Thank you, Frank Bruni...you have brought tears to my eyes. I, too, have been thinking for the past few months how much I will miss President Obama. And it's not just for me, but for our country. I regularly attend a Speaker Series in Oakland, CA. A few years ago, I believe it was 2008, prior to the election of Barack Obama...Ted Koppel was one of the Speaker's. His talk was excellent and what he said at the end was, you need to hear what the "other side" is saying, otherwise how can you be prepared or know where they are coming from. This is so true. We only want to listen to what makes us comfortable. Thank you President Obama, Ted Koppel and to you, Frank Bruni. We should all try to do more listening and maybe less talking.
62
I agree, Frank Bruni.
He's shown us (black, brown, yellow, red & rainbow), elegance.
He's shown us (black, brown, yellow, red & rainbow), elegance.
54
Gorgeous goodbye? This is a joke, right? Cynical goodbye is more like it. Obama rarely, if ever, compromised at any time during his presidency. He just talks a good game, pretends to listen, then says, "my way or the highway." He has pilloried his opponents relentlessly, never once believing they had an idea worth listening to, let alone implementing (his opponents are guilty of the same thing), and blames his opponents for his failures. His record is very clear: he believes he is right, period. His talk, however eloquent or cerebral, is pure condescension. He just knows how to deliver a speech. That hasn't changed. Too bad you bought it Mr. Bruni, HL&S.
37
Dear Mr. Bruni,
My digital subscription to NYTimes ends tomorrow. I canceled because I felt the Hilary/Bernie coverage was biased. Not that I'm a huge Bernie fan, I'm not. But the virtual blackout and subtle and not-so-subtle bias against Bernie in the early and early-middle portions of the primary season made me fear that the NYTimes had become, in part, a voice for its majority owner, who is a huge Hillary fan. I didn't want a Mexican billionaire determining the results of an American election.
But before I leave, I want to thank you for your beautiful writing. Your ideas are brilliant and the way you express them borders on the transcendental. Your essays will be worth reading 100 years from now, not only for what you say, but for the beauty of the writing alone. Occasionally your writing is so good it has made me gasp aloud.
And I appreciate the uplifting tone you often take, as in this inspiring essay on President Obama.
Many thanks. Keep up the good work!
My digital subscription to NYTimes ends tomorrow. I canceled because I felt the Hilary/Bernie coverage was biased. Not that I'm a huge Bernie fan, I'm not. But the virtual blackout and subtle and not-so-subtle bias against Bernie in the early and early-middle portions of the primary season made me fear that the NYTimes had become, in part, a voice for its majority owner, who is a huge Hillary fan. I didn't want a Mexican billionaire determining the results of an American election.
But before I leave, I want to thank you for your beautiful writing. Your ideas are brilliant and the way you express them borders on the transcendental. Your essays will be worth reading 100 years from now, not only for what you say, but for the beauty of the writing alone. Occasionally your writing is so good it has made me gasp aloud.
And I appreciate the uplifting tone you often take, as in this inspiring essay on President Obama.
Many thanks. Keep up the good work!
34
What to say about a country who chooses Obama and then moves on to Trump.
40
My father was injured in WW2 and it affected him his entire life. I wonder how he would feel about this President's apology for America tours, the latest coming to of all places, Japan. I assume this President believes America started WW2.
One thing is for sure, this President never ran on a platform of apologizing for and tearing down America, it's military, standing in the world, middle class and poor. He never ran on a platform of befriending Iran at all costa and scorning our biggest ally in the world, Israel.
Such an inexperienced, unknowledgeable and thoughtless man. Shame on The Times, it's readers and all others who disagree and believe this President has been the second coming of whatever it is they look to. You see what you hope for, not what really is.
Spending 7 years to build some type of legacy instead of a country and world order is beyond belief. Of course you will never print this, it goes against what you now stand for, hypocrisy.
One thing is for sure, this President never ran on a platform of apologizing for and tearing down America, it's military, standing in the world, middle class and poor. He never ran on a platform of befriending Iran at all costa and scorning our biggest ally in the world, Israel.
Such an inexperienced, unknowledgeable and thoughtless man. Shame on The Times, it's readers and all others who disagree and believe this President has been the second coming of whatever it is they look to. You see what you hope for, not what really is.
Spending 7 years to build some type of legacy instead of a country and world order is beyond belief. Of course you will never print this, it goes against what you now stand for, hypocrisy.
27
A fitting tribute to a President who has made us proud and who will be sorely missed. I just wish more of his messages at Howard and elsewhere had been featured and emphasized on the front page of this issue of the NYT, rather than more today and every day of the Donald's outrageousness.
64
Thanks for a thoughtful and reflective comment. We need more of this more often to break up the logjam of driftwood which passes as our Congress.
20
Excellent essay.
30
American politics is anything but zen. It's a constant dissatisfaction with current leaders, with opponents relitigating every error and policy gaffe in hope of the next savior who will "make America great again" ... Ridiculous cycle of extremes that prohibits progress and accomplishments...
14
Who demonized political opponents as "enemies" and bragged that "he won" and thus gets to set the agenda, neglecting the legitimate and widely popular concerns of his opponents? Barack Obama.
Who has relentlessly highlighted and stoked divisions based on easily exploited characteristics (race, sexual orientation, religion, urban/suburban residence) for political gain over the past 15+ years? Barack Obama.
Who first used social media as a political messaging tool? Barack Obama.
Who now acts unilaterally and in direct conflict with constitutional responsibilities? Barack Obama.
Who, more than anyone else, has given us our current political environment? Barack Obama.
Good riddance.
Who has relentlessly highlighted and stoked divisions based on easily exploited characteristics (race, sexual orientation, religion, urban/suburban residence) for political gain over the past 15+ years? Barack Obama.
Who first used social media as a political messaging tool? Barack Obama.
Who now acts unilaterally and in direct conflict with constitutional responsibilities? Barack Obama.
Who, more than anyone else, has given us our current political environment? Barack Obama.
Good riddance.
27
Well, well. Mr. Obama is now telling us to disregard what he actually did and just play nice. Ferguson? He helped light the racial bonfire that was based on a lie. O'Care? 'You can keep your doctor ...' and 'premiums will decline by $2,500' - all lies. Benghazi was the fault of a hateful video. Lie. Why? Well you can't have a Terrorist Attack on American soil in the run up to an election, now can you? And it occurs to me to ask what did the additional $10 trillion in national debt buy us? Nothing. The Constitution? Well it seems that we just don't need a Congress anymore. Why, we now have Government by Executive Order! It's just the right thing to do. Mr. Obama has no idea how many Americans can hardly wait for the end of The Most Transparent Administration. Quite the contrary. This has been The Most Self Serving Administration in our history.
28
Thank you, Mr. President. If I may be permitted a critique of of your terms in office: it's a shame that you didn't more often turn your considerable persona and rhetorical gifts toward reaching out to the American people. This kind of direct and inspiring message, full of practical insight and wisdom, could have helped us better know and understand your dedication to this country and your vision for leading it toward a better future. While your service in the highest office was fraught with animosity from many sides and the travesty of a dysfunctional Congress, you have remained true to the dignity of the office you hold and to the highest ideals of the Founders.
99
I recommend that everyone, and especially the younger generation, read Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. It outlines the quintessential principles for human interaction and positive outcomes.
18
Yes, Barack Obama is whip smart, highly intellectual and charismatic. I loved him and voted for him for all of those reasons. But, especially, for his beautiful promises: 'Yes, we can' and 'Change you can believe in'. I thought he could be the catalyst for meaningful change.
Reality check, 8 years later:
Where is the change he promised?
I see a weakened America, more divisive than ever. He sold us all out.
He had a clear mandate from the people in 2008 and a democratic majority in power in the Senate & Congress for quite a few years.
He failed to keep his promise to the American people. Doesn't matter how brilliant he is if he is just another politician dedicated to his 'legacy'.
Sign me: A deeply disappointed Obama voter
Reality check, 8 years later:
Where is the change he promised?
I see a weakened America, more divisive than ever. He sold us all out.
He had a clear mandate from the people in 2008 and a democratic majority in power in the Senate & Congress for quite a few years.
He failed to keep his promise to the American people. Doesn't matter how brilliant he is if he is just another politician dedicated to his 'legacy'.
Sign me: A deeply disappointed Obama voter
34
I've long been an admirer of President Obama as a person. As a person, he has an Irish heritage that he acknowledges. He is smart, witty, and a loving father. He will find a platform from which he can continue advice to the young and expansion of our understanding of what it means to be biracial in America.
17
What would the state of our country be if this was the attitude of members of Congress? Only when this is achieved do we have a chance to be a truly great country.
21
A president who has done so much to foment intolerance of diversity of opinion, has formed and voiced opinion in situations wherein his thoughts are not based in fact, not expected nor solicited - this man has no advice of any value to offer to anyone. His last antic re: the Iran agreement as described by cohort Rhodes shows that there is nothing beautiful or admirable about Obama. It is all a con. Since the author and some commenters are still buying in, I have some swampland in Florida....
17
If only actions were taken where words are spoken. Good thoughts such as these would mean something if the person speaking them actually acted on them and tried to exemplify those qualities. The "most polarizing president in history" makes a grand and hollow statement here.
You can almost believe him until you think back on the past 7 years and then you move toward thinking that these statements are what he expected his opponents to do and not what he expected from himself.
Nice words. Would have been better if actions follow those thoughts. Do as I say and not as I do is not a good legacy to leave.
You can almost believe him until you think back on the past 7 years and then you move toward thinking that these statements are what he expected his opponents to do and not what he expected from himself.
Nice words. Would have been better if actions follow those thoughts. Do as I say and not as I do is not a good legacy to leave.
15
One of the greatest presidents ever. Such a thoughtful leader. All this hate of the other side breeds intolerance and mistreatment of others including discrimination. We need to work together, not spew hate and refuse to cooperate.
42
I feel lucky to have seen a President like Mr Obama in my life time.
My worry is to see President Donald Trump in White House who cannot be farther away from President Obama's intellect.
Problem is Republicans would rather have an Intellectually Bankrupt President like Mr. Trump than Intellectually honest and brilliant President like Mr. Obama.
Mr. Obama was a breath of fresh air after Mr. Bush who had no intellectual curiosity. In few months the spark will be gone and we may end up with uncontrollable fire.
My worry is to see President Donald Trump in White House who cannot be farther away from President Obama's intellect.
Problem is Republicans would rather have an Intellectually Bankrupt President like Mr. Trump than Intellectually honest and brilliant President like Mr. Obama.
Mr. Obama was a breath of fresh air after Mr. Bush who had no intellectual curiosity. In few months the spark will be gone and we may end up with uncontrollable fire.
56
It has always been true that the opposition party has done little to help the party in power. Go back to the Senior Bush administration, when in the last year or so the Democrats under the direction of Senate leader George Mitchell bottled up any and all legislation that might have aided the economy, for fear that it would have aided Bush in his re-election bid. Same Stuff! The Democrats were very successful. The economy stayed down, and Clinton got elected. I wonder why so many do not remember these facts? Bias, I guess. By the way, I was no big fan of George Bush SR. I am just telling you the truth. Both parties try to sink the other party. They care more about themselves then the people of this country.
14
The republicans chose to self-destruct rather than cooperate with a black president. One cannot help lament the lost opportunities of what could have been done had we had a functioning congress.
I will miss him a great deal, but I am also happy for him. I cannot imagine what it takes to put up with the disrespect and the childish lunacy he faced everyday.
I will miss him a great deal, but I am also happy for him. I cannot imagine what it takes to put up with the disrespect and the childish lunacy he faced everyday.
59
Well put, Mr. Bruni. In the complex tapstry that is any president, it is comforting to see a calm and wise piece about the contribution that is still being made to the national dialogue by President Obama. It is by no means perfect, nor does he claim to be. Rather it calls us to our better selves, knowing that to continue to yell after others have agreed to listen simply kills any hope of meaningful discussion. It is in the measured wisdom of writers like Bruni and Brooks in the Times that we see the limitations of social media and instantaneous communication standing front and center. Reader James Tynes could not be more on the mark when he points out that immediate blogging has no place in the room with seeking solutions for disagreements. The latter requires self-control, a capacity for self-reflection, and a willingness to let go and let in! Well done again, Mr Bruni.
15
How a man who speaks such penetrating truths can be vilified by the right is indicative of what a scourge they have become. Their mindsets are mostly immutable and we are stuck with a horrible opposition that hates government and is willing to manipulate the public policy debate with lies. We deserve better.
64
"He chided them for demonizing enemies and silencing opponents." I really wanted to hurl after reading this article. Obama passed his signature healthcare legislation without a single Republican vote, and the nation held its collective breath as the Supreme Court came within inches of declaring it unconstitutional. How's that not "silencing opponents?" Demonizing enemies and silencing opponents is all Obama has done for 7 1/2 years! UnitedHealthcare, the nation's largest insurer, recently pulled out of Obamacare due to $1 billion (that's billion with a "b") in losses. The giant flaws in the plan are already showing, and the plan is still in its infancy. Why can't you report on that? What would have happened if Obama had not "silenced his opponents" and actually worked across the aisle on a reasonable healthcare plan? We will never know. This article is from yet another convert to the Cult of Obama.
23
Obama is a great admirer of Lincoln - our greatest President. By showing 'malice towards none, charity towards all' - he has let his uncompromising opponents, foaming with hatred of him, to self-destruct in acrimony. Take just the fact that the Republican Presidential nominee is threatening to remove the Republican House Speaker as chairman of the party convention. It is ironic that Lincoln's modern successor (in my eyes anyway) has become responsible for the self inflicted destruction of the party of Lincoln.
21
Obama is a great admirer of Lincoln.
Lincoln lost every election he ran in until Lincoln decided to invent his bio and fabricate his life's story. Obama is a great admirer of Lincoln.
Lincoln notoriously used racial slurs and epithets demeaning African Americans during Cabinet meetings and in tasteless jokes and limericks he'd write to friends (I've read them). Obama is a great admirer of Lincoln.
Lincoln freed NO slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation, as a matter of fact, not only was it unenforceable on Jan 1, 1863, it actually called for slaves who escaped to be chased as fugitives and returned. Obama is a great admirer of Lincoln.
As a Black attorney in Washington DC, with a degree in American History, the Obama presidency is quite ironic, in the breadth and scope of harm it has done to the Black community over the last 7.5 years.
Lincoln lost every election he ran in until Lincoln decided to invent his bio and fabricate his life's story. Obama is a great admirer of Lincoln.
Lincoln notoriously used racial slurs and epithets demeaning African Americans during Cabinet meetings and in tasteless jokes and limericks he'd write to friends (I've read them). Obama is a great admirer of Lincoln.
Lincoln freed NO slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation, as a matter of fact, not only was it unenforceable on Jan 1, 1863, it actually called for slaves who escaped to be chased as fugitives and returned. Obama is a great admirer of Lincoln.
As a Black attorney in Washington DC, with a degree in American History, the Obama presidency is quite ironic, in the breadth and scope of harm it has done to the Black community over the last 7.5 years.
14
Words are easy, actions are difficult. Where was his 'tenacity of hope' during his eight years in office?
Voted for his promises twice, and feel he came up short. Nevermind the nearly impossible circumstances, still had hope. Perhaps too much, hoping for a superman.
We will miss his remarkable intellect and ethical consistency. Would love to see a repeat with the experience and maturity he has now, but I'm sure he's tired of it and glad to move on to greener pastures.
Voted for his promises twice, and feel he came up short. Nevermind the nearly impossible circumstances, still had hope. Perhaps too much, hoping for a superman.
We will miss his remarkable intellect and ethical consistency. Would love to see a repeat with the experience and maturity he has now, but I'm sure he's tired of it and glad to move on to greener pastures.
7
Obama is living proof that talk is cheap, and 6 in 10 Americans are tired of him.
10
Barack Obama has been easily the finest president whose tenure I have experienced. (I was only two years old when FDR died, so am not including him in my experience.)
I have not always agreed with his positions or his actions--I wouldn't expect to, whoever was president--but I know that both stemmed from thoughtful consideration and a broad view. His accomplishments on behalf of our citizens and in the face of cynical partisan sabotage are nothing short of remarkable.
He brought honor and honesty, character and integrity, and dignity to an Oval Office that had been systematically stripped of those qualities.
I will miss his presence at the head of our government terribly. I console myself that he will still offer needed leadership to new generations and that he will continue to bring honor to our nation in his post-presidency.
I have not always agreed with his positions or his actions--I wouldn't expect to, whoever was president--but I know that both stemmed from thoughtful consideration and a broad view. His accomplishments on behalf of our citizens and in the face of cynical partisan sabotage are nothing short of remarkable.
He brought honor and honesty, character and integrity, and dignity to an Oval Office that had been systematically stripped of those qualities.
I will miss his presence at the head of our government terribly. I console myself that he will still offer needed leadership to new generations and that he will continue to bring honor to our nation in his post-presidency.
81
“We’ve got to build a better politics — one that’s less of a spectacle and more of a battle of ideas,” he said then. Otherwise, he warned, “Extreme voices fill the void.” This current presidential campaign has borne him out.
Obama detractors and skeptics probably hear in all of this a professorial haughtiness that has plagued him and alienated them before. And there’s legitimate disagreement about the degree to which he has been an agent as well as a casualty of the poisoned environment he rues. His administration’s actions haven’t always been as high-minded as his words." - Frank Bruni
Correction: Obama's actions have never been as high minded as his words, which is also known as the hallmark characteristics of a con artist.
As a Black attorney in Washington DC, who arrived here about a month before Obama was sworn in as President in 2009, when it comes to the gridlock, distrust, partisan hate and divisiveness that has destroyed this town, Mr. Obama you built that. Period.
Mr. Obama can't pooh pooh the problems he created as if he is a bystander. Life doesn't work that way. Even for our prom queen POTUS.
Obama detractors and skeptics probably hear in all of this a professorial haughtiness that has plagued him and alienated them before. And there’s legitimate disagreement about the degree to which he has been an agent as well as a casualty of the poisoned environment he rues. His administration’s actions haven’t always been as high-minded as his words." - Frank Bruni
Correction: Obama's actions have never been as high minded as his words, which is also known as the hallmark characteristics of a con artist.
As a Black attorney in Washington DC, who arrived here about a month before Obama was sworn in as President in 2009, when it comes to the gridlock, distrust, partisan hate and divisiveness that has destroyed this town, Mr. Obama you built that. Period.
Mr. Obama can't pooh pooh the problems he created as if he is a bystander. Life doesn't work that way. Even for our prom queen POTUS.
12
That didn't take long. Only the third post I've read and the writer is calling the President a con artist and a prom queen. And that's exactly the problem the President has been talking about.
