Forceful at times and tearful at others, Obama's valedictory speech in his hometown of Chicago was a public meditation on the many trials the U.S. faces as Obama takes his exit. For the challenges that are new, Obama offered his vision for how to surmount them, and for the persistent problems he was unable to overcome, he offered optimism that others, eventually, will.
"Yes, our progress has been uneven," Obama told a crowd of some 18,000. "The work of democracy has always been hard, contentious and sometimes bloody. For every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back."
Yet Obama argued his faith in America had only been strengthened by what he's witnessed the past eight years, and he declared: "The future should be ours."
Brushing away tears with a handkerchief, Obama paid tribute to the sacrifices made by his wife - and by his daughters, who were young girls when they entered the big white home on Pennsylvania Avenue and leave as young women. He praised first lady Michelle Obama for taking on her role "with grace and grit and style and good humour" and for making the White House "a place that belongs to everybody."
Soon Obama and his family will exit the national stage, to be replaced by Trump, a man Obama had stridently argued poses a dire threat to the nation's future. His near-apocalyptic warnings throughout the campaign have cast a continuing shadow over his post-election efforts to reassure Americans anxious about the future.
Indeed, much of what Obama accomplished during his two terms - from health care overhaul and environmental regulations to his nuclear deal with Iran - could potentially be upended by Trump. So even as Obama seeks to define what his presidency meant for America, his legacy remains in question.
Even as Obama said farewell - in a televised speech of just under an hour - the anxiety felt by many Americans about the future was palpable, and not only in the Chicago convention centre where he stood in front of a giant presidential seal. The political world was reeling from new revelations about an unsubstantiated report that Russia had compromising personal and financial information about Trump.
Obama made only passing reference to the next president. When he noted he would soon be replaced by the Republican, his crowd began to boo.
"No, no, no, no, no," Obama said. One of the nation's great strengths, he said, "is the peaceful transfer of power from one president to the next."
Earlier, as the crowd of thousands chanted, "Four more years," he simply smiled and said, "I can't do that."
Still, Obama offered what seemed like a point-by-point rebuttal of Trump's vision for America.
He pushed back on the isolationist sentiments inherent in Trump's trade policies. He decried discrimination against Muslim Americans and lamented politicians who question climate change. And he warned about the pernicious threat to U.S. democracy posed by purposely deceptive fake "news" and a growing tendency of Americans to listen only to information that confirms what they already believe.
Get out of your "bubbles," said the politician who rose to a prominence with a message of unity, challenging divisions of red states and blue states. Obama also revived a call to activism that marked his first presidential campaign, telling Americans to stay engaged in politics.
"If you're tired of arguing with strangers on the internet," Obama said pointedly, "try to talk with one in real life. "
With Democrats still straining to make sense of their devastating election losses, Obama tried to offer a path forward. He called for empathy for the struggles of all Americans - from minorities, refugees and transgender people to middle-aged white men whose sense of economic security has been upended in recent years.
Paying tribute to his place as America's first black president, Obama acknowledged there were hopes after his 2008 election for a post-racial America.
"Such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic," Obama said, though he insisted race relations are better now than a few decades ago.
The former community organizer closed out his speech by reviving his campaign chant, "Yes we can." To that, he added for the first time, "Yes we did."
He staunchly defended the power of activists to make a difference - the driving factor behind Obama's optimism in the face of so much anxiety, he said. Though the coalition of young Americans and minorities who twice got Obama elected wasn't enough to elect Democrat Hillary Clinton to replace him, Obama suggested their day was still ahead.
"You'll soon outnumber any of us, and I believe as a result that the future is in good hands," he said.
Steeped in nostalgia, Obama's return to Chicago was less a triumphant homecoming than a bittersweet reunion bringing together loyalists and staffers, many of whom have long since left Obama's service, moved on to new careers and started families. They came from across the country - some on Air Force One, others on their own - to be present for the last major moment of Obama's presidency.
Unexpectedly absent was Obama's younger daughter, Sasha, who had been expected to join sister Malia at the speech. The White House said Sasha stayed in Washington due to a school exam Wednesday morning.
