama and their elder daughter, Malia. The White House said younger daughter Sasha, 15, did not attend because she has a test in the morning.
Advice To Young People
‘For now, whether you’re young or young at heart, I do have one final ask of you as your President – the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago. I am asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change – but in yours,’ he said.
OBAMA’s Emotional Thank You Speech To His Family.
As he went on with his speech which he wrote himself as always, he appreciated his family with a drop of tear.
‘Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, girl of the South Side, for the past 25 years, you’ve been not only my wife and mother of my children, you have been my best friend. You took on a role you didn’t ask for and you made it your own, with grace and with grit and with style and good humour.
‘You made the White House a place that belongs to everybody. And the new generation sets its sights higher because it has you as a role model. So you have made me proud. And you have made the country proud,’ the president said, pausing multiple times to wait for cheering to die down.
Obama said Vice President Joe Biden, also in attendance, had become ‘a brother’ and cast his decision to add him to the ticket as his first and best in 2008. ‘We love you and Jill like family, and your friendship has been one of the great joys of our lives,’ he told his friend.
To his daughters, Obama said: ‘Under the strangest of circumstances, you have become two amazing young women….You wore the burden of years in the spotlight so easily.’ He said of all the things he’d done in his life, ‘I’m most proud to be your dad.’
Finally, he said in 10 days, the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy’.However, before he could cough out the last words his audience began booing his departure from the Oval Office and the arrival of Trump.
Going on he said, ‘I committed to President-Elect Trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as President Bush did for me,’ he said. ‘Because it’s up to all of us to make sure our government can help us meet the many challenges we still face.’
The audience’s jeers then turned to cheers as he finished the pre-written line that opens out to ‘the peaceful transfer of power from one freely elected president to the next.