33
@DCBarrister: Yes, sir, we're all aware that you're a "Black Attorney with a degree in U.S. History" etc. etc. Your posts, without the smallest variation, channel those of the angry, the resentful, the hate-filled, the gutter gurglings of Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, the John Birch Society, ALEC, Koch Industries. You have, sir, no appreciation of the history you claim as your intellectual bona fide, when you slander our president without the smallest truthful reference to his alleged incompetency and his hidden hatred of America. I can't imagine any client in need of legal services being the least bit confident in your professionalism, ethics or services. Count this response as the one that President Obama was too busy to answer.
32
This man deserves to be on Mt. Rushmore. Viva La Obama. He will be missed badly. I hope he does the speaker circuit after he's out of office. I want to see him in person once at least.
49
Our most eloquent and intelligent President in a generation warns us with his thoughtful analysis. W.B. Yeats warned us a century ago in "The Second Coming"
- Well it's here, folks:
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?"
We had Obama and we lacked conviction and allowed the GOP to waste him.
Now we have Trump and Clinton and Cruz and McConnell and Palin, and on and on. The "rough beast" will be a challenge to all humanity. We will bicker, vilify, and dismiss each other as the world burns up or drowns and the unfortunate starve.
"Passionate intensity" indeed!
- Well it's here, folks:
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?"
We had Obama and we lacked conviction and allowed the GOP to waste him.
Now we have Trump and Clinton and Cruz and McConnell and Palin, and on and on. The "rough beast" will be a challenge to all humanity. We will bicker, vilify, and dismiss each other as the world burns up or drowns and the unfortunate starve.
"Passionate intensity" indeed!
31
Facts are a partial recognition of reality. As no one knows all the facts, no one truly sees reality. Obama is just as guilty as any conservative at choosing the facts he recognizes. An, being a progressive, he is more certain that morality is on his side whether it is or not. For myself, equality is not nearly as important as liberty. Obama would have it the other way.
6
Which is your choice, HenryC. I see no freedom worth keeping if you don't, with some humility, make a choice as to which values to cherish and what ideals will help bring about a better reality for all.
6
Imagine, The Great America that elected such a decent human being twice is now actively flirting with the idea of Donald Trump to the same office!! Oh the shame and horror.. Just Imagine if Barack Obama had ever behaved even for one day as Trump, he would have been tarred, feathered and run out of town. For the life of me, I cannot understand what is happening, confusion and utter sadness abounds...
45
He protected the Corporations and the Banks and make sure they didn't suffer from the crash of '08, which they caused. He bowed to the Generals and shoveled even more money to them and worst of all he keep the Iraq War going in the insane hope the Iraqi Government will love us and let us steal their oil.
Obama and the Clintons have turned the Democratic Party into Republican lite and given us two Parties working for the 1%.
He pull a bait and switch on Liberals just like the Republicans do to their Base.
Who cares what he says in speeches? look at what he has and hasn't done and who he has and hasn't helped.
Obama and the Clintons have turned the Democratic Party into Republican lite and given us two Parties working for the 1%.
He pull a bait and switch on Liberals just like the Republicans do to their Base.
Who cares what he says in speeches? look at what he has and hasn't done and who he has and hasn't helped.
10
I'm feeling separation anxiety already, and he's not even gone yet! And I'm Canadian!
32
It was a beautiful, truthful speech.
There is nothing, in my mind, quite so without dignity or serious purpose, as blind zealotry...which operates much like a mob mentality. We have way too much of that today...cloaked in patriotism, religion, politics or some "ism" or other.
There is nothing, in my mind, quite so without dignity or serious purpose, as blind zealotry...which operates much like a mob mentality. We have way too much of that today...cloaked in patriotism, religion, politics or some "ism" or other.
22
So, after spending his time in office demonizing the Republican party, he now comes out against ugly partisanship. Sadly, he is a hypocrite.
9
Demonizing the republican party... the one that tacitly and sometimes overtly subscribes to the birther lie, the one that vowed to obstruct anything proposed by democrats as a principle (and then said they were standing on principle!), the one that won't hold a hearing for Merrick, their own choice a few years ago. This list could easily exceed 1500 words.
I hear this phrase from Republican's frequently about Obama's mistreatment/disrespect of the Republicans frequently. Some of it appears to be what psychologists call it projection. I would appreciate hearing a list of specifics that go beyond sound bites.
I hear this phrase from Republican's frequently about Obama's mistreatment/disrespect of the Republicans frequently. Some of it appears to be what psychologists call it projection. I would appreciate hearing a list of specifics that go beyond sound bites.
41
It's pretty clear Obama favors Hillary Clinton, another master pragmatist.
Here's what I don't get: why do so many Obama supporters not give Hillary Clinton the same courtesy?
Here's what I don't get: why do so many Obama supporters not give Hillary Clinton the same courtesy?
12
He isn't taking jabs at opponents? He used a press conference on jobs to attack Trump. He does it at every turn. Completely un-presidential. He applauds Prince but fails to mention a death of a soldier in Iraq. He is a very good deliver of a speech. He cannot say hello without a teleprompter. A very silly article but at least it isn't the typical catholic church attack you normally subject us to.
7
I love this man, and miss him already. First class all the way.
35
Barack Obama’s final year may very well become one of the most important ones for all Americans. Almost with a gesture of gentleness he his holding a mirror in front of us allowing fully well that he has to look into that same mirror.
Adversity has clearly made him stronger. When hatred towards him became too unbearable he never retaliated with expressions of anger and the attendant traps of smugness and self-approval. Instead, he reminded us that our often flawed humanity did not exclude himself from criticism. He never came across as a preacher of haughty values but rather as a humble and restrained admonisher who wants us all to become better human beings, including himself.
There has hardly been a President that young who over the past 7 plus years has developed such startling moral authority. His prodigious intelligence was often darkened by a sadness over how things could have been had he and his progressive ideas not been sabotaged by a hostile and recalcitrant congress. I don’t think that bitterness will linger or for that matter even grow roots in this President. I believe he will leave the White House in the knowledge of having accomplished more than we ever dared to expect.
I truly think that the whole world will lament his parting. America will miss him more than it has ever thought possible.
Adversity has clearly made him stronger. When hatred towards him became too unbearable he never retaliated with expressions of anger and the attendant traps of smugness and self-approval. Instead, he reminded us that our often flawed humanity did not exclude himself from criticism. He never came across as a preacher of haughty values but rather as a humble and restrained admonisher who wants us all to become better human beings, including himself.
There has hardly been a President that young who over the past 7 plus years has developed such startling moral authority. His prodigious intelligence was often darkened by a sadness over how things could have been had he and his progressive ideas not been sabotaged by a hostile and recalcitrant congress. I don’t think that bitterness will linger or for that matter even grow roots in this President. I believe he will leave the White House in the knowledge of having accomplished more than we ever dared to expect.
I truly think that the whole world will lament his parting. America will miss him more than it has ever thought possible.
44
Mr. Obama has been the recipient of every advantage he wants to deny future generations. Rewards for hard work, better education for the poor, universal acceptance between races, religions and economic classes. In stealing the historical birthright US Citizens have fought and died for over 300 years... Freedom!
He has come full circle as Bruni suggests only it is the wrong one he highlights, we started with the slavery of some of our citizens, he leaves with the prospect of most US citizens in slavery of the social elite cronies he represents.
He has come full circle as Bruni suggests only it is the wrong one he highlights, we started with the slavery of some of our citizens, he leaves with the prospect of most US citizens in slavery of the social elite cronies he represents.
9
The eloquence of this imperfect though reflective and intelligent president is even more poignant in what we now inherit:
A narcissistic grifter with no desire or understanding of introspection and temperance -- or an ambitious, insular warhawk who chooses the past over any future ideas and youthful understanding of them.
The bully who took my lunch money is facing off with the go-getter who told on me for talking in class
Mr. Obama, you will be passionately missed.
A narcissistic grifter with no desire or understanding of introspection and temperance -- or an ambitious, insular warhawk who chooses the past over any future ideas and youthful understanding of them.
The bully who took my lunch money is facing off with the go-getter who told on me for talking in class
Mr. Obama, you will be passionately missed.
15
Tony, I too will miss President Obama's eloquence and intelligence so very much. I am saddened though by your portrait of his likely successor in the Democratic party. To say that HRC "chooses the past" is to be blind to her pathbreaking courage. Getting to the point of possibly breaking a 240-year chain of male presidents has been an almost unimaginable challenge and she has managed it with remarkable skill and persistence over decades of hard work and dedication. And she's done so in spite of sexism on all fronts, from millions of dollars and 30 years of abominable far-rightwing propaganda levelled against her to the subtle kind of sexism it's hard to notice even in oneself, such as saddling her with stereotypes of girls who tell on people in class..
32
His has always been a reasoned voice. Perhaps in these valedictory speeches he will have some influence on our future. We need to get a broader, more historical perspective and return to the days of compromise that has served us so well in the past. We each get some of what we want, what we think best serves the country, and then we live with it.
19
It's very difficult to swallow the premise of Mr Bruni's article given the fact that this president was one of the most divisive in our history. But we should have known this has he came into office with the thinnest of resumes having never really accomplished much in either the private or public arenas. He was more like a petulant only child that never got along with anyone from either party and never knew how to engage the congress. If he didn't get his way, he simply bypassed congress and issued executive orders. The apologists on this comment string are appropriate sycophants Obama liked to preach to. Always comfortable in front of teleprompter spouting his opinions like the graduation speech, yet never conveniently having a full length mirror along side the teleprompter to see who the "leader" of this nation was that has caused a lot of what he says is wrong with out politics. He leaves office with a weakened USA abroad, turmoil in the middle east, appeasement to foreign thugs, a weak economy, and out of control health care system( that they lied about to get through congress) and a nation divided. Despite deflecting responsibility the last 8 years, the Buck stops with him.
18
Michael, I think the President was referring to people like you when he said of partisanship, "it’s fed in our digital era by voters’ ability to curate information from only those news sources and social-media feeds that echo and amplify their prejudices." If you did not hear Mitch McConnell words to block everything to ensure that Pres. Obama is a one term president, and not recognize the consequences of that you are living in the Bubble. President Obama had to endure Republican obstruction fueled buy thinly veiled racism. Too bad your news sources didn't inform you of them.
18
I will remember Obama as the president with the most and longest run-on sentences. If he had stopped talking so much -- with bogus "red lines" -- we might have avoided some of the mess we're now in. But there was no way we could stop the consequences of the rather bitter Arab Spring. The Middle East was going to be a disaster zone no matter what we did. Jumping down the throat of Israel for zealously repulsing attacks by Arab terrorist groups and individuals accomplished nothing except to tarnish President Obama's record. Had he instead confronted the Islamic world with unequivocal support for Israel and condemnation of the continuing boycott of and attacks against Israel, he might have facilitated peace talks between Israel and Palestinian Arabs.
8
One word: hypocrisy! Obama has been the most divisive president of my lifetime. His "beautiful words" belie the partisan presidency (2) he has conducted. Think about how he became a success: calling out those he didn't like, passing extremely unpopular (and now crumbling) legislation without any Republican support, signing executive orders when he couldn't and wouldn't do the job of talking to his political opponents, constantly identifying and insulting his "enemies," letting half of the populace know he was not THEIR president, supporting the obfuscation of facts in the serious investigations into various scandals, never firing people whose offensive acts brought down the public's opinion of government, hyping certain religions and movements in order to make them appear more important or worthy of respect, dissing important ceremonies while making sure to attend small-ball events that laid bare his politics, spending the future of our children on projects that failed miserably and took away trillions, and on and on. He has been the president of a few. Lecturing us all on civility at this point is laughable and insulting. We won't forget what a disaster his presidency has been as evidenced by the diminishing of our foreign affairs, our economy, jobs, and especially the political discourse. How hypocritical!
14
I don't much like Obama as president, but I was really impressed by his comments on free expression at colleges.
Things are spinnng out of control on campuses, with speech codes, safe spaces, triggering, bias response teams, Title IX inquisitions, and panics about cultural appropriation. It's not just political correctness, it's viscous crushing of anything determined to be wrongthink by a small minority of loud progressive social justice warriors.
It seems like the SJWs should know they're overstepping the bounds of sanity when their progressive hero president calls them out. But I doubt they have the self-awareness.
Things are spinnng out of control on campuses, with speech codes, safe spaces, triggering, bias response teams, Title IX inquisitions, and panics about cultural appropriation. It's not just political correctness, it's viscous crushing of anything determined to be wrongthink by a small minority of loud progressive social justice warriors.
It seems like the SJWs should know they're overstepping the bounds of sanity when their progressive hero president calls them out. But I doubt they have the self-awareness.
6
God bless you, Mr. Bruni--at least someone is listening to the tone and content of our President's farewell addresses.
17
Such hypocrisy. BHO has been the most divisive president in recent history. Bruni continues to be a mouthpiece for the regime.
13
Beautiful; just right. Let me add three words: Mr. Justice Obama...
Let's make it so.
Let's make it so.
21
Let's hope that Barack Obama, that great man, will sit on the SCOTUS. Best possible outcome for our future.
26
I listened to the Howard University speech and sometimes felt tears--that the President would lay it on the line as he did with humor, inspiration, and direct talk. I also cried that he had to caution the next generation about the future at the same as celebrate their possibility of achieving their highest hopes. I hope we too can rise with this generation and do better as he exults them to.
26
I share the glowing admiration for Obama's personal attributes (poise, intelligence, decency, et.al.) but am still bothered by the quickness with which he embraced the Establishment (Clinton, Geithner, War on Dugs, military quagmires, money from the vested interests, caving on single-payer or public-option...).
9
Obama is probably the brightest President we have had in recent years. That being said it's not arguably the best politician. The question is other than the health care reform which was not only a produced because we had a majority for a slim portion of his term in the house and the Senate he has no major other domestic accomplishment. The foreign policy he hasn't started a new war which is great given how deep that American militarism runs. All of this being said he's probably spot on and a lot of the things he says. What we need is a political genius someone like the Communist Mao now or FDR and such people are in very short supply historically
2
No domestic accomplishments? He saved the US from another Great Depression (despite the opposition). Economic stimulus and saved the auto industry. Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Repealed DADT. 2 women on Supreme Court. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And much, much more. You comment is now rendered null and void.
20
Yes, Mr. Obama's wise counsel is lost in the din of the Trump-Clinton-Sanders horse race. How many stories did the New York Times run on President Obama's superb speeches? How many did the Times run on Donald Trump during the same time period?
Journalism feeds political discourse. If we want more thoughtful discourse built on listening to each other, then we must nourish it. The press has a key role to play.
Journalism feeds political discourse. If we want more thoughtful discourse built on listening to each other, then we must nourish it. The press has a key role to play.
Nice editorial. Barak Obama has been a very good president. People are now appreciating his exceptional gifts and clear vision.
20
Obama's inability to complete any legislation as lame duck was great for his popularity. Less he did, more people like him
7
There's so much to recommend in this article, even for those who have not been pleased with President Obama's leadership. Here in secular terms is a Gospel message. Jesus says, "Stop judging and condemning" Luke 6: 37. The reason: judging and condemning prevents working towards solutions. Today's Congress is a terrific example of the alternative: no collaboration/ no solutions. Just condemnations.
11
Some say President Obama did not attack his opponents forcefully enough. But his calm reasoned approach left his opponents railing against the wind and they thought this was success.
Now the GOP is a wreck because of its now perceived radicalism. Sometimes it is best to let your foul mouthed opponents stew in their own juices.
Now the GOP is a wreck because of its now perceived radicalism. Sometimes it is best to let your foul mouthed opponents stew in their own juices.
19
I've greatly respected President Obama from the start, but it wasn't until I saw a candid speech he made to his young campaign workers following his victory in 2012 that I knew how truly special he is. It was an incredibly humble, inspiring moment where you could see President Obama visibly moved by the tenacity, wisdom, and idealism of the young people who ran his campaign. I realized then that this is a man with a big heart and the singular gift in politics of truly thinking more about how to help others than himself.
He has changed this county for the better in innumerable ways despite being blocked by his opponents at every turn. He laid out a roadmap for a new American century and showed the world what an incredible place this country can be. He is also a loving husband and father. To know that such an honorable and wise man is guiding our country forward has been an incredible gift.
He has changed this county for the better in innumerable ways despite being blocked by his opponents at every turn. He laid out a roadmap for a new American century and showed the world what an incredible place this country can be. He is also a loving husband and father. To know that such an honorable and wise man is guiding our country forward has been an incredible gift.
22
I'm really gonna miss this guy. He couldn't deliver everything I ordered, but considering the environment, he's lucky to be alive. We may never know such civility with an iron fist again.
23
For those Republicans caving and announcing their intent to support Trump, I'd have them imagine the four State of the Union speeches Mr Trump will give.
These four hours alone will do more damage to the GOP than any gaffe yet spoken by a Republican Tea Party congressional candidate. If, God forbid, it comes to pass, you can be sure that after the disgusting Republican nastiness of the last 8 years Democrats will make the most of it.
These four hours alone will do more damage to the GOP than any gaffe yet spoken by a Republican Tea Party congressional candidate. If, God forbid, it comes to pass, you can be sure that after the disgusting Republican nastiness of the last 8 years Democrats will make the most of it.
6
Mr. Obama compares very well with the many Presidents I can remember- FDR one of the most memorable. "Hooverville" marks one of the least so out here in Seattle. Overcoming shameful race-based resistance in Congress, he did a great job for us Americans. JGAIA-
14
No matter who is elected this year, we will look back and wish we had Obama back in the White House. Sometimes I wish he would have gotten angry and called out the Tea Party and the GOP, but he never did. Looking at Trump, it is easy to see that he made the right choice – no unnecessary drama. He has dignified the office of the Presidency by his actions, defined mainly by the restraint he has shown.
26
The words of Wm Osler describe Obama:
Aequanimitas
"Emblazoned on the shield of The Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine is the word Aequanimitas. The term means imperturbability and was regarded by Sir William Osler as the premier quality of a good physician. In his essay, Aequanimitas, Dr. Osler further defines this concept as coolness and presence of mind under all circumstances, calmness amid storm, clearness of judgment in moments of grave peril. In full development, it has the nature of a divine gift, a blessing to the possessor, a comfort to all who come in contact with him. At the beginning of their Osler residency, interns are given a copy of this essay --- both to bolster their spirit and to refresh their memories during the trials of the following year."
Aequanimitas
"Emblazoned on the shield of The Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine is the word Aequanimitas. The term means imperturbability and was regarded by Sir William Osler as the premier quality of a good physician. In his essay, Aequanimitas, Dr. Osler further defines this concept as coolness and presence of mind under all circumstances, calmness amid storm, clearness of judgment in moments of grave peril. In full development, it has the nature of a divine gift, a blessing to the possessor, a comfort to all who come in contact with him. At the beginning of their Osler residency, interns are given a copy of this essay --- both to bolster their spirit and to refresh their memories during the trials of the following year."