After returning to Washington, he will have less than two weeks before he accompanies Trump in the presidential limousine to the Capitol for the new president's swearing-in. After nearly a decade in the spotlight, Obama will become a private citizen, an elder statesman at 55. He plans to take some time off, write a book - and immerse himself in a Democratic redistricting campaign.
Hier te zien....
http://www.nbcnews.com/st(...)ewell-speech-n705381
Nu breaking news op CNN. zijn laatste woorden als president.
Wat een spreker. Historisch. Nog indrukwekkender.
Ik zal deze later posten in dit topic. Zo subtiel en toch meedogeloos voor die debiel.
Zo goed
Door wie werd hij tegengewerktquote:Op woensdag 11 januari 2017 11:43 schreef Boris_Karloff het volgende:
Spreken is dan ook hetgeen hij in uitblinkt, voor de rest heeft hij niet zoveel bereikt met al die mooie woorden.
inderdaad heeft Obama niet zo heel veel bereiktquote:
Spreken is dan ook hetgeen hij in uitblinkt, voor de rest heeft hij niet zoveel bereikt met al die mooie woorden.
"Behalve het herstellen van de economie, terugbrengen van het begrotingstekort, record-daling van de werkloosheid, terugbrengen amerikaanse militaire aanwezigheid in Irak en Afghanistan, creeeren van een universele gezondheids-verzekering voor alle burgers...
What has president Obama ever done for us"
quote:
[..]
inderdaad heeft Obama niet zo heel veel bereikt
"Behalve het herstellen van de economie, terugbrengen van het begrotingstekort, record-daling van de werkloosheid, terugbrengen amerikaanse militaire aanwezigheid in Irak en Afghanistan, creeeren van een universele gezondheids-verzekering voor alle burgers...
What has president Obama ever done for us"
quote:
Trump straks met zijn persconferentie over de economie en de Dow Jones knalt lekker door de 20.000 punten heen
Welkom Trump !
Cuba & Iranquote:
[..]
inderdaad heeft Obama niet zo heel veel bereikt
"Behalve het herstellen van de economie, terugbrengen van het begrotingstekort, record-daling van de werkloosheid, terugbrengen amerikaanse militaire aanwezigheid in Irak en Afghanistan, creeeren van een universele gezondheids-verzekering voor alle burgers...
What has president Obama ever done for us"
Alleen zijn kop is 30 jaar ouder geworden in 8 jaar tijd.quote:
Op Altijd grappig om te zien, aan het eind van hun termijn zien ze er helemaal uitgeleefd uitquote:Op zondag 15 januari 2017 00:52 schreef venomsnake het volgende:
[..]
Alleen zijn kop is 30 jaar ouder geworden in 8 jaar tijd.
Welke rankings? In 2014 waren Amerikanen de 17de op de lijst van nationaliteiten die het meeste vertrouwen in Obama hadden, maar iets anders vind ik niet.quote:
Ben wel benieuwd op basis waarvan sommigen alhier menen dat Obama een slechte president was. Vooral daar hij in de rankings op de 17e plaats staat.
https://rankingamerica.wo(...)-in-president-obama/quote:According to the Pew Global Attitudes Project, 58%of Americans have confidence in President Obama, which makes the United States tied for seventeenth with Uganda out of forty-four countries ranked in that category. The Philippines ranks first, with 89% of Filipinos having confidence in President Obama.
Fixed. Geen dank. Die knaker schrijft zijn speeches niet zelf.quote:
Wat een spreker voorlezer. Historisch. Nog indrukwekkender.
Hij heeft een team daarvoor, maar schrijft ze weldegelijk deels zelf.quote:Op zondag 15 januari 2017 02:22 schreef Geralt het volgende:
[..]
Fixed. Geen dank. Die knaker schrijft zijn speeches niet zelf.
quote:
Het schijnt dat hij toch nog bij de 40% van zijn beloftes heeft kunnen volmaken. Ondanks alle tegenwerking.quote:
Valt me nog mee.quote:
[..]
Het schijnt dat hij toch nog bij de 40% van zijn beloftes heeft kunnen volmaken. Ondanks alle tegenwerking.
Kijk hier nog maar eens even naarquote:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/
http://www.politifact.com(...)/gop-pledge-o-meter/
En wat zijn voorganger heeft geflikt en Obama recht heeft gezet/geprobeerd recht te zetten.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article6684.htm