11
I've always thought that 50 or 100 years from now that President Obama will be looked upon as one of our great leaders. How sad for us all that the Republicans did their utmost to block him at every turn.
23
Yesterday Bernie Sanders sat down with the SF. Chronicle's editorial board. This was his message:
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders says he learned from the mistakes President Obama made in his first term — they taught him that if he wins the White House, he won’t be able to compromise with Republicans in Congress.
“I think a keen mistake that the president made is that he refused to recognize that reality — that these guys (Republicans) were never serious about compromise,” the presidential candidate said in a meeting with The Chronicle’s editorial board Tuesday...
“I do not believe that right-wing Republicans are prepared to work with a progressive president.” The way to break that logjam, he said, is for people who support Sanders’ “political revolution” to contact their members of Congress directly.
Of course, President Obama is a Democrat and Senator Sanders isn't.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders says he learned from the mistakes President Obama made in his first term — they taught him that if he wins the White House, he won’t be able to compromise with Republicans in Congress.
“I think a keen mistake that the president made is that he refused to recognize that reality — that these guys (Republicans) were never serious about compromise,” the presidential candidate said in a meeting with The Chronicle’s editorial board Tuesday...
“I do not believe that right-wing Republicans are prepared to work with a progressive president.” The way to break that logjam, he said, is for people who support Sanders’ “political revolution” to contact their members of Congress directly.
Of course, President Obama is a Democrat and Senator Sanders isn't.
7
I thought the most important thing he told them was that they need to get out and vote. In every election at every level. And he asked them to imagine what he could have done with a Congress that they had voted in.
19
Why is there so much distrust and hatred toward such a thoughtful and caring President. Obama is not with out faults like all of us, but he has identified and considered many of our issues.
13
It could be his condescencion, his habit of poking his head upward as he speaks instead of looking directly at the cameras, his inability to string two words forcefully together when he's not on script, his whining and complaining about his critics instead of accepting responsibility, his policy of spinning the truth and falsely cultivating an image of himself, his indifferwnce to the plight of hard working Americans while cozying up to the elites, his inability to deal with Putin and ISIS while caving in to Iran, his selling out hope and change to the big banks and corporations, and his selfish preoccupation with his "legacy" while people are struggling. One thing I know. It's time for him to go.
5
Taking into account the Republican candidate's views of some critical issues such as immigrants and moslems, I think it is the time for the Americans to show whether they will make their country deserved to be recognized as a great country. Whatever the problems that the Americans are currently facing, I do hope that they are not blinded by them when they are considering the qualities that their future President must have. With regard to Mr. Obama himself, I wish the Americans are aware of the many good qualities that he represents.. I hope one day history would be kind to him for what he had done being a leader who continued inspiring people to be the agent of change for the betterman and who set himself first as a good agent itself..
6
A well deserved and lovely tribute to a man who exemplifies the word "statesman". A lesser man could not have withstood what President Obama has had to endure. Yet, he still remains gracious. He has always taken the high road in the face of insults and undeserved criticism. His accomplishments are many and nothing short of extraordinary given that Republicans in Congress were hell- bent on obstructing him at every turn. Yet we have the ACA, a Treaty with Iraq instead of war, our national debt has been reduced, our economy did not go off the cliff in the face of impending disaster, employment is up, and we have a President who is well respected by world leaders. Have there been missteps? Of course, but none that come anywhere near the magnitude of the ill begotten war in Iraq. I will miss this President, and I am proud to have worked on his campaign in 2008. My optimism was not misplaced. Now we are faced with an election race I could never have imagined.
This time next year we will have a new President. Who that person will be has never been more important to our country. If Donald Trump is not stopped by a Democrat, our country will begin to be destroyed from within. Whereas President Obama was well prepared to assume office, Trump could not be more ill equipped. Obama offered decency, and Trump offers hate. Trump is no statesman.
This time next year we will have a new President. Who that person will be has never been more important to our country. If Donald Trump is not stopped by a Democrat, our country will begin to be destroyed from within. Whereas President Obama was well prepared to assume office, Trump could not be more ill equipped. Obama offered decency, and Trump offers hate. Trump is no statesman.
214
I meant "Treaty with Iran".
3
Frank, Trump and Clinton may be extreme in certain ways--Trump for flouting any and all customs of civil discourse and Clinton for pretending Trump's actions have no basis in reality--but I think it's wrong to say either now represents an extreme. That tendency is behind us, lying at the roots of the absurd Tea Party. Even Bernie Sanders cannot be attributed to extremism, though he may think that in his call for a "revolution" he is. That is a political mistake; the revolution to which he refers happened in 1933 and was then reprised in 1964. Donald Trump is, in truth, in the process of extricating the GOP from extremism. He doesn't pretend to be a politician or someone fit to entertain royalty; no one would enter the White House with such a reputation since Andrew Jackson. But Trump is the first member of the GOP to heed Daniel Bell's message of a half-century ago that ideology can no longer be trusted to answer the problems of the post-industrial economy. He would apply common sense to the problems of the US and heed "the experts" only when common sense doesn't tell him what to do. Many of our best presidents followed this dictum; did not have the experience or education to sort through the arguments presented by their brain trusts but instead went with what they knew to be right and good--including Ronald Reagan, who was only ideological in his rhetoric; Dwight Eisenhower; Harry Truman; and Abe Lincoln. Let's whether Trump can rise to Bell's standard.
5
It ought to bother those of us on the leftish side of the political spectrum that we have been exhibiting a lot of the same narcissism, willful ignorance, cheap arguments, and sense of entitlement that's all too visible in the likes of Donald Trump.
It ought to bother us quite a lot, actually.
It ought to bother us quite a lot, actually.
10
Imagine that the republicans in congress had not dabbled in sedition on the night of Obama's inauguration. Imagine that they had decided to work with the President to put America back to work. Sure, they would have had to allow him the credit for the Nation's success but they would have been able to share it with him.
If there was a big time infrastructure build going, on the yahoos attending the riots that pass for T rump's rallies would be too tired to attend after working hard all day long.
The Nation then wouldn't be biting its collective fingernails down to the nubs, and the republicans might have had a chance to put someone to their liking in the White House.
Now we might be faced with a Nightmare on Pennsylvania Ave.
If we had a vibrant and free press that reported news and facts instead of opinions and innuendo McConnell and his posse wouldn't have been allowed to lie about the real progress being made without being held accountable.
If there was a big time infrastructure build going, on the yahoos attending the riots that pass for T rump's rallies would be too tired to attend after working hard all day long.
The Nation then wouldn't be biting its collective fingernails down to the nubs, and the republicans might have had a chance to put someone to their liking in the White House.
Now we might be faced with a Nightmare on Pennsylvania Ave.
If we had a vibrant and free press that reported news and facts instead of opinions and innuendo McConnell and his posse wouldn't have been allowed to lie about the real progress being made without being held accountable.
10
President Obama is my favorite president of my lifetime, and I've been voting since 1970. I admire him, and have been so proud of him as our nation's representative to the world. He is that rare public figure who is actually a noble statesman. I will miss him greatly, as president, but I am sure he will continue to have positive influence around the globe. Bless him on his further journey!
28
I am a Black lawyer in Washington DC, and I work on Capitol Hill.
Last weekend, I found myself in the office working on what would be preparation for a brutal week. On my lunch break, I happened across coverage of Obama's commencement speech at Howard University.
Realizing Obama steered clear of HBCUs in his first term and meticulously avoided any public mentions of the word "Black" and Obama's Freudian slip last week when he instantly corrected himself when he referred to himself as a Black man to "mixed race" I thought I'd engage hidden masochism and see how Obama would offend me as a Black man, so I watched.
First. The offensive, needless "Black National Anthem" with Obama fumbling to lip sync words to "Lift E'vry Voice" complete with Howard Graduates doing the militant Black power fist pose, as Obama nodded in approval. After I checked my iPhone to make sure we weren't watching something from the 1960s, I soldiered on.
Second. Obama's offensive faux Black preacher cadence. Ever notice when Obama speaks to large Black audiences (I've had this happen to me when I attended the Congressional Black Caucus formal here in Washington) that Obama speaks with this odd, pronounced cadence that he seems to think we sound like? Why can't Obama speak to Black people the same way he speaks to White people? I think we'd still understand him.
Third. Results. For all of Obama's humblebragging, his presidency has been a disaster for my race.
Mr. Obama, just say goodbye. And leave.
Last weekend, I found myself in the office working on what would be preparation for a brutal week. On my lunch break, I happened across coverage of Obama's commencement speech at Howard University.
Realizing Obama steered clear of HBCUs in his first term and meticulously avoided any public mentions of the word "Black" and Obama's Freudian slip last week when he instantly corrected himself when he referred to himself as a Black man to "mixed race" I thought I'd engage hidden masochism and see how Obama would offend me as a Black man, so I watched.
First. The offensive, needless "Black National Anthem" with Obama fumbling to lip sync words to "Lift E'vry Voice" complete with Howard Graduates doing the militant Black power fist pose, as Obama nodded in approval. After I checked my iPhone to make sure we weren't watching something from the 1960s, I soldiered on.
Second. Obama's offensive faux Black preacher cadence. Ever notice when Obama speaks to large Black audiences (I've had this happen to me when I attended the Congressional Black Caucus formal here in Washington) that Obama speaks with this odd, pronounced cadence that he seems to think we sound like? Why can't Obama speak to Black people the same way he speaks to White people? I think we'd still understand him.
Third. Results. For all of Obama's humblebragging, his presidency has been a disaster for my race.
Mr. Obama, just say goodbye. And leave.
13
"Realizing Obama steered clear of HBCUs in his first term"
Really? He gave the commencement address at my alma mater, Hampton in 2010.
Offensive, needless? Disaster for our race?
Get a grip, sir...
Really? He gave the commencement address at my alma mater, Hampton in 2010.
Offensive, needless? Disaster for our race?
Get a grip, sir...
12
It's probably not a good idea for you to be commenting here, Clarence. What would Antonin say?
11
I am almost 65 years old. I have been voting since the early 1970s. I have been excited about several candidates, but they were either defeated in the election or disappointed. President Obama excited me during his candidacy, even though I was initially a Hillary supporter. In the long run, the President has far exceeded what I would have hoped my President would be as a representative of me and my country. It is too bad--a shame, a scandal--that so many in this country have seen him only through the lenses of their own bigotry. Although Barack Obama's election was initially defined as the beginning of post-racism, what it has accomplished instead is that it revealed the bigotry that has always bubbled beneath the surface of the American skin. I wish I could live long enough to see how history will treat the President, but in my book, he has filled the office with dignity and grace and he has been the best president of my lifetime. Indeed, he and his whole family have reflected what I want to believe is the best about being an American. This election cycle, unfortunately, has made it difficult to hold onto that ideal.
21
Of course, Obama's eloquence counts and, hopefully, inspires young folks to excel in their imagination and deeds, so society can benefit. It requires aiming beyond ourselves, for the common good. Having said that, Obama could have done more, in spite of republican obstinate obstructionism, if he had spent more time explaining his accomplishments (or lack thereof) better and more often; sadly, a wasted chance.
4
His speeches have always been articulate and provocative. I'm sure the one he will give at Hiroshima will be the same. But the audience will know that part of his legacy is the one trillion dollar upgrade of our nuclear weapons so, if needed, they will perform reliably and well. And remarkably, this upgrade was accepted by politicians and public alike without "a sense of grievance too exaggerated and an outrage bereft of perspective". We know what we like.
A proposal to sequester a trillion to combat the affect of global warming would most certainly generate a bit of "deafening sound and blinding fury" in the public debate
A proposal to sequester a trillion to combat the affect of global warming would most certainly generate a bit of "deafening sound and blinding fury" in the public debate
2
Would you rather a nuclear arsenal were unreliable and crummy?
By the way, there's a lot of good reporting out there on the money spent and the upgrading. Much of it in the Times.
One may have real problems with this without being one-sided, largely ignorant, and cheaply partisan.
By the way, there's a lot of good reporting out there on the money spent and the upgrading. Much of it in the Times.
One may have real problems with this without being one-sided, largely ignorant, and cheaply partisan.
3
Why did President Obama get re-elected in 2012 even though the fundamentals supported a generic Republican opponent over him? Because he did not have to run against a generic opponent, but a real one coming with his own drawbacks. This also seems to be the reason why President Obama's approval rating has been increasing lately. People have been sensing the qualities of the presidential candidates in this election cycle, and contrasting them with President Obama. Of course, President Obama comes out ahead in any such comparison. I doubt that we will be fortunate enough to get a President as good as him in my remaining lifetime, but Hillary will still be a successful President even if she ends up being only half as good.
15
President Obama's approval rating has increased because the size of the polling participants has decreased. NBC's national job approval polls during the Obama presidency were outed years ago for intentional oversampling of Democratic voters, and the beat goes on.
People have been sensing the qualities of the Obama presidency, and turning out in record numbers to vote for Donald Trump. As a matter of fact, the failed Obama presidency is what motivated the Trump 2016 campaign.
114 million Americans gave up on finding work during the Obama presidency.
1 in 4 Black children are starving in America as of 2013, during the Obama presidency. African Americans have suffered every year of the Obama presidency with regard to every socio-economic measure of quality of life more than any other race in this country.
And yet somehow Obama liberals deem his presidency a success? For whom? Obama?
People have been sensing the qualities of the Obama presidency, and turning out in record numbers to vote for Donald Trump. As a matter of fact, the failed Obama presidency is what motivated the Trump 2016 campaign.
114 million Americans gave up on finding work during the Obama presidency.
1 in 4 Black children are starving in America as of 2013, during the Obama presidency. African Americans have suffered every year of the Obama presidency with regard to every socio-economic measure of quality of life more than any other race in this country.
And yet somehow Obama liberals deem his presidency a success? For whom? Obama?
9
Source data for your claims, please?
7
Are we as country better off in 2016 than in 2008? The answer is a resounding "yes". We are familiar with your disdain for our President through your many comments - the economic and racial problems you are bemoaning are beyond a single president's reach; they require action from society at large. As a privileged member of your race - as you never fail to point out - what have you done to lift others up?
6
Obama has been the best president since Roosevelt.
Congress and the GOP have worked to make him appear the worst.
Sadly, we Americans may elect his polar opposite in Trump, and we and the rest of the world will suffer.
Instead of grace under pressure we may have anger and expletives.
If Clinton gets elected the GOP will do everything to undermine her presidency.
We live in frightening times and we are so divided.
Congress and the GOP have worked to make him appear the worst.
Sadly, we Americans may elect his polar opposite in Trump, and we and the rest of the world will suffer.
Instead of grace under pressure we may have anger and expletives.
If Clinton gets elected the GOP will do everything to undermine her presidency.
We live in frightening times and we are so divided.
20
It is normal in mature democracies for the electorate to want a change after multiple terms of the same party. The 22nd Amendment limits the President to 2 terms. The last time there was 3 terms of same party for President was Bush I after Reagan's 2 terms and that coincided with the end of the Cold War. For the Democrats, you have to go back to Truman who followed FDR - the only President to be electected more than 2 terms pre-22nd Amendment - a period that coincided with the end of the Depression and WWII. Bush II was the un-Clinton running on restoring the White House post-Clinton scandals. Obama is the un-Bush II - an intelligent, calm hand to recover from the financial and foreign policy disasters of Bush II. Trump is the un-Obama - the ruthless, bigoted Alpha Male to counter No Drama Obama. Here is hoping and praying that Hillary will save the country and planet from the incompetent and very dangerous Trump. I will miss Obama a great deal - not a transformational President that I had the audacity to hope for, but one of our best Presidents.
13
I think you are falling prey to the usual equal handed treatment of Clinton and Trump campaigns. Hillary maybe a less eloquent version of President Obama but her policies are solidly in the same path. Trump is a wind bag and an extremist version of the republican bigotry.
But I digress. If ever there was an argument not to restrict a president's term to only eight years while we continue to have the do nothing congress in perpetuity it is Mr. Obama. Can we just keep him and throw out the obstructionist republicans out? Oh what a wonderful place that would be!
But I digress. If ever there was an argument not to restrict a president's term to only eight years while we continue to have the do nothing congress in perpetuity it is Mr. Obama. Can we just keep him and throw out the obstructionist republicans out? Oh what a wonderful place that would be!
17
Obama is very right on this. Black people have very many more opportunities for advancement in our main stream culture. Middle class blacks are much more visible outside of black neighborhoods. They have finally entered the main stream. Although many feel impeded by "the System ", that is not a black problem. Many people face it. And the middle-aged white guy to whom Obama alluded feels an especially sharp, deep pain over this because it hasn't happened to his group before in his entire experience.
Blacks have the equality that they deserve. They should quit agitating for preferential treatment!
No one deserves to get everything their own way.
Blacks have the equality that they deserve. They should quit agitating for preferential treatment!
No one deserves to get everything their own way.
2
What Mr. Bruni neglected to say was how much more could have been accomplished by President Obama if the GOP, the Grossly Overconfident Popinjays, had done their jobs and worked with the president we elected, had kept the needs of the poor, the working and middle class citizens in mind instead of going off and having an 8 year temper tantrum. This version of the GOP treated this president with the least amount of respect of any president in modern day America. Hoover, who presided over the start of the Great Depression, wasn't treated as badly. During Obama's term in office the GOP showed how racist, divisive, intolerant, and pigheaded they were. Their actions and attitudes have hurt all of us.
Obama was not a perfect president. No one is. But Obama tried to do his job, to do his best by all of us, not some of us. He tried to work to get what he could even if it wasn't what he felt was best when it came to the ACA, to fighting in the Middle East, and even to the trade pacts. He's been thoughtful, occasionally witty, and shown much more maturity than his opponents. In fact, their lack of cooperation, their tantrums, and their inability to put aside their differences to work to improve all our lives and America should be the biggest reason not to return any of them to office. Had they worked with Obama they would have been able to share in the praise. Instead they have earned our disgust.
Obama was not a perfect president. No one is. But Obama tried to do his job, to do his best by all of us, not some of us. He tried to work to get what he could even if it wasn't what he felt was best when it came to the ACA, to fighting in the Middle East, and even to the trade pacts. He's been thoughtful, occasionally witty, and shown much more maturity than his opponents. In fact, their lack of cooperation, their tantrums, and their inability to put aside their differences to work to improve all our lives and America should be the biggest reason not to return any of them to office. Had they worked with Obama they would have been able to share in the praise. Instead they have earned our disgust.
23
I have a difficult time attempting to imagine Mr. Obama's life with family to domestic and world problems to deal with. Trying to imagine his time management to raise a family and deal with the innumerable difficult situations demanding his time as President.
Dealing with the GOP obstructions and their blatantly Jim Crow behaviors to block his judgeship appointments on all levels and all the other destructive non-governance piping out of the poisons of the GOP.
And being in the sight and assessment for all the world, the speeches, press conferences, diplomatic visits and much more. Always in the publics eye.
Most of us go home to our families to love and managing raising children.
It boggles my mind how one person can manage to be so well adjusted, taking the slings and arrows, casting them aside, to be presidential and in the end his greatest asset,
being a warm, open, reassuring presence fostering good will, justice and yes, especially now, hope.
Dealing with the GOP obstructions and their blatantly Jim Crow behaviors to block his judgeship appointments on all levels and all the other destructive non-governance piping out of the poisons of the GOP.
And being in the sight and assessment for all the world, the speeches, press conferences, diplomatic visits and much more. Always in the publics eye.
Most of us go home to our families to love and managing raising children.
It boggles my mind how one person can manage to be so well adjusted, taking the slings and arrows, casting them aside, to be presidential and in the end his greatest asset,
being a warm, open, reassuring presence fostering good will, justice and yes, especially now, hope.
26
I wonder why we cling to the immature remarks of a Donald Trump and too often ignore the wisdom of Barak Obama.
Surely there are many, many citizens who see the talks of Obama for the thoughtful, intelligence they carry.
I worry more about America's future with every report of Trumps success in the primaries.
I hope my favorite 'foreign country" of America will see the light of a positive future from the many wise women and men in their country and not miss the headlights of Trump's train wreck coming down the tunnel--in time to stop it.
Surely there are many, many citizens who see the talks of Obama for the thoughtful, intelligence they carry.
I worry more about America's future with every report of Trumps success in the primaries.
I hope my favorite 'foreign country" of America will see the light of a positive future from the many wise women and men in their country and not miss the headlights of Trump's train wreck coming down the tunnel--in time to stop it.
18
President Obama is an extraordinary President, much better than the nation deserves.
I will forever be grateful for his sacrifice to the nation. He accepted the vile racism and repugnant personal attacks with aplomb and dignity.
Given their background, education and talent, people like President Obama and Secretary Clinton could take cushy positions in the private sector with 8 figure compensation packages, comfort and free of criticism.
But instead they choose a bruising fight in dirty politics for the chance to make the country better for future generations, to make the world safer and more prosperous.
People complain and throw rocks at their leaders, and seem to feel no responsibility to make the country and the world a better place.
We have come so far from a time when President Kennedy was applauded for saying in his inaugural address 'Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.'
We all have a responsibility for the quality of our lives, our families, the environment and the country and world at large.
Rock throwing is easy. Working to make things better is hard.
Bless President Obama, Secretary Clinton, President Clinton, President Carter and all those who engaged in personal sacrifice to push the country and the world forward while so many small-minded, ignorant people criticized endlessly and did nothing.
I will forever be grateful for his sacrifice to the nation. He accepted the vile racism and repugnant personal attacks with aplomb and dignity.
Given their background, education and talent, people like President Obama and Secretary Clinton could take cushy positions in the private sector with 8 figure compensation packages, comfort and free of criticism.
But instead they choose a bruising fight in dirty politics for the chance to make the country better for future generations, to make the world safer and more prosperous.
People complain and throw rocks at their leaders, and seem to feel no responsibility to make the country and the world a better place.
We have come so far from a time when President Kennedy was applauded for saying in his inaugural address 'Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.'
We all have a responsibility for the quality of our lives, our families, the environment and the country and world at large.
Rock throwing is easy. Working to make things better is hard.
Bless President Obama, Secretary Clinton, President Clinton, President Carter and all those who engaged in personal sacrifice to push the country and the world forward while so many small-minded, ignorant people criticized endlessly and did nothing.
41
"Gorgeous" is right. It's been a red-carpet Presidency ginned up by a fawning press. Bruni's fond farewell is as shallow as Obama's pretentious Presidency. After eight years we have had enough.
13
Reagan was far more pretentious and far less effective than Obama. I was glad to see Reagan go. I will miss Obama since he had more intelligence and compassion than any of the GOP candidates or presidents in recent memory.
27
Speak for yourself
6
Barack Obama has made more appearances on late night comedy shows in the last 6 years than Jerry Seinfeld, Robin Williams and Dave Chappelle. And they're professional comedians.
Barack Obama invited himself to Nelson Mandela's funeral only to sit in the crowd taking selfies, and take the podium at the funeral to talk about his favorite subject, Barack Obama.
Pretentious? Reagan never did that.
Barack Obama invited himself to Nelson Mandela's funeral only to sit in the crowd taking selfies, and take the podium at the funeral to talk about his favorite subject, Barack Obama.
Pretentious? Reagan never did that.
9
It's a case of do as I say, not as I do. The mistakes the president sees young people making are the same bad choices he made for 8 years by not cultivating good working relations with Congress and our governors.
8
The right wing echo chamber is amazing. Statements like these boggle the mind when Congress - from day One - refused to work with Obama on anything, including a health care law borrowed lock stock and barrel from a right wing think tank, the Heritage Foundation. Obama (to his discredit) went so far as to seek a deal Republicans had sought which would have weakened SS and Medicare. Thankfully, and no credit to him, the Repubs wouldn't take "yes" for an answer, and the deal never reached fruition.
9
"At Howard, Obama insisted that change 'requires listening to those with whom you disagree, and being prepared to compromise.'”
“If you think that the only way forward is to be as uncompromising as possible, you will feel good about yourself... but you’re not going to get what you want,”
I appreciate the sentiments, but by now Obama should understand the dangers of pre-emptive compromise when your opponents have no intention of "listening to those with whom they disagree." When you keep signaling your willingness to compromise no matter what your obstructionist opponents say or do, you wind up getting taken advantage of. Obama feels good about himself for trying to compromise, but he doesn't get what he wants.
For eight years, Republicans have made it clear that they think the way forward is to be as uncompromising as possible. On the whole, it's been a good strategy for them, because the American voters haven't punished them for it.
On BLM, Obama says that once “people who are in a position to start bringing about change are ready to sit down with you, then you can’t just keep on yelling at them.”
But no one would have sat down with BLM in the first place if they hadn't made noise. They didn't get as far as they've gotten by following Obama's model. Whether Frank Bruni likes it or not, activists succeed by shaming and pressuring politicians into action.
Obama's lecture and Bruni's column reflect how they wish things were, not how positive change actually happens.
“If you think that the only way forward is to be as uncompromising as possible, you will feel good about yourself... but you’re not going to get what you want,”
I appreciate the sentiments, but by now Obama should understand the dangers of pre-emptive compromise when your opponents have no intention of "listening to those with whom they disagree." When you keep signaling your willingness to compromise no matter what your obstructionist opponents say or do, you wind up getting taken advantage of. Obama feels good about himself for trying to compromise, but he doesn't get what he wants.
For eight years, Republicans have made it clear that they think the way forward is to be as uncompromising as possible. On the whole, it's been a good strategy for them, because the American voters haven't punished them for it.
On BLM, Obama says that once “people who are in a position to start bringing about change are ready to sit down with you, then you can’t just keep on yelling at them.”
But no one would have sat down with BLM in the first place if they hadn't made noise. They didn't get as far as they've gotten by following Obama's model. Whether Frank Bruni likes it or not, activists succeed by shaming and pressuring politicians into action.
Obama's lecture and Bruni's column reflect how they wish things were, not how positive change actually happens.
9
Indeed. Your comment is right on the money
Barack Obama moved into a White House that was beyond a fixer-upper--it was falling apart. The economy had crashed, we had wasted the surplus Clinton left through a deceptive, useless war that upended the status quo and created ISIS, while the national sense was that things had spiraled out totally of control.
President Obama righted the ship, spurred the economy, cut unemployment in half, and launched a health care system for all. In addition, he actually lived the "family values" that the GOP always preaches but rarely practices, while his sterling character drew respect around the globe. He did all this with a hostile Congress trying to stifle his every move.
They say you don't know what you've got until it's gone. I'm afraid that will be the case here. Thank you, President Obama!
www.newyorkgritty.net
President Obama righted the ship, spurred the economy, cut unemployment in half, and launched a health care system for all. In addition, he actually lived the "family values" that the GOP always preaches but rarely practices, while his sterling character drew respect around the globe. He did all this with a hostile Congress trying to stifle his every move.
They say you don't know what you've got until it's gone. I'm afraid that will be the case here. Thank you, President Obama!
www.newyorkgritty.net
36
"It's about the climate that would serve everyone best."
In logic, that would be called an ambiguous statement since it contains an opinion. Your best and my best are not always considered what would serve everyone best. I'm sure Republicans feel they are doing what would serve everyone best, despite what most Democrats feel are incredulous actions. What I believe Obama is imploring amongst the graduates is finding a core value in common ("You've got to get in his head, too") which would lead to a climate that would help determine what he hopes would serve everyone best.
In logic, that would be called an ambiguous statement since it contains an opinion. Your best and my best are not always considered what would serve everyone best. I'm sure Republicans feel they are doing what would serve everyone best, despite what most Democrats feel are incredulous actions. What I believe Obama is imploring amongst the graduates is finding a core value in common ("You've got to get in his head, too") which would lead to a climate that would help determine what he hopes would serve everyone best.
2
The President asked of Americans what our nation demands: that we think, not only of ourselves but of the greater good; that we embrace ideals instead of sound bites; that we argue ideas and not personalities; that we read and learn and commit ourselves every day to better communities. The technology that seems ubiquitous can reinforce a laziness of intellect, or it can stimulate genuine curiosity about the world beyond our borders so we're not so easily convinced that what is foreign is bad. Mr. Obama has been an incredibly gifted leader who consistently demonstrated by example that the arc of history can intersect with the hopes of millions. I'll miss his leadership, and will always be grateful for the opportunity to witness it.
15
Great article. Can you fix the link to the Illinois speech? It goes to a more current one, addressing our current poisonous governor, Bruce Raw Nerve. Thanks.
4
Agree with the overall sentiment- the black and white and aggressive ways of communicating are unnecessary and destructive. But it is problematic to discount the importance and effectiveness of advocacy groups, who have been primarily responsible for our biggest social changes. I'd revise a bit to say, stop yelling when they sit down and talk, to stop yelling when actions are taken. Not that you have to "yell", but you have to be incredibly strong, persistent, and at times take bold action (Think of gay rights, women's rights, AIDS activists, climate change).
2
All I can say is two words. "Third Term".
19
Those that cannot do, teach, those who cannot do or teach, become politicians. Obama's Presidency has been a gross disappointment to those who voted for his hope and change only to discover his many shortcomings.
6
A brilliant speech at Howard from a brilliant man....period!
17
I am so going to miss him.
18
The message that swept President Obama into office was Hope and Change and as he is leaving office that is his most important legacy. No matter how much a few try to destroy it for the many, his Administration has built a firm foundation upon which his message of Hope and Change can move forward, looking to our wonderfully diverse future with all of its challenges, not hiding under the blanket of the past cowering in fear of it.
9
Thank you, Mr. Bruni, for a valuable column.
7
It would be even better if he actually meant any of this. The President is a total liar and hypocrite.
9
FDR took office the year I was born - so I was 12 years old when he died. He came to office with the country in worse shape than it was in 2009, with WWII looming on the horizon. I feel fortunate to have lived to see Obama in the White House. From FDR to Obama - the two greatest Presidents in my lifetime.
15
For almost seven years I've wondered who the idiots were who voted for Obama, twice. After reading this comment section, now I know.
7
"And there’s legitimate disagreement about the degree to which he has been an agent as well as a casualty of the poisoned environment he rues."
No, not legitimate. This column makes many good points but gets lost a little here. Obama bent over backwards in his first term and well into the second to accommodate every viewpoint, all to no avail. I know there is a tendency to revise history as Presidents leave office and afterward, but, please, put the blame for rabid partisanship and obstruction where it belongs -- at the feet of the Republican Party. That is an indisputable fact that cannot be muted or or made fuzzy by claims of false equivalence.
No, not legitimate. This column makes many good points but gets lost a little here. Obama bent over backwards in his first term and well into the second to accommodate every viewpoint, all to no avail. I know there is a tendency to revise history as Presidents leave office and afterward, but, please, put the blame for rabid partisanship and obstruction where it belongs -- at the feet of the Republican Party. That is an indisputable fact that cannot be muted or or made fuzzy by claims of false equivalence.
15
Thank you for this wonderful column which sums up a presidency that has been pummeled by many, but a leader who has such grace and fortitude that he rises above it. His perspective is reasoned and reasonable. He will be missed.
11
Wake up America or the American Dream will soon become the American Nightmare.
3
President Trump will lay bare the dismal disappointing failures of the Obama administration. Obama will head to Hawaii (not stay in DC) with his tail between his legs in disgrace. Bill Clinton, equally disgraced, will head to the Lolita Island to nurse his wounds when Trump is through telling the truth.
5
Much as he would like it, I don't think he's ready for Mt. Rushmore yet.
4
Men who become presidents are in history defined by their achievements and character and for the first time colour.
It is at the end of their term or life that history judges them and either carves their names in stone or simply lets them fade away.
I think with all the internal trials and tribulations suffered by President Barrack Obama his name will go down well in history perhaps as a lame duck not of his own doing but still struggling on with one leg nevertheless. JFK would call this a Profile In Courage.
But history is history and today we have a man still in office although coming to the end of it and still standing tall, standing unbroken, somewhat knocked about and abused but still on his feet and laughing.
As a comparison we have another man who would be president.
Rude, abusive, loudmouthed and perhaps somewhat belligerent. A great showman that speaks words without depth and wisdom.
Oh America, I cry for you because if this man becomes your president his voters are going to deserve what they get, and get what they deserve.
STAN CHUN
Wellington
New Zealand.
12 May, 2016.
It is at the end of their term or life that history judges them and either carves their names in stone or simply lets them fade away.
I think with all the internal trials and tribulations suffered by President Barrack Obama his name will go down well in history perhaps as a lame duck not of his own doing but still struggling on with one leg nevertheless. JFK would call this a Profile In Courage.
But history is history and today we have a man still in office although coming to the end of it and still standing tall, standing unbroken, somewhat knocked about and abused but still on his feet and laughing.
As a comparison we have another man who would be president.
Rude, abusive, loudmouthed and perhaps somewhat belligerent. A great showman that speaks words without depth and wisdom.
Oh America, I cry for you because if this man becomes your president his voters are going to deserve what they get, and get what they deserve.
STAN CHUN
Wellington
New Zealand.
12 May, 2016.
7
Thank you for an excellent column. The only previous time I can remember not being able to stand listening to "news" broadcasts was back when JFK was running and the anger concerned the possibility that he might let his Catholic faith influence his governing. Now many candidates on the Republican side like Cruz, Santorum, Huckabee, etc. all state categorically that they are "Christians" first and Americans second! They want to make every citizen toe the line based on their interpretation of the Bible with emphasis on the Old Testament. In Cruz's case, it sounds like he would like to just take the Book of Leviticus and turn it into American legislation. Then we can bring back stoning etc.! And now we have Trump to be afraid of. I haven't prayed this hard for salvation in a long time!
3
I read the the speech and I'm pretty sure that it lost a lot in the translation from hearing it spoken to reading it on the page. I love what he said and wish I could have heard it instead of reading a transcript.
1
While Mr. Bruni's point is well-taken, we must acknowledge that it is not an apples-to-apples comparison across the ideological spectrum. When your desire is to remove most governmental influence and impact on society, uncompromising resistance can be an effective approach. Conservative Republicans have perfected the art of poking sticks into the spokes of governmental wheels, only then to complain about how terrible the wheels rotate and call for their removal.
The latest example is the fiasco here in North Carolina with HB2. The U.S. Government is threatening to withhold federal funds if NC does not rescind this bill. These funds, to a large degree, fund public education and roads. These are areas that the state legislature does not believe are even legitimate public service functions to begin with. Thus, they are getting exactly what they want by not compromising, which is the defunding of these public services.
For those who believe that there is NO legitimate function of the government beyond fielding an army and imposing a state-sanctioned religion, intransigence is a plausible and effective strategy in many situations.
The latest example is the fiasco here in North Carolina with HB2. The U.S. Government is threatening to withhold federal funds if NC does not rescind this bill. These funds, to a large degree, fund public education and roads. These are areas that the state legislature does not believe are even legitimate public service functions to begin with. Thus, they are getting exactly what they want by not compromising, which is the defunding of these public services.
For those who believe that there is NO legitimate function of the government beyond fielding an army and imposing a state-sanctioned religion, intransigence is a plausible and effective strategy in many situations.
3
OBAMA Will be viewed as history by one of the great presidents, especially in view of the polarization and civil war declared by GOP radicals. I don't know how he sustains his energy, optimism and goodwill with the unrelenting tsunami of toxic abuse heaped on his head. As a psychologist, I watch Obama with his wife and daughters, where I see a loving husband and father. You simply cannot turn such emotions on and off in front of a camera; the feelings must come from your heart. The fact that his caring nature has been distorted and trivialized by his opponents/assassins is a tragic loss for a country rocked by the stormy seas of change in our times. I find it discouraging that Chainy Dubya who had no interest in getting anything right were given a free pass, while Obama, who has made remarkable strides in bringing the nation out of what could have turned into a Great Depression 2.0. I see the paradigm as being that of a family where the father is a raging drunk who shreds the attachment of family members, terrorizing them with hair trigger, violent reactions, beatings and at times killings. I far prefer Obama's cool style where he seeks to achieve logical objectives than sword rattling, propaganda and lies coming from Chainy Dubya that, frankly, resemble the histrionics and hyperbole of Islamic leaders who like to whip crowds up into a frenzy of blood. Obama represents a culture based on fairness and justice, while the GOP at this point represents blood libel.
13
I agree with all the comments about Obama being a class act. Citizens are politically and legally equal, but people are not born equal in abilities - he is especially gifted, and has the advantage of knowing who he is and the self-confidence to ignore the mindless haters. Obama's personal sense of security led him to decisions based on facts, strategy, etc., rather than on personal psycho-drama. With Obama, I did not worry that he would base policy on a personal need to seem tough, as Nixon and GW Bush seem to have done.
15
The President's remarks here are solidly on the mark. So often, in debate, I see this blindness to facts, ugly and judgemental attitudes and faux moral purity that achieves nothing except satiating the ego.
7
Often the troubles besetting the current political debate are exacerbated by a lack of social mission or carefully designed strategic purpose. Without an overlapping strategic purpose, sub-goals and tactics for achieving such sub-goals remain ambiguous and lack accountability.
For example, Management-by-Objectives is often an effective strategy applied by corporate management to try to create unity and coherence behind a limited set of goals within an entity. Reasonable expectations must be brokered up and down the organization to establish a basis for evaluating goal achieving efforts. Then, Management-by-Exception principles can be deployed to help focus attention on prioritized deviations from these expectations.
But, in politics, to quantify goals in the current cut-throat political environment, and to try to achieve such goals via applied MBO and MBE techniques, places at risk a pol's present and future credibility. Perhaps an example can be found in the failure of the Obama Administration to achieve its explicit expectations or jobs targets earlier in its term; and, the destructive criticism that accompanied this failure.
Simply put, to err in trying to achieve an actionable goal, in this vicious political environment, results in lacerating criticism. So, goals remain ambiguous and not quantified. Such subjectivity reinforces a soup of political inertia and a lack of promised accountability regarding the goal setting process.
5/11/16 W 10:33a Greenville NC
For example, Management-by-Objectives is often an effective strategy applied by corporate management to try to create unity and coherence behind a limited set of goals within an entity. Reasonable expectations must be brokered up and down the organization to establish a basis for evaluating goal achieving efforts. Then, Management-by-Exception principles can be deployed to help focus attention on prioritized deviations from these expectations.
But, in politics, to quantify goals in the current cut-throat political environment, and to try to achieve such goals via applied MBO and MBE techniques, places at risk a pol's present and future credibility. Perhaps an example can be found in the failure of the Obama Administration to achieve its explicit expectations or jobs targets earlier in its term; and, the destructive criticism that accompanied this failure.
Simply put, to err in trying to achieve an actionable goal, in this vicious political environment, results in lacerating criticism. So, goals remain ambiguous and not quantified. Such subjectivity reinforces a soup of political inertia and a lack of promised accountability regarding the goal setting process.
5/11/16 W 10:33a Greenville NC
You try "managing" this Congress.
Dear Mr. Bruni,
I know you have not generally been a supporter of the President, so my thanks for your generosity in acknowledging something that President Obama is doing well is particularly heartfelt. I note among the letters I perused before writing my own that many people simply cannot acknowledge that this President does anything well.
When I read the President's autobiography prior to his becoming a candidate for President I noticed an unusual degree of insight and even wisdom that made me a supporter of his prior to his throwing his hat in the ring. And while there are some things I wished have been different about this Presidency overall Is do not hold him entirely accountable. I am a senior citizen now and I cannot think of a
President who spent his entire Presidency with the opposition trying to disprove his campaign slogan. He entered saying Yes WE can, and they were determined that he experience No, YOU can't. Now, when he is merely trying to share his unique strength by delivering speeches that get his audience to think about their world a little differently about their world and their responsibilities--and even then some people cannot give this President any credit at all. It is sad really- how aggressive and dysfunctional our collective behavior has become.
I know you have not generally been a supporter of the President, so my thanks for your generosity in acknowledging something that President Obama is doing well is particularly heartfelt. I note among the letters I perused before writing my own that many people simply cannot acknowledge that this President does anything well.
When I read the President's autobiography prior to his becoming a candidate for President I noticed an unusual degree of insight and even wisdom that made me a supporter of his prior to his throwing his hat in the ring. And while there are some things I wished have been different about this Presidency overall Is do not hold him entirely accountable. I am a senior citizen now and I cannot think of a
President who spent his entire Presidency with the opposition trying to disprove his campaign slogan. He entered saying Yes WE can, and they were determined that he experience No, YOU can't. Now, when he is merely trying to share his unique strength by delivering speeches that get his audience to think about their world a little differently about their world and their responsibilities--and even then some people cannot give this President any credit at all. It is sad really- how aggressive and dysfunctional our collective behavior has become.
16
Young activists tend to emulate what they see modeled in the society that surrounds them. At the moment, the society is privileging Twitter over other older channels of communication.
This makes many activists believe that if they just tweet hard enough and, better yet, have themselves photographed at a protest rally holding a sign with a hashtag slogan, they're already well on the way to success.
The media could do a lot to restore balance to communication in this country.
First, reporters and columnists could stop saying that so-and-so "tweeted" something. It's extremely unlikely that the medium would ever be relevant to a story. To report that someone used Twitter is about as interesting as saying a person composed a memo on Word and printed it on an HP printer. So what?
Also, the practice setting tweets apart in a written text needs to end now. It disrupts the flow of the text without giving the readers anything in return except a word picture of what the tweet looked like. The other problem is it creates a hierarchy in which a tweet is given more importance than a mere quote, which is simply including within the text.
Believe me, Twitter has long since ceased to be a novelty. It's time for the media to stop idolizing tweets and Twitter.
This makes many activists believe that if they just tweet hard enough and, better yet, have themselves photographed at a protest rally holding a sign with a hashtag slogan, they're already well on the way to success.
The media could do a lot to restore balance to communication in this country.
First, reporters and columnists could stop saying that so-and-so "tweeted" something. It's extremely unlikely that the medium would ever be relevant to a story. To report that someone used Twitter is about as interesting as saying a person composed a memo on Word and printed it on an HP printer. So what?
Also, the practice setting tweets apart in a written text needs to end now. It disrupts the flow of the text without giving the readers anything in return except a word picture of what the tweet looked like. The other problem is it creates a hierarchy in which a tweet is given more importance than a mere quote, which is simply including within the text.
Believe me, Twitter has long since ceased to be a novelty. It's time for the media to stop idolizing tweets and Twitter.
7
While virtually all the massive increase in U.S. income is being collected by the top 1%, only a fool, or a person in the 1%, would promote complacency! Take your pick?
4
Obama is the only "normal" person to occupy the White House since Jimmy Carter. It is no coincidence that, for all their faults and irrespective of politics, they remain beloved. The current politcal climate demands that candidates be flawed characters: HRC and Donald Trump are probably better people than their public lives suggest but their willingness to wrestle in the mud is itself a character flaw.
9
At this late point, it absolutely is a self-serving message.
If Trump wins, it's going to be an incredible blow not just to Clinton's legacy but to Obama's as well. So of course he's going to step in and critique some of the most obnoxious voices of the left, just as Hillary and Bill will. If he doesn't, the chance of a Trump win will only grow.
But it's to no avail. Trump is set to give a speech and outline his position on law and order in the coming weeks, and he's deeply tuned into what the silent majority have been thinking for the past two years as we watch criminals and the media lie about "hands up, don't shoot," Islam being a religion of peace, and illegal immigrants who murder citizens.
Trump brings all of this into the open, and not only will it resonate with the silent majority, but it'll aggravate the vocal minority who actively undermines law and order and who casts doubt or misplaced blame whenever an obvious and inconvenient fact surfaces. So not only will we get to hear Trump confirm what we've known to be true, but we'll also get to see the anti-Trump forces confirm their contempt for law, order, and the truth.
Obama can give all of the speeches he wants to the Social Justice Warrior crowd, mildly rebuking them. But it will be pretty weak tea compared to Trump's message.
If Trump wins, it's going to be an incredible blow not just to Clinton's legacy but to Obama's as well. So of course he's going to step in and critique some of the most obnoxious voices of the left, just as Hillary and Bill will. If he doesn't, the chance of a Trump win will only grow.
But it's to no avail. Trump is set to give a speech and outline his position on law and order in the coming weeks, and he's deeply tuned into what the silent majority have been thinking for the past two years as we watch criminals and the media lie about "hands up, don't shoot," Islam being a religion of peace, and illegal immigrants who murder citizens.
Trump brings all of this into the open, and not only will it resonate with the silent majority, but it'll aggravate the vocal minority who actively undermines law and order and who casts doubt or misplaced blame whenever an obvious and inconvenient fact surfaces. So not only will we get to hear Trump confirm what we've known to be true, but we'll also get to see the anti-Trump forces confirm their contempt for law, order, and the truth.
Obama can give all of the speeches he wants to the Social Justice Warrior crowd, mildly rebuking them. But it will be pretty weak tea compared to Trump's message.
9
Just curious, what numbers make you think Trump has a majority behind him?
2
So was Obama lying to us over the last 8 years or is he lying now?
11
If Mr. Obama's presidency is followed by Trump's, how can Obama's term be described as a success?
6
As he uses up his frequent flier miles on Air Force One, Obama continues to ignore ISIS, immigration and the economy................why doesn't he just resign early and get on with his golf and vacations?
9
barb tennant...Ever heard the expression "Sour Grapes"? You are so wrong.
6
Thank you for this. This is the reason I like the MAN. I always understood that this is truly where he comes from and was not given the opportunity to be the President he would have been if others would have been willing to actually come together for the people of this country. Would it have been perfect? No, it is still a human endeavour. In the end though, I truly believe that the people would have benefitted and would have lost less over the last 8 years.
11
Our president is, in short, asking for tolerance, all the while recognizing the toxic atmosphere in this age. Bravo!
16
You mean - in spite of his helping to creaet that toxic atmosphere - corect?
5
Yeah, enzo,
How DARE he help create that toxic atmosphere - the nerve of him, being a black man in the White House! The nerve!
How DARE he help create that toxic atmosphere - the nerve of him, being a black man in the White House! The nerve!
3
Praise Obama. Praise Frank Bruni and of us that can write insightful comments about what we are about to lose and the real state of this nation.
21
This is a superb column. It shows the President's heart and mind can take us in healthy directions through the next year.
14
History will honor this man as one of the greats. Like Lincoln, he was hated by much of the country during his time in the Whitehouse. We cannot imagine the hatred for Lincoln just as our descendants will not understand the hatred for Mr. Obama.
Blind to greatness in our midst, we are also blind to mediocrity and ignorance. This is why we are as we are and why we do what we do. No wonder evolution is such a slow process. And so it goes.
Blind to greatness in our midst, we are also blind to mediocrity and ignorance. This is why we are as we are and why we do what we do. No wonder evolution is such a slow process. And so it goes.
27
“If you think that the only way forward is to be as uncompromising as possible, you will feel good about yourself, you will enjoy a certain moral purity, but you’re not going to get what you want.....”
Obama was talking to you, Bernistas. Can you hear him? Or are you still so certain and righteous that the only thing that matter is "feeling" it instead of actively working for the common good? Politics is endlessly frustrating and grubby. But it's a far nobler exercise than simply walking around with glued-on angel wings and a halo prop.
Obama was talking to you, Bernistas. Can you hear him? Or are you still so certain and righteous that the only thing that matter is "feeling" it instead of actively working for the common good? Politics is endlessly frustrating and grubby. But it's a far nobler exercise than simply walking around with glued-on angel wings and a halo prop.
13
Interesting!
Why would you direct your comments to Bernie and not Trump?
Why would you direct your comments to Bernie and not Trump?
5
He's a brilliant constitutional scholar ---what was the name of that Law Review article he wrote when he was President of the Harvard Law Review?---like his accomplishments, it was Brilliant!
9
He isn't a brilliant constitutional scholar. He was a lecturer (not a professor, tenured or otherwise) at the University of Chicago. He was a researcher for Laurence Tribe for a short period of time at Harvard. I could find no evidence that he contributed at all to scholarship on the Constitution. No books, no articles, no landmark cases, nothing.
3
Great speech, and thanks for shining the spotlight on it. I hope Hillary is listening.
9
Yes, President Obama gave good advice for all Americans AFTER we kick out all the Corporate Conglomerate government operatives who have taken over OUR systems at all levels. Right now - when we have a bellicose, billionaire buffoon running to be president - is the time to speak out loudly and clearly that THIS is not the kind of America WE want. OUR votes is what will determine the future of America and WE must make sure DT, and all other BIG democracy-destroying money masters, lose the race at the starting gate.
9
Oh, how I already miss Obama - our thoughtful, wise, humane, intelligent, kind, family man. He has been reviled by the jealous, persecuted by lesser men, unfairly accused by know-nothings, and yet, he has stood tall and never compromised his moral authority or his good humor and politeness.
Obama had all history to contend with as our first black President. He has overcome undeserved vitriol, racism, anger, hatred, and i predict he will emerge a century from now as one of our finest leaders. Lincoln, too, was unpopular, but look at his legacy today.
Obama had all history to contend with as our first black President. He has overcome undeserved vitriol, racism, anger, hatred, and i predict he will emerge a century from now as one of our finest leaders. Lincoln, too, was unpopular, but look at his legacy today.
41
I don't think it will take a century. We'll all learn in a year or two.
6
I do so hope you are right!!!
1
So Obama's message is that justice deferred isn't justice denied after all. It just means we need to negotiate harder.
While I wholeheartedly agree that we can't hashtag our way to political success, Obama, more than anyone else, should know that very often “elected officials or people who are in a position to start bringing about change" have absolutely no intention of doing so.
Instead of telling college graduates what not to do, Obama should be offering them guidance on how to get the other side to sit down with them.
Oh, and Obama should also line up funding for programs to teach people how to negotiate their way to political success - if he can get anyone in Congress to sit down with him, that is.
While I wholeheartedly agree that we can't hashtag our way to political success, Obama, more than anyone else, should know that very often “elected officials or people who are in a position to start bringing about change" have absolutely no intention of doing so.
Instead of telling college graduates what not to do, Obama should be offering them guidance on how to get the other side to sit down with them.
Oh, and Obama should also line up funding for programs to teach people how to negotiate their way to political success - if he can get anyone in Congress to sit down with him, that is.
1
Too bad the Illinois legislature and governor did not listen to him. Illinois is circling the drain with a bitter partisan fight having deadlocked the state's fincances. Vendors are not getting paid, school districts are being starved of state funds, and infrastructure repairs are being foregone. Illinois boasts an annual budget deficit of over $9 billion dollars.
In addition to that deficit, Illinois' public schools are in debt to the tune of $20 billion dollars, due to our negligent politician's will-nilly approval of higher borrowing limits in an effort to stave off property tax increases.
Bottom line: Intransigence is so deeply rooted in our politics on both the state and federal level, I cannot see a way out. This may be the beginning of the end - then what?
In addition to that deficit, Illinois' public schools are in debt to the tune of $20 billion dollars, due to our negligent politician's will-nilly approval of higher borrowing limits in an effort to stave off property tax increases.
Bottom line: Intransigence is so deeply rooted in our politics on both the state and federal level, I cannot see a way out. This may be the beginning of the end - then what?
3
As I read these comments, the common thread I see is how the obstructionism of the Republicans kept Obama from doing even better than he did in bring the nation back from the depths of recession and foreign entanglements. While I agree with that, I believe strongly that Obama's success in office could have been enhanced even more by support from his own party. How soon everyone who is amazed at Obama's stirring, honest speech and bold actions now are the same people who did not turn out to vote in recent election cycles. Or even were Democratic politicians who decided that they should not be seen with the President during the previous campaign. There were some real Democratic profiles in courage just a few years ago who now blame the Republicans for the problems that kept Obama bogged down so much that he needed to resort to extraordinary measures to accomplish almost anything.
18
Only if good oratory skills were enough.
All people have to look at is his promises 9 years ago and his achievements during two terms of presidency.
He did well in pointing to the problems that exist today, most of them exacerbated by his identity politics, and his inability to listen to people who disagreed with him.
All people have to look at is his promises 9 years ago and his achievements during two terms of presidency.
He did well in pointing to the problems that exist today, most of them exacerbated by his identity politics, and his inability to listen to people who disagreed with him.
6
Really? Have u lived in this country the past 9 years??
6
I didn't really need more proof that I would not make a good President. Barack Obama has given it to me though. The even-handedness with which he's led us is remarkable. In the face of the Paris attacks he gave a sober balanced response. In the face of Isil or Isis, he has been constant. I was screaming for low yield nuclear weapons and he thought in terms of partnerships. I would not make a good president. Barack Obama has shown me once again why.
32
This was not only a soulful good-bye, it was the climax of a presidency that, in years to come, will be viewed as the most courageous, enlightened and effective presidency in modern times. It is poignant to see that Obama "came home" for his good-bye and it makes perfect sense. Because despite opinion to the contrary. Barack Obama is an African American to the core; a reality that both black and white have struggled with for the past 8 years.
If I were to compare him to any other public figure in recent history, it would be Martin Luther King---in this way. Martin King would talk social-justice with anyone who would listen and as a consequence seismic change occurred during his life time. Martin King would never demonize his opponents, no matter how vile their ideology. He would seek to engage them, whether it was on the streets of Montgomery, the Edmond Pettus Bridge in Selma or in the halls of power in Washington. Finally, Martin King never endorsed "tokenism" or purely sectarian interests;his faith and his actions were directed at better world for all. What President Obama has accomplished, above and below the radar, in spite of massive obstructionism, has been nothing short of astonishing. Is it enough? How could anyone one human being overturn centuries of injustice in 8 years? I say to progressives who mock Obama's mis-steps and blind spots---"Who would you have put in the White House that would have done half the job Obama did?" I'm met with blank stares.
If I were to compare him to any other public figure in recent history, it would be Martin Luther King---in this way. Martin King would talk social-justice with anyone who would listen and as a consequence seismic change occurred during his life time. Martin King would never demonize his opponents, no matter how vile their ideology. He would seek to engage them, whether it was on the streets of Montgomery, the Edmond Pettus Bridge in Selma or in the halls of power in Washington. Finally, Martin King never endorsed "tokenism" or purely sectarian interests;his faith and his actions were directed at better world for all. What President Obama has accomplished, above and below the radar, in spite of massive obstructionism, has been nothing short of astonishing. Is it enough? How could anyone one human being overturn centuries of injustice in 8 years? I say to progressives who mock Obama's mis-steps and blind spots---"Who would you have put in the White House that would have done half the job Obama did?" I'm met with blank stares.
48
Bravo
4
There's a fair amount of snickering going in progressive circles (we're all guilty)that conservatives have saddled themselves with a buffoon for a nominee. Don't underestimate their ability to foist the buffoon onto the rest of us. Just look at the other buffoons they got elected to the senate and house and got placed on the supreme court.
My hope is that Obama does not go quietly into the night. My hope is that he campaigns vigorously for either of the Democrats and that he no longer feels the need to couch his words into political speak.
The country needs him now more than ever.
My hope is that Obama does not go quietly into the night. My hope is that he campaigns vigorously for either of the Democrats and that he no longer feels the need to couch his words into political speak.
The country needs him now more than ever.
23
Obama did not fail us. We failed to match his wisdom and vision. And what's left of the news media, including Mr. Bruni, need to take responsibility for allowing news cycles, ratings and partisanship to get in the way of Obama' very clear vision for America.
27
Caustic partisanship has not only bled into hatred, it has produced unyielding public dysfunction.
American citizens in Medicaid-rejecting states are sick and dying because of mindless partisanship. The Supreme Court remains short of a constitutionally-mandated justice because of mindless partisanship. Authorization for the struggle against ISIS is refused because of mindless partisanship. The dull beat goes on and on.
In part, this partisan gridlock is what the 2016 electorate is railing against. Little gets done; people's lives remain rutted. Sadly, rather than producing statesmanship, it has generated Donald Trump.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
American citizens in Medicaid-rejecting states are sick and dying because of mindless partisanship. The Supreme Court remains short of a constitutionally-mandated justice because of mindless partisanship. Authorization for the struggle against ISIS is refused because of mindless partisanship. The dull beat goes on and on.
In part, this partisan gridlock is what the 2016 electorate is railing against. Little gets done; people's lives remain rutted. Sadly, rather than producing statesmanship, it has generated Donald Trump.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
15
The president certainly is having a wonderful final year, particularly when compared to the library-building. 'legacy burnishing' final years of so many of his predecessors. I'd add to Mr. Bruni's examples a couple of interviews he's given in publications that compete for intellectual bandwidth with the NYT, and his recently announced decision to visit Hiroshima.
I had a boss once who used to say there were three parts to any job--you had to get, you had to do it and you had to leave it. Obama is handling the leaving it part beautifully. With a start like this he just may give Jimmy Carter a run for his money in the 'best ex-president ever' sweepstakes.
I had a boss once who used to say there were three parts to any job--you had to get, you had to do it and you had to leave it. Obama is handling the leaving it part beautifully. With a start like this he just may give Jimmy Carter a run for his money in the 'best ex-president ever' sweepstakes.
15
Bruni's "Trump-Clinton death match" is a loaded characterization certainly, and there's much to dislike about it if you support Hillary as I do. But I think the phrase exemplifies a "false equivalence" that the media will laze into over the coming months and should be called out.
5
Great commentary but it's high past time to stop using the word "curate" to show just how fancy you can make your language without adding anything to its meaning. "Choose" works perfectly well; keep curation to the museums of the world.
5
It is not a time to be quibbling about a word. You have missed the point.
3
Everyone's a critic. Bruni might not have wanted to choose "choose" because in the next sentenc he quoted Obama's statement where Obama chose "choose." Or perhaps Bruni chose "curate" because it more accurately describes a collection of sources selected for their similar appeal.
So why don't you leave editorializing to the professional editors of the world.
So why don't you leave editorializing to the professional editors of the world.
4
I'm a middle-class union firefighter down here in sunny south florida. Proud to say I voted for him twice and wishing we could "FDR" him into a 3rd and 4th term. It amazes and confounds me how more than half of my brethren in the fire service(paid IAFF members) can spew such hatred for a president(and party) who has tried to help the middle-class and unions as much as he and the party have. They also rejoice when right-to-work laws pass at the state level as if this is something grand for "Murica". The situation is even more perplexing when you see how the military have their pay and benefits cut by the repubs, are sent to 2 meaningless wars and are hoodwinked into thinking that repubs are better for them(like chickens voting for Chick Fil-A)..... I know both parties are controlled by the extremely wealthy but a simple review of policies and legislation should be able to show which party is pro-middle class and which one is pushing for an oligarchical ,draconian, my -God-is-better-than-your-god Idiocracy.
Thank you President Obama for all that you did for this Country. You were a catalyst for change needed and you held your head high while the Confederacy of Dunces tried to block anything you proposed and tried to take you down at every opportunity.
Thank you President Obama for all that you did for this Country. You were a catalyst for change needed and you held your head high while the Confederacy of Dunces tried to block anything you proposed and tried to take you down at every opportunity.
47
Thank you for your service to your community in deeds and words.
2
Oh, the man can give a speech. There is no doubt about that. But it's the content that matters. After the voice itself has faded, the words will be on paper. And the words will be compared with what actually happened, with what actually be achieved.
And Obama will be judge for what he really is: a man with a troubled upbringing, estranged from American values, who in his heart neither understood nor appreciated the greatness of this country. He is obsessed with race and seeks to inflict punishment on a nation that give him its highest office.
Most of us don't hate Obama. We are simply angry and filled with disappointment. In the end, the words and the speeches echo with shallowness.
And Obama will be judge for what he really is: a man with a troubled upbringing, estranged from American values, who in his heart neither understood nor appreciated the greatness of this country. He is obsessed with race and seeks to inflict punishment on a nation that give him its highest office.
Most of us don't hate Obama. We are simply angry and filled with disappointment. In the end, the words and the speeches echo with shallowness.
8
True; but, isn't it up to all of us to take these words and advice and do something about it?
The man can give a great, inspiring speech, but he alone can't make the changes our society needs. That's up to all of us.
The man can give a great, inspiring speech, but he alone can't make the changes our society needs. That's up to all of us.
6
Hey now, you forgot the Great Worldwide Apology Tour™. Please type out ALL the talking points exactly as faxed, 'kay?
3
"Estranged from American values"?
What does that mean? He's American, so he has American values. So did my naturalized father, who saw America very much the way President Obama does, though my dad was a bit more cynical about human nature. You have American values and so do I -- because we ARE Americans.
You don't get to define those values for everyone else, nor can anyone else define them for you. In a free country comprised of people from other shores, there is no single set of acceptable national values beyond those we've agreed as a nation to abide by -- our Constitution.
What does that mean? He's American, so he has American values. So did my naturalized father, who saw America very much the way President Obama does, though my dad was a bit more cynical about human nature. You have American values and so do I -- because we ARE Americans.
You don't get to define those values for everyone else, nor can anyone else define them for you. In a free country comprised of people from other shores, there is no single set of acceptable national values beyond those we've agreed as a nation to abide by -- our Constitution.
3
There is no better time to be "young, gifted and black".
One of the mistakes derived from the American Civil Rights movement...and I will say it plainly...is to find constant offense at the general state of the world. This has been passed along, or grabbed, by the feminist movement and, indeed, now permeates American society: everything has to be perfect "for me" or else the society is keeping me down and being unfair.
We are all born into certain circumstances and enter our conflicts in social, work and other endeavors with advantages and disadvantages. It will always be thus. There is no act of humans, no set of rules and regulations that would bring about perfect harmony, especially as perceived by an individual struggling in the world.
Too many of us carry around a buried constant sense of grievance. This is understandable when it comes to a whole people who have been treated, to say the least, very badly. Where do you go from there? If this burden of offense becomes overbearing, one can turn into a deeply angry, brooding, moldering human being. The weight is too much.
When my daughter was growing up and still quite small, she had a friend who would constantly call out, "That's sexist!", to almost anything. This friend was well on her way to building a personality based on grievance.
Again, there is no perfect world. Fight your battles out in the open and deal with problems bluntly and directly. Make things better for all of us one day at a time.
Doug Terry
One of the mistakes derived from the American Civil Rights movement...and I will say it plainly...is to find constant offense at the general state of the world. This has been passed along, or grabbed, by the feminist movement and, indeed, now permeates American society: everything has to be perfect "for me" or else the society is keeping me down and being unfair.
We are all born into certain circumstances and enter our conflicts in social, work and other endeavors with advantages and disadvantages. It will always be thus. There is no act of humans, no set of rules and regulations that would bring about perfect harmony, especially as perceived by an individual struggling in the world.
Too many of us carry around a buried constant sense of grievance. This is understandable when it comes to a whole people who have been treated, to say the least, very badly. Where do you go from there? If this burden of offense becomes overbearing, one can turn into a deeply angry, brooding, moldering human being. The weight is too much.
When my daughter was growing up and still quite small, she had a friend who would constantly call out, "That's sexist!", to almost anything. This friend was well on her way to building a personality based on grievance.
Again, there is no perfect world. Fight your battles out in the open and deal with problems bluntly and directly. Make things better for all of us one day at a time.
Doug Terry
8
Thank you. You've presented the situation articulately. He can state a case with passion, but is it the right case? Many of us think not.
1
The people protesting in Ferguson and Baltimore were not addressing "the general state of the world." They had specific local grievances. And in Ferguson anyway, some of those grievances are being addressed.
Swing and a miss, strike one.
Swing and a miss, strike one.
1
I certainly recognize, "Lorem", that there are vast, hard injustices in the world. Likewise, I recognize that I had opportunities early in my young adult life that would likely have been denied to many others were ofter to me. My question is whether we need to let the negative define us, every day, every minute.
Not long ago, I was treated very rudely by a TSA screener at the Boston airport. When I was singled out for further attention, I held my arms up for the ritual. The TSA guy forcefully grabbed my arms and pushed them into a place where he thought they should be, roughly parallel to the floor. (This is minor compared to being shot at, of course.) How does one react? Is it good to internalize the insult and blame oneself or think of it as just one act of incredible rudeness? If everything is thrown into a presumed pattern then the burden of negative events is multiplied. What's more, new insults are being identified all the time ("manesplaining")
I have written extensively about the outrages in Ferguson and I traveled personally to Baltimore the night of the riots to try to understand what was happening. I confess that in recent years I have taken a more general view of insults and putdowns than I did in my youngest adult years. It seems to me it is something we all need to fight against, convicting the world on the basis of our personal experiences. This seems to me to be growing into a kind of American neurosis. This limits rather than encourages progress.
Doug Terry
Not long ago, I was treated very rudely by a TSA screener at the Boston airport. When I was singled out for further attention, I held my arms up for the ritual. The TSA guy forcefully grabbed my arms and pushed them into a place where he thought they should be, roughly parallel to the floor. (This is minor compared to being shot at, of course.) How does one react? Is it good to internalize the insult and blame oneself or think of it as just one act of incredible rudeness? If everything is thrown into a presumed pattern then the burden of negative events is multiplied. What's more, new insults are being identified all the time ("manesplaining")
I have written extensively about the outrages in Ferguson and I traveled personally to Baltimore the night of the riots to try to understand what was happening. I confess that in recent years I have taken a more general view of insults and putdowns than I did in my youngest adult years. It seems to me it is something we all need to fight against, convicting the world on the basis of our personal experiences. This seems to me to be growing into a kind of American neurosis. This limits rather than encourages progress.
Doug Terry
It is interesting to see and hear the things President is now saying, since he no longer really has to please anyone or run for office again.
I am curious to see what President Obama does next. I hope he takes the path of someone like President Carter, who has kept active and engaged, rather than fade into the background or make a living giving speeches to elite groups for large sums of money.
He came to the office with great aspirations for us as a society only to see many of them mangled by those who opposed him at every turn from day one.
Thanks to Sen. McConnell and company.
I am curious to see what President Obama does next. I hope he takes the path of someone like President Carter, who has kept active and engaged, rather than fade into the background or make a living giving speeches to elite groups for large sums of money.
He came to the office with great aspirations for us as a society only to see many of them mangled by those who opposed him at every turn from day one.
Thanks to Sen. McConnell and company.
10
I have not always agreed with Mr. Obama's policies during his eight years of office, However, I have always been impressed with his sense of reflection rather than the what we have been listening ad nauseam during this election campaign. Imagine what this country might have been if there were adults in congress who were willing to work together with the president and compromise when necessary instead of hating him more than they love their country.
24
Yes, pretty words that paint a picture of unfulfilled hope.
7
Unfulfilled, but not his fault.
4
Well said Mr Bruni. In a world driven by enlightenment principles President Obama is a righteous leader. In our world it is not how the game is played. Those who shout loudest, longest and with no respect for others seem to win.
6
We used to have a news media that was bound by fair reporting appearing on television each night. We all shared that news. Now, we have the internet and there is little in the way of sharing views and perspectives. But the problem isn't only with political views becoming partisan and polarized, it's a general attitude in America today, an in-your-face attitude that "I" am most important, far more so than "we." This gives us a society in which whole groups of people are disenfranchised, impoverished, pushed out. This is going on at the smallest level, at the institutions and businesses where we work, at the churches and religious places we attend, even among groups of friends. It is trendy to be hateful and rude, to dismiss and disdain. Our Congress is demonstrating what we the people have become, and President Obama is fully aware of this. Having his hand at the helm has been a steadying force, even as Congress has sought to destroy him. I fear for our future without such a force. Even if Hillary gets elected and manages to give us more intelligence and calm, we have work to do ourselves to bring our country back to reasoned sanity. Without a reasonable, wise leader like Obama in view each day, that task will be difficult.
21
"We used to have a news media that was bound by fair reporting appearing on television each night."
That's not what Jesse Helms thought. He called them all liars - and worse yet, liberals - every weeknight in editorials at the end of the WRAL-TV late news.
http://www.wral.com/conservative-icon-jesse-helms-dead-at-86/1755723/
That's where he made the reputation that would elevate him to the U.S. Senate.
That's not what Jesse Helms thought. He called them all liars - and worse yet, liberals - every weeknight in editorials at the end of the WRAL-TV late news.
http://www.wral.com/conservative-icon-jesse-helms-dead-at-86/1755723/
That's where he made the reputation that would elevate him to the U.S. Senate.
Obama says it's important to listen to those you disagree with. Too bad he never tried listening to Republicans. The man's arrogance knows no bounds.
13
Was it "arrogance" (a southern buzzword dog whistle if there ever was), or was it the natural response to finding out that the opposition party vowed on Day One to make Obama a one term President? His "arrogance" knows no bounds? Really? Have you forgotten Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld already?
17
"So in conclusion, do as I say, not as I do.."
Got it.
Got it.
11
About two years into the Obama presidency a billboard appeared in my in-laws home town in Wisconsin with a picture of George W Bush and the caption "Miss me yet?"
I miss President Obama already.
I miss President Obama already.
26
When the dust finally settled in te aftermath of Bush v. Gore, the satirical newspaper The Onion ran this remarkably prescient headline: "Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace and Prosperity Is Over".
If Donald Trump should somehow manage to succeed Barack Obama in the Oval Office, every front page in America should consider running that same banner headline on the morning after.
That disaster simply must be averted.
If Donald Trump should somehow manage to succeed Barack Obama in the Oval Office, every front page in America should consider running that same banner headline on the morning after.
That disaster simply must be averted.
241
The Onion also reported Obama's victory in 2008 with the headline, "Black man gets worst job in America."
Yet he was able to clean up Bush's messes in spite of the GOP and lackadaisical support from his fellow Democrats.
Yet he was able to clean up Bush's messes in spite of the GOP and lackadaisical support from his fellow Democrats.
8
"If Donald Trump should somehow manage to succeed Barack Obama in the Oval Office, every front page in America should consider running that same banner headline on the morning after."
Should the curse of a triumphant Drumpf be actualized, the international headlines are going to be zealously humiliating to the American electorate...and deservedly so.
Should the curse of a triumphant Drumpf be actualized, the international headlines are going to be zealously humiliating to the American electorate...and deservedly so.
2
I will miss this President.
21
Mr.Bruni's fulsome,overstated and uncritical praise of our c-in-c ignores one fundamental fact re his Presidency: Not once has he or Michelle spent considerable time in low income, black neighborhoods,where their presence would have more than a symbolic importance. Both Obamas feel and look more comfortable frequenting successful whites:Notice the beaming smile on Michelle's face when she was photographed meeting with Prince Harry, just one example among so many others. Instead of spending their vacations in posh hideaways in Hawaii or Martha's Vineyard, why could they not spend them in Sandtown, Stockton or Detroit, where their presence, even if brief, would have made a difference?They r black in skin pigmentation only, and shun the folk, black and white, who would be so appreciative if the First Family deigned to come to see them.Both children attended the Friends Mrs Sidwell's school in D.C.What's wrong with the public schools?Did Obama attend Morgan State as an undergrad, or did he go to Oberlin, a white, upper class institution?Times and Mr.Bruni let down their many readers eager to hear what he has to say, but disappointed at puff pieces like the present intervention. Has FB never heard of objective journalism, or has he been so indoctrinated by the left leaning professorat at U.of North Carolina that disinteredness and unbiasness in reporting is not worthy of consideration. Give us real news, Mr Bruni, not puffery."Je vous en prie!"
6
If you have a problem with "puffery", perhaps you should not lapse into pretentious French phrases,, but hey, thanks for the laugh. Bruni's writing was heart-felt, I could feel it, and I agree with his sentiment if not all of his points. Your response, however, had not a shred of emotional honesty.
5
If you want real news from Mr. Bruni, you should reciprocate by checking your own facts. Obama did not go to Oberlin; he graduated from Occidental College, cited as among the top twenty on a list of "the most economically diverse U.S. colleges and universities." Secondly, I can't think of a presidential family that has sent its children to public school (possibly for security reasons). That said, a Friends school is one that virtually guarantees a Quaker education, steeped in principles of justice, tolerance, and peace.
5
President Obama's Illinois speech was fabulous. I heard it on the radio in my car and pulled over to listen to it. This President is brilliant, and all who believe otherwise -- partisanship so blind and uninformed that veered into hatred -- have completely missed a period in their lives when they could have appreciated decent leadership, and helped move the country forward. Shame on them for not having more discernment.
16
If you had no real accomplishments before the presidency and none after, you have nothing left but self-righteous, left wing sermons. History will not be kind to this president and even less so to those who have surrendered their intelligence and morality to support him.
Meanwhile the Middle East detiorates, Iran and North Korea work on ICBM's and nukes, our economy drags along the bottom, we hold unemployment down by not counting the unemployed, we are more divided as a nation since the Civil War, government departments are utterly incompetent, our military is unprepared for war...it's endless. Yes, give us more gestures, platitude riddled speeches and junkets. That will fix things.
Meanwhile the Middle East detiorates, Iran and North Korea work on ICBM's and nukes, our economy drags along the bottom, we hold unemployment down by not counting the unemployed, we are more divided as a nation since the Civil War, government departments are utterly incompetent, our military is unprepared for war...it's endless. Yes, give us more gestures, platitude riddled speeches and junkets. That will fix things.
16
Hey Man, sounds like Trump is your guy. He will "fix things" hahaha
3
No adult arguments I see. Can't stand Trump or HRC or Sanders either.
President Obama inherited a mess and did the best he possibly could with NO help from the Congress. You're blaming the wrong person and party. Just curious...why do you say our military is unprepared for war? Ridiculous!
3
So the tactics Obama routinely utilized to get what he wanted for the past several years are suddenly unacceptable? That's rich.
6
Man, I'm gonna miss this guy.
It's really hard not to get pulled down into the hopelessness I feel for our future, but maybe if dark times are ahead, they can again be followed by something better. That is how ebb and flow works, right? Let's just hope that the "better" doesn't continue to decline with each turn on the dance floor.
I would also say that Obama's message is clearly not just focused on Trump or the Republicans, but also at the Left fanatics, like the Bernie Bots - even Bernie himself. It's one of things that drives me nuts about him and his campaign - he never talks about compromise. Never.
Thank you, Mr. Bruni, for reminding us through our President's words that really it's not just that the Right has to compromise with the clamoring voices of the Left, but we on the Left have to find how to compromise as well. Now if only we would listen...
It's really hard not to get pulled down into the hopelessness I feel for our future, but maybe if dark times are ahead, they can again be followed by something better. That is how ebb and flow works, right? Let's just hope that the "better" doesn't continue to decline with each turn on the dance floor.
I would also say that Obama's message is clearly not just focused on Trump or the Republicans, but also at the Left fanatics, like the Bernie Bots - even Bernie himself. It's one of things that drives me nuts about him and his campaign - he never talks about compromise. Never.
Thank you, Mr. Bruni, for reminding us through our President's words that really it's not just that the Right has to compromise with the clamoring voices of the Left, but we on the Left have to find how to compromise as well. Now if only we would listen...
240
You obviously haven't been listening to Bernie . He has the W.B. Yeats "passionate intensity" we so sorely need. I doesn't mean no compromise. wait and see what he does when HRC is the candidate. There will be no one stronger in her support and more gracious in defeat.
Obama's children are set up just fine. He is not worried about their future. Right now, from his perspective, we have come a long way, things look good, and he wants those that don't have prospects, whose children are not set up, to look on the brightside and compromise. I think he has it backwords: the compromise should come from the people that have rigged the system for their children. Obama should not be scolding the graduates at Howard for yelling too much; He should be scolding the parents at Princeton, Harvard and Yale for supporting and rigging an unfair system that gives their children obscene advantage.
4
"Should" is just wishing. Of course they should. But that isn't how people operate. Almost no one hands over their wealth and power because they "should." How many "shoulds" have we all skipped in our lives, because it was easier and more pleasant to avoid them.
People hand over power and wealth under threat of violence, which usually doesn't end well. Or they hand them over because someone organizes supporters, and negotiates using that leverage -- making "should" more attractive than "should not." Both organization and negotiation require listening as well as talking, and flexibility rather than absolutism. "Should" can be a dead end, if not accompanied by achievable steps toward it.
People hand over power and wealth under threat of violence, which usually doesn't end well. Or they hand them over because someone organizes supporters, and negotiates using that leverage -- making "should" more attractive than "should not." Both organization and negotiation require listening as well as talking, and flexibility rather than absolutism. "Should" can be a dead end, if not accompanied by achievable steps toward it.
3
@Naomi: I just hope Obama follows up his Howard speech with a speech at Harvard. It's easy to scold the underdog, much harder to scold the power-brokers. You mention "achievable steps toward" a "should." I think more often than not those steps are messy, never fully organized, often bloody. Then, from the ashes, the next generation picks up the "should" and evolves. If we could jump over the messiness that would be great, but I think the "yelling" is inevitable; and, moreover, It's not appropriate, I think, to shame that awkward, uncouth reach for respect and equality.
1
I will miss him, his eloquence and his calm, steady leadership.
21
Politics by those elected is not a battle for ideas. It is the battle to serve the real and perceived needs of the people.
Our country[s policy should not be to hire and work with terrorists and terrorists countries to overthrow government(s) to build a pipeline through someone's country against their will.
Obama's policy should not be to illegally ship weapons out of Libya for terrorists. A direct violation of UN Law that was signed by Obama. Obama's claim to victory is to apologize for what America has done, while ignoring his own crimes against humanity in the ME, in Syria and Afghanistan.
Our country[s policy should not be to hire and work with terrorists and terrorists countries to overthrow government(s) to build a pipeline through someone's country against their will.
Obama's policy should not be to illegally ship weapons out of Libya for terrorists. A direct violation of UN Law that was signed by Obama. Obama's claim to victory is to apologize for what America has done, while ignoring his own crimes against humanity in the ME, in Syria and Afghanistan.
5
Cue the bumper stickers for 2017: "Miss Barack Yet?"
10
"Miss Barack yet? Hell no!"
3
Elegantly stated commentary of a powerful farewell in progress.
2
The happiest day of my recent years will be the day Obama get's on the plane and just goes away. It's been a miserable 8 years.
13
Could this country possibly go from such an excellent man as Obama to such a man as Trump?
11
God Liberals are such sanctimonious jerks. Obama is an amateur who has divided this nation like no one else since the time of the Civil War. He's only in there because he is Black and was treated with kid gloves the entire way because he is Black. He is a traitor and a criminal.
9
I'm a Liberal and I resent your comments!!! It's all insults..and better a "sanctimonious jerk" than an ignorant hater. I suppose you'll vote for Trump.
4
I watched the speech and as usual came away reminded how much I respect and admire the President. Glad you made it the basis for an excellent column.
13
I remember a certain "beer summit" in 2009 which included President Obama, Henry Louis Gates (a black television personality) and Sgt. James Crowley (a white Cambridge, Massachusetts police officer) after an unfortunate incident involving the arrest of Mr. Gates for what looked, to the police officer, like a case of breaking and entering when, actually, Mr. Gates was entering his own residence. After misstatements and missteps on the part of all, including Mr. Obama, he invited the parties to sit down and have a beer with him in the Rose Garden to talk things over.
That's what President Obama is about--bringing people to the table. I've watched him struggle to get Congress to sit down at the table for eight years. It's been painful to watch.
The current atmosphere in Washington is in absolutely no way his fault. Divisive politics had already begun long before he entered office. Remember the congressman who shouted "you lie" while President Obama was delivering a speech to Congress in 2009? The atmosphere of disrespect and intolerance had already begun. He did not create it.
The best way to lead is by example. President Obama has done that with grace and dignity. If this country hasn't been watching, hasn't understood and appreciated his thoughtfulness, intelligence and statesmanship, that's our weakness, our foolishness, not his.
Maybe we should stop tweeting and start thinking. That's the President's point, and he's right.
That's what President Obama is about--bringing people to the table. I've watched him struggle to get Congress to sit down at the table for eight years. It's been painful to watch.
The current atmosphere in Washington is in absolutely no way his fault. Divisive politics had already begun long before he entered office. Remember the congressman who shouted "you lie" while President Obama was delivering a speech to Congress in 2009? The atmosphere of disrespect and intolerance had already begun. He did not create it.
The best way to lead is by example. President Obama has done that with grace and dignity. If this country hasn't been watching, hasn't understood and appreciated his thoughtfulness, intelligence and statesmanship, that's our weakness, our foolishness, not his.
Maybe we should stop tweeting and start thinking. That's the President's point, and he's right.
366
It was just a photo- op.
2
Henry Louis Gates is a bit more than a "television personality." He is a department head at Harvard, has written or edited numerous influential books, and was one of the first MacArthur "genius" grant winners.
2
Thoughtful post. Point of clarification though, Gates is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor of History at Harvard.
3
Can you imagine President Obama being followed by President Trump? That would be a sad psychological blow and would forever change the perspective of Americans toward their country.
7
Thanks, Mr. Bruni...In this chaotic and crazy time, I am grateful for the Sanity and Grace of a Good man and his beautiful family, who have so tenderly blessed us us with their National Presence. Despite the political slime, he has been above it all with that "Grace".
6
Frank Bruni needs to remove his blinders and consider the active political hate directed at his gay brothers and sisters in Kentucky, North Carolina, Alabama, etc.
You cannot have a kumbaya moment in the face of such active hatred.`
You cannot have a kumbaya moment in the face of such active hatred.`
1
If by "kumbaya" you mean getting everyone to agree happily, then such a moment is never achievable, because people disagree so vehemently on so many things. If "kumbaya" means, "I really can't stand you, but give me a good reason why I should stop riling you, and I might listen," then, yes, it is possible. Hillary Clinton told BLM activists she believed in working to change laws, not hearts, and I'd agree with that. Laws first, hearts may follow.
There may never be agreement, but there can be a "mutual ignoration society," my term for enemy cats who sit near each other but carefully avoid eye contact, which would trigger a fight neither is in the mood for.
There may never be agreement, but there can be a "mutual ignoration society," my term for enemy cats who sit near each other but carefully avoid eye contact, which would trigger a fight neither is in the mood for.
So many do not appreciate President Obama .
He surely will be the last class act America will get or ever had before.
For my I voted for Hillary Clinton in 2008 primary but together with Her I fully supported Him and continued to do so.
He surely will be the last class act America will get or ever had before.
For my I voted for Hillary Clinton in 2008 primary but together with Her I fully supported Him and continued to do so.
4
Spot on. Sadly, the Obama haters are too enraged by their insane animus that they'll miss his message. Too bad because Obama is trying to get us to listen to our higher angels. You can't too that with earplugs.
8
It is easy to be right.
The really tough thing is to be right and effective.
The really tough thing is to be right and effective.
4
It's hard to believe that our years of Hope and Change are coming to a close. Mr. Obama fought so very hard to bring our nation together. It's only the hate of republicans that stood in the way. He is a giant in terms of character and intellect. We have been so lucky to have him. His steady hand and thoughtfulness in the midst of mindless conservatives.
5
If only Obama had not been as bought by Wall St. as Hillary always excuses herself by reminding us he was. He might have been a contender for true greatness. He might have handled the financial debacle in a much more popular way, which would have maintained his original HUGE popularity (which people tend to forget) and even enhanced it. THEN he would have had the political capital to get a single-payer healthcare system and put Bibi in his place much more forcefully than he was able to do at first. The Affordable Care Act is still half a loaf, and his wonderful determination to foil the Israel Lobby on Iran was one of the great presidential profiles in courage. Obama's a great man hobbled by his ties to Wall St. The political cost to him, in terms of his popularity and reputation, with truly liberal Dems as well as the Republicans who hate him, pretty much fit his crime. You get what you're paid for.
Do we have to assume everyone is corrupt? A President is not as nearly powerful as you seem to think. The things you are suggesting would have been
massively unpopular with nearly half the country that hated everything he did, even if it was something they had wanted. What would have given him political capital is Democrats turning out in record numbers at the mid-term elections, not just Presidential years. We failed him as voters.
massively unpopular with nearly half the country that hated everything he did, even if it was something they had wanted. What would have given him political capital is Democrats turning out in record numbers at the mid-term elections, not just Presidential years. We failed him as voters.
3
Democracy as such is fraught with its ups and downs, good times and bad. That is true of the United States historically. In the nineteenth century it was buffeted with some pretty nasty doings. If then they had the technology we have now the picture of democracy would have looked the same. Democracy is like nature. It will reform itself. No need to despair.
1
Bruni hits the mark with his pount about curating one's own sources of information to echo and amplify already chosen notions, and he's even righter about people doing this whether or not that curated information is accurate.
That said, the yugest failing of the Fourth Estate, pointedly including the New York Times, has been in the wholesale abandonment of its mission to provide accurate, objective, unbiased news reporting. This is truest in the hackery that passes for political coverage. The Times' original motto, dating from Adolph Ochs' purchase in 1896 was laid out in an editorial: " to report the news without fear or favor." That aspiration could not be further than the Times' current reality. That phrase was a favorite of the lamentably departed Public Editor Margaret Sullivan. That the Times has allowed her position to remain unfilled for a month (so far) shows that the Times is ever less interested in reporting without fear or favor. The Times needs a public editor now more than ever. Will there be one incomng soon?
That said, the yugest failing of the Fourth Estate, pointedly including the New York Times, has been in the wholesale abandonment of its mission to provide accurate, objective, unbiased news reporting. This is truest in the hackery that passes for political coverage. The Times' original motto, dating from Adolph Ochs' purchase in 1896 was laid out in an editorial: " to report the news without fear or favor." That aspiration could not be further than the Times' current reality. That phrase was a favorite of the lamentably departed Public Editor Margaret Sullivan. That the Times has allowed her position to remain unfilled for a month (so far) shows that the Times is ever less interested in reporting without fear or favor. The Times needs a public editor now more than ever. Will there be one incomng soon?
4
Obama says, "Beyonce runs the world." Is that his inspirational example of realized hope? Her desperate harlot moves are sadly childish along with Madonna's stage antics.
3
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings."
http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/fault-dear-brutus-our-stars
But in ourselves, that we are underlings."
http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/fault-dear-brutus-our-stars
Intresting that so many of these comments reflect the cautionary messages Obama made regarding the increase in vitriol among people today. Sad!
3
The Trumpeting started back on the president's first Inauguration Day, when the Republican opposition proclaimed - to cornet accompaniment - that their raison d'etre was to make him a one-term president. The brass section quickly took over the orchestra, as blaring Tea Party voices ("You lie!") drowned out the string section and any chance at a mellowing of the mood. The hope for lush and memorable melody has given way to frustration with dissonance, and - as the Conductor-in-Chief signs out and drops his baton - we can only wonder at what might have been had the majority of the musicians not considered themselves soloists and had instead played the symphony with verve and harmony and unity of interpretation, as guided by Il Maestro.
4
Sadly, a goodbye 8 years too late. But it shows how strong America is to survive such JV, inept, divisive, lawless leadership.
10
Obama has been a calm and steady beacon in the storms. He has been a lighthouse in the fogs. An anchor in unsteady seas. A Town Crier, calming and reassuring us in crises. A man whose own behavior points the way to civility, the rule of law, care for our neighbor.
Oh, how I will miss him!
Oh, how I will miss him!
12
Frank Bruni can listen to President Obama forever, but the reality is this
President is leaving the United States in a weakened position throughout the
world. The Iranian/U.S. treaty has given Iran the opportunity to develop a
nuclear program, and the "JV" passed on it. All the speeches in the world did
not prevent the riots at Ferguson, Missouri or Baltimore, Maryland, and those
riots represent race relations in the U.S. in 2016. One speech at Howard
University means nothing.
President is leaving the United States in a weakened position throughout the
world. The Iranian/U.S. treaty has given Iran the opportunity to develop a
nuclear program, and the "JV" passed on it. All the speeches in the world did
not prevent the riots at Ferguson, Missouri or Baltimore, Maryland, and those
riots represent race relations in the U.S. in 2016. One speech at Howard
University means nothing.
9
It is impossible to ascertain how often, despite his sincere wishes to the contrary, Obama actually contributed to the gridlock that became Washington politics during his administration. However, he possesses the full range of human characteristics, both positive and negative. Perhaps in his speech to young black college graduates he is unconsciously suggesting, "Do as I say, not as I do." If his capacity for honest self-reflection is high, perhaps at some level he may be thinking, "Don't make the same mistakes that I did." I do believe he is a great man and am hopeful he will continue to do positive things for this country, perhaps in creative and surprising ways, more profoundly as a citizen than as commander in chief.
2
If only this President would have followed his ow advice.
4
We can all agree that President Obama has been a hard working President and possesses many admirable personal qualities. He was the President that black people needed and deserved and who demonstrated that it was possible as President to be cool and hip and admired by young people.
But, as to his greatness, that has been underwhelming. No one but Paul Krugman and Janet Yellen would be surprised if the economy collapsed tomorrow. As to his enthusiasm for Obamacare, that I think has been greatly aided by his considerable distance from the actual operations of the program.
Foreign policy wise, the record has been close to a flat-out disaster, the cave-ins to Putin, Assad and the Ayatollah leaving his successor in office a dog’s breakfast of deeply serious problems around the world to digest and deal with.
Historians will probably come down on the side of the side of leniency crediting him with leaving the country pretty much where he found it.
This is no small thing, as the country may soon discover when President Trump takes office.
But, as to his greatness, that has been underwhelming. No one but Paul Krugman and Janet Yellen would be surprised if the economy collapsed tomorrow. As to his enthusiasm for Obamacare, that I think has been greatly aided by his considerable distance from the actual operations of the program.
Foreign policy wise, the record has been close to a flat-out disaster, the cave-ins to Putin, Assad and the Ayatollah leaving his successor in office a dog’s breakfast of deeply serious problems around the world to digest and deal with.
Historians will probably come down on the side of the side of leniency crediting him with leaving the country pretty much where he found it.
This is no small thing, as the country may soon discover when President Trump takes office.
5
Yes, oh yes. Obama’s departure will be glorious! As when the knife is pulled from your back. But the scar will remain as he leaves behind his legacy.
And not just one knife wound but so many. The only question is will the victim survive?
And not just one knife wound but so many. The only question is will the victim survive?
4
Oh, that he had practiced what he is now preaching. Indeed, he shoved through his policies whether or not it was what the majority of the American people wanted. You are what you do, not what you say.
4
Oh, how I wish we could have President Obama for eight more years! He isn't the perfection we had projected onto his candidacy, but he IS what he himself said he would be. To my mind he is the best President in my lifetime, with the exception, I suppose, of FDR (who died when I was 8 months old). While I disagree with some policies, I can understand his reasons.
This recent speech at Howard University is important and incredibly well-timed. I hope other people are listening.
This recent speech at Howard University is important and incredibly well-timed. I hope other people are listening.
7
The most wonderful thing about Obama's gorgeous goodbye is the 'goodbye' part.
11
I have no doubt that he'll continue to do great good. Hopefully he'll be nominated to the supreme court.
9
Bruni channels his inner Mo in the last sentence....where he paints Hillary and Trump as equally reponsible partners in "the death match".
Really Frank? Hillary has continually taken a higher road, while Trump rolls merrily along in the gutter, aided and abetted by false equivalencies like yours.
Really Frank? Hillary has continually taken a higher road, while Trump rolls merrily along in the gutter, aided and abetted by false equivalencies like yours.
4
Do as I say,not as I do, a human frailty, we are all guilty of this especially Obama.His alienation of Israel is a perfect example of this. Not only didn’t he adhere to his gorgeous words but he created a severe divide between those that support Israel & those that don’t. This has caused serious friction between two important Democratic blocks, the Jewish & the Black vote, & may affect Clinton in her run for President.
3
It's rare to find a successful politician who really speaks your language. For conservative Christian friends of mine, it was George W. Bush. They didn't agree with every one of his policies, but he spoke their language, and they trusted him. I feel that way about President Obama. His analytical mind is often mistaken for being "cold" or "aloof;" it is not. He is thoughtful, measured, and seeks to persuade through logic and reason. God, I will miss him.
6
I think "free speech" is the answer, but it is poorly understood. It is a responsibility as much as a right. We have a responsibility to listen and to participate in our politics, and to use our right to speech so as to illuminate our ideas rather than to parrot or to obscure those of others. And like all other rights, the right to free speech is not unlimited: otherwise we lose our domestic tranquility.
3
Uh, you're not entitled to domestic tranquility...
I should be - it is one of the objectives for the government in the preamble to the Constitution
"Uh, you're not entitled to domestic tranquility..."
Thanks for the tip. But apparently the framers of the Constitution thought otherwise. At least that's the conclusion I reach upon reading the document, since the preamble provides that the Constitution is "ordained and established" to "establish Justice, insure [ensure] domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence...".
What do you suppose that means?
Thanks for the tip. But apparently the framers of the Constitution thought otherwise. At least that's the conclusion I reach upon reading the document, since the preamble provides that the Constitution is "ordained and established" to "establish Justice, insure [ensure] domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence...".
What do you suppose that means?
The president still has 8 months to serve. There are things to do. He should do them. This seemingly victory lap is not good. Aging baseball stars and television personalities who announce their retirement date and then continue working for another year is not good and does not add to their legacy. The president needs to keep trying, keep fighting, keep speaking out right up to the end of his term, January 20, 2017.
3
If only the three branches of the federal government, designed to effectively check and balance each other, would work together to iron out differences and create real solutions to the rapidly accelerating problems our nation faces. Why cannot these adults, entrusted with so much authority, own up to their responsibility? We are living in a time of such immense problems that they can solve only by working together: economic (banking, labor, trade), foreign affairs, campaign finance, health care and social services, poverty, crime and violence, infrastructure, environment . . . The list is long and growing longer. Surely the sight of our elected officials working together toward consensus would go a long way toward healing the division among Americans. That really would be Great.
1
Like Jimmy Carter, Obama will be best remembered and appreciated after the fact. He was unlucky, just like Carter. Carter had a terrible economy, then he didn't send enough helicopters into the desert, and an accident while refueling undid his efforts to make a heroic rescue that might have gotten him re-elected.
Obama is clearly talking about the Tea Party here... “If you think that the only way forward is to be as uncompromising as possible, you will feel good about yourself, you will enjoy a certain moral purity, but you’re not going to get what you want,” he continued. ...but I think he missed the point. The Tea Party did get what they wanted. They wanted to stop Obama, they didn't want to accomplish anything. What they wanted was nothing, and that's what they got.
I have mixed feelings about Obama as President, but he did very well considering the cards he was dealt. He is a good man. He, his wife and his daughters have handled themselves with the kind of class and style that we should appreciate. There were no financial scandals, no sexual scandals, his wife didn't try to be Vice President, and he didn't start any foolish wars. And now that we have suffered the likes of Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina and others, and are forced into a choice of Trump or HIllary, Obama looks like an adult among a group of immature, petulant and spoiled children.
Obama is clearly talking about the Tea Party here... “If you think that the only way forward is to be as uncompromising as possible, you will feel good about yourself, you will enjoy a certain moral purity, but you’re not going to get what you want,” he continued. ...but I think he missed the point. The Tea Party did get what they wanted. They wanted to stop Obama, they didn't want to accomplish anything. What they wanted was nothing, and that's what they got.
I have mixed feelings about Obama as President, but he did very well considering the cards he was dealt. He is a good man. He, his wife and his daughters have handled themselves with the kind of class and style that we should appreciate. There were no financial scandals, no sexual scandals, his wife didn't try to be Vice President, and he didn't start any foolish wars. And now that we have suffered the likes of Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina and others, and are forced into a choice of Trump or HIllary, Obama looks like an adult among a group of immature, petulant and spoiled children.
216
he is probably also talking about a sunset of Sanders supporters too.
2
He may have the Tea Party in mind in part, but I expect he was trying to speak to groups like Black Lives Matter as well. It's a point with general applicability, across the political spectrum.
1
I do not believe that he is speaking only to the tea party. Unfortunately, there are loud, strident voices on the left that are also setting up their own "purity" index of politicians and fellow citizens/voters. This country is filled with people who do not agree on what the cause of our problems or what the solutions might be. We still need to talk and work together, try, as President Obama said, "to get in [their] head" and let them understand what is in ours. Really, I cannot see any other way that will lead us forward.
1
With full credit to the President for his prescience and to Mr. Bruni for writing this very compelling column, it's sad that many people will react dismissively without even considering the message. Such are the times in which we live.
2
I am looking for the day when a very good, greatly reviled human being with an IQ can go back to his studies in constitutional law in the relative quiet of Academia and, relax in his studies and enjoy his beautiful family for the rest of his life. I hope he knows that mistakes or no, he did make progress in healthcare and was NOT a total klutz when it came to Foreign Policy. His efforts on climate issues are well known. This final gesture to the Japanese will trouble some (perhaps many) but to me it is a deeply touching gesture to a country that we wronged with those bombs. It did probably bring the Japanese to an earlier capitulation, but at a scary price.
(Has it occurred to anyone that with all the talk, the Sturm und Drang, of nuclear proliferation, the sedulous efforts to keep "the Bomb" out of Iran's arsenal, that WE--W E--are the only country on the planet that has used atomic bombs?)
I sense a kind of International hypocracy here.
Naf 86+
(Has it occurred to anyone that with all the talk, the Sturm und Drang, of nuclear proliferation, the sedulous efforts to keep "the Bomb" out of Iran's arsenal, that WE--W E--are the only country on the planet that has used atomic bombs?)
I sense a kind of International hypocracy here.
Naf 86+
1
Yes, President Obama's last year reminds us what big shoes his successor will have to fill. But, remember, too, he is *still* the sitting President, - note especially to the Senate Republicans who are obstructing his right to have a Supreme Court nominee evaluated for appointment.
9
Articles like this are hilarious. Obama cultivated the grievance constituents along with the Democrat Party. Now that they see how harmful it is, Obama starts talking gibberish to try and turn it around. And on cue, you get a journalist willing to write another glam story on how wonderful Obama is. Keep it up Frank, only eight more months of kissing the rear end of Obama.
5
Obama created the grievance constituency in the Republican Party. Only eight more months before you have to find someone else to blame your problems on.
3
"His administration’s actions haven’t always been as high-minded as his words."
But Obama's words have ALWAYS been more high-minded than any the GOP put forth.
Were we only lucky enough to have a GOP worthy of this president.
But Obama's words have ALWAYS been more high-minded than any the GOP put forth.
Were we only lucky enough to have a GOP worthy of this president.
9
There is strength in numbers! A black, green or yellow person, a Jew, gay or average white Joe or Jane must build social networks with there own and others.
The ethos has changed. To my mind Trump's success is iconic. Right and wrong has faded. Winner takes all is the new religion. Connectivity helps one overcome this assault on our culture.
As individuals we often suffer from these strikes and we don't always know it. Hard work and great talent don't always bear fruit. Now more than ever they evoke the jealousy in others. As a buddy of mine, said "Cain not only survives, he thrives!"
Stay connected!
The ethos has changed. To my mind Trump's success is iconic. Right and wrong has faded. Winner takes all is the new religion. Connectivity helps one overcome this assault on our culture.
As individuals we often suffer from these strikes and we don't always know it. Hard work and great talent don't always bear fruit. Now more than ever they evoke the jealousy in others. As a buddy of mine, said "Cain not only survives, he thrives!"
Stay connected!
3
"It brings him full circle, from the audacity to the tenacity of hope" is one of the best lines ever written about the Obama Presidency.
5
Would I be breaking some sort of law if, when I'm in the voting booth on Nov. 8, I write in "Barack Obama"?
I believe even those who hate him at this moment will find reason to wish he were still in office, if only fleetingly, during the next four years. Whether it be during the bombastic meandering blather of a Trump "speech" or a strident dressing down by Hillary Clinton, the calm but passionate presentations of Obama will be missed.
I believe even those who hate him at this moment will find reason to wish he were still in office, if only fleetingly, during the next four years. Whether it be during the bombastic meandering blather of a Trump "speech" or a strident dressing down by Hillary Clinton, the calm but passionate presentations of Obama will be missed.
2
A write in is a vote for Trump. Vote for Hillary Clinton then let's press her to nominate Obama to the Supreme Court!
8
Note, Read+Think, my location. There is no such thing as an electoral vote for a non-Republican candidate. Millions of Texans vote for the Democratic presidential candidate every 4 years, yet not a single Texas electoral vote has gone anywhere but to the Republican since Jimmy Carter elected to office.
Wickipedia provides some very interesting and even more disturbing reading regarding possible, if extremely unlikely, outcomes of the electoral college vote compared to the popular vote.
Democrats and Republicans alike should be raising the roof over the way the Electoral College distorts the results of the popular vote. Winner-take-all states become winner-lose-all at the national level, and vice-versa. It is mathematically possible for a candidate to get only 22% of the vote and win the electoral college. As unlikely as it may be that a distortion of that magnitude may ever occur, the fact that it should disturb, if not terrify any and every voter in this country.
The Electoral College makes a mockery of the individual's vote, and consequently the will of the people is held hostage to it as well.
Wickipedia provides some very interesting and even more disturbing reading regarding possible, if extremely unlikely, outcomes of the electoral college vote compared to the popular vote.
Democrats and Republicans alike should be raising the roof over the way the Electoral College distorts the results of the popular vote. Winner-take-all states become winner-lose-all at the national level, and vice-versa. It is mathematically possible for a candidate to get only 22% of the vote and win the electoral college. As unlikely as it may be that a distortion of that magnitude may ever occur, the fact that it should disturb, if not terrify any and every voter in this country.
The Electoral College makes a mockery of the individual's vote, and consequently the will of the people is held hostage to it as well.
3
President Obama is still in office but I miss him already. Almost eight years of scandal free, intelligent, thoughtful leadership delivered imperfectly by a man who has lifted our country domestically and internationally. History will treat him much better than our Congress has. My nostalgia is already setting in.
12
"We can choose our own facts,” he lamented. “We don’t have a common basis for what’s true and what’s not.” And the media needs to take responsibility for this state of affairs as well. Post Obama, look at how much free publicity and attention Donald Trump got, which helped in no small measure to get him to his current position. See too, how the establishment media is in a swoon over Hillary Clinton, and how Bernie Sanders has consistently gotten the short end of the stick, despite people supporting him with as much enthusiasm as the "Trumpists" support Trump.
So our choice of facts is limited to what the media gives us, and what is "truth" is decided by the six corporations that control most of the media outlets. That's why "War is Peace" for the last fifteen years. It's the truth. inconvenient, and doing little more than bleeding the country in both people and dollars, enriching the 1% and delivering dead or maimed young people back to our shores. Until we demand better, these fictions will only continue.
So our choice of facts is limited to what the media gives us, and what is "truth" is decided by the six corporations that control most of the media outlets. That's why "War is Peace" for the last fifteen years. It's the truth. inconvenient, and doing little more than bleeding the country in both people and dollars, enriching the 1% and delivering dead or maimed young people back to our shores. Until we demand better, these fictions will only continue.
4
President Obama is such a decent, respectable, forward-looking leader, I pine as I think what could have been had Congressional Republicans been willing to work with him.
52
He did great things without them.
1
Mr. Bruni, thank you for this wonderful column. You rightly remind us of President Obama's ability to rise above personal attacks, to act with humility, to demonstrate Christian caring and love for others. A lesson to all of us. We need more people like Barack H. Obama to mend our divided society. And yes, President Obama's "gorgeous" message to America is threatened by the ugly noise that has been growing ever louder, ever more strident from the Republican right.
32
"Gorgeous" is clearly not the operative word, Frank. "Grandiose" may come closer to what this soon to be once-leader has been foisted with. He has been called brilliant, daring, audacious, caring, a Nobelist peace-seeker.. But at this coming end, depending on your own view, you can decide whether he has been a political leader. For those who think he has, where are the needed deals done with his effective politics.
Mr. Bruni's writes: "Obama insisted that 'change requires listening to those with whom you disagree, and being prepared to compromise.'" If this is not a clear case of "Don't do as I do' do as I say." I don't know what is. He led the loggerheads of inaction and relied instead on monarchial executive order.
More sadly, at this 11th hour, he starts issuing needed challenges to African-American college students. What about the host of younger, black, highschool age males who have disenfranchised themselves from a future of hope? He has completely failed to engage them in any dialog. What an opportunity! What a loss!
No, Mr. Bruni, his has not been a "gorgeous" goodbye. It's been a tragic loss of an opportunity to lead us forward. Audacity may be a first step, and tenacity a second, but getting us to where we need to go is a far longer journey, and his eloquence won't get us there.
Mr. Bruni's writes: "Obama insisted that 'change requires listening to those with whom you disagree, and being prepared to compromise.'" If this is not a clear case of "Don't do as I do' do as I say." I don't know what is. He led the loggerheads of inaction and relied instead on monarchial executive order.
More sadly, at this 11th hour, he starts issuing needed challenges to African-American college students. What about the host of younger, black, highschool age males who have disenfranchised themselves from a future of hope? He has completely failed to engage them in any dialog. What an opportunity! What a loss!
No, Mr. Bruni, his has not been a "gorgeous" goodbye. It's been a tragic loss of an opportunity to lead us forward. Audacity may be a first step, and tenacity a second, but getting us to where we need to go is a far longer journey, and his eloquence won't get us there.
7
In the spirit of this article and the President's speeches you are the perfect candidate to engage in a talk about the incredible accomplishments of Obama in during these last 8 years in spite of the officially proclaimed obstructionist policy of the GOP.
3
rixax, for what it's worth, I'd say that "obstructionist," like the ever-errant "beauty," is in the mind of the beholder.
Both parties have obstructed, and so has our "incredibly gorgeous" leader, who finger-points whilst he urges. Where was his "volunteered critque" of #BLM when we needed him?
No "blunt, soulful goodbye" can ever make up for the blunt, soulful dialogs that might have been. His so-called "tenacity" will soon be replaced by "loss," and if he can't get that done it time, it will be completed by Clinton.
Both parties have obstructed, and so has our "incredibly gorgeous" leader, who finger-points whilst he urges. Where was his "volunteered critque" of #BLM when we needed him?
No "blunt, soulful goodbye" can ever make up for the blunt, soulful dialogs that might have been. His so-called "tenacity" will soon be replaced by "loss," and if he can't get that done it time, it will be completed by Clinton.
1
Bravo for Mr. Bruni's judicious praise of the President's bracing, and yet also nuanced, critical and constructive articulation of best practices for a politics worthy of our democracy. This is "presidential," in real ways, though it may be hard to recognize, much less accept, if only because it's been a long time since we had a President who could dare to do it, and did!
For me, many of the comments published so far (from multiple viewpoints) seem to betray the deep suspicions and alienation, rhetorical license and absence of common purpose which the President is seeking to overcome.
So then, the President is spot on.
For me, many of the comments published so far (from multiple viewpoints) seem to betray the deep suspicions and alienation, rhetorical license and absence of common purpose which the President is seeking to overcome.
So then, the President is spot on.
10
Mr. Bruni,
Thank you for sharing a sample of the brilliance and inclusive hopes and encouragements' from President Obama.
Thank you for sharing a sample of the brilliance and inclusive hopes and encouragements' from President Obama.
9
President Obama, often the ONLY adult in the room. I miss him already.
26
We have toxic rhetoric of "'extreme voices'" that reflects a toxic economy, where as President Obama observed, the white middle-class is in free fall with a yawning wealth gap reflected in immense student debt and limited job prospects that has resulted in urban unrest by those even further down the economic ladder. And, we have a two-tiered criminal justice system that is overly punitive to the poor while ignoring blatant criminality by politicians who endorse torture, bankers who defrauded millions of home owners, and white police officers who shoot and kill black men. But, there is still much that President Obama can do rather than just talk. He can use his power to pardon tens of thousands of men of color who are languishing in prison for petty drug offenses. He can eliminate the tax loop-hole that allows hedge fund managers to collect millions and pay little in taxes. He can end the dithering over the two-state solution in the Middle East by recognizing a demilitarized State of Palestine. He can, with the able assistance of Secretary of State John Kerry, push for a peace conference to end the Syrian civil war that would allow Russia and the U.S. along with NATO to defeat ISIS before less cooler heads escalate it into a major, perhaps even nuclear, war. It is much too early for self-congratulatory farewell speeches, and still time for some of that "Change You Can Believe In" to drown out poisonous din of Trumpism with a large dose of "The Audacity of Hope."
5
Beautiful column, Frank. Totally in line with President Obama's speech, part of which I was able to watch live.
He's nailed the problems in our body politic which has become a shouting match instead of an honest debate. All I can say is, I will really miss him: his honesty, his assessments, his deliberation, and his integrity.
I hope we don't have to look back at Mr. Obama and mourn the loss of dignity and civility in public life. I hope the country will wake up from its momentary fascination with the instant moments of a campaign that seems as addictive as fictional shows like House of Cards. I hope people will realize that instant simplistic solutions are simply not feasible, no matter what politicians will tell them
Thank you Frank. You say it all in this brilliant paragraph encapsulating the nut of the President's speech:
“We’ve got to build a better politics — one that’s less of a spectacle and more of a battle of ideas,” he said then. Otherwise, he warned, “Extreme voices fill the void.” This current presidential campaign has borne him out.
He's nailed the problems in our body politic which has become a shouting match instead of an honest debate. All I can say is, I will really miss him: his honesty, his assessments, his deliberation, and his integrity.
I hope we don't have to look back at Mr. Obama and mourn the loss of dignity and civility in public life. I hope the country will wake up from its momentary fascination with the instant moments of a campaign that seems as addictive as fictional shows like House of Cards. I hope people will realize that instant simplistic solutions are simply not feasible, no matter what politicians will tell them
Thank you Frank. You say it all in this brilliant paragraph encapsulating the nut of the President's speech:
“We’ve got to build a better politics — one that’s less of a spectacle and more of a battle of ideas,” he said then. Otherwise, he warned, “Extreme voices fill the void.” This current presidential campaign has borne him out.
15
Politics at best always a sensitive topic, an elegant elderly British noble in Paris ventured of the President that he is the epitome of civility. Civility not being appreciated in our young Nation of quarrelsome toddlers, I added that he was a formidable figure, a visionary, beyond extraordinary for the times we live, but leaving the rest to the thinkers among us, while I navigate on a sense of things.
President Obama is a Man for all Seasons, while some of us want to stay in the mire. Mr. Bruni is able to write it right. My heart feels heavy as the President leaves the helm of the Ship. A favorite photo of the President? He is holding gently and firmly the arm of a two year old girl as they walk with joy across his office, and singular as it sounds, they both have the same expression of bliss in their eyes. Children always know who is for real, and that is telling enough for this grateful American.
President Obama is a Man for all Seasons, while some of us want to stay in the mire. Mr. Bruni is able to write it right. My heart feels heavy as the President leaves the helm of the Ship. A favorite photo of the President? He is holding gently and firmly the arm of a two year old girl as they walk with joy across his office, and singular as it sounds, they both have the same expression of bliss in their eyes. Children always know who is for real, and that is telling enough for this grateful American.
13
If ever there was a year when I wished there weren't term limits for presidents, this is it.
24
The President should address the black students who are trapped in inferior unsafe schools in unionized systems with no alternatives due to policies Obama fully endorses.Obama should also address the students who are having their educations diminished by violent and disruptive classmates who are being protected from discipline by Obama's DOJ.
5
Sometimes I think we got bored with Obama, in a good way. You wake up in the morning knowing that whatever happens in this country and world, we have someone in charge who will think it through, and make a reasoned decision. I like living in a no drama Obama country. Now having said that, I wonder if Americans, want a little more, or a lot more, spice in their lives...waking up in the morning not knowing if your 401K is still there, if we are at war in Slovakia, if the wall around the blue states in almost built, or if that we fired four members of the Supreme Court..
287
I do not think it will be that bad. Calm down, we still have the three branches.
We will miss this President when he leaves office, no doubt about it. The question is will we only miss him a lot, or miss him terribly.
6
For 38 years I have operated a small business. It has been in many respects a life of isolation. When a new president elect made it clear he intended to spend a considerable portion of his considerable political capital on health care reform, I was intrigued. And when an organizer from a new progressive business network called out of the blue and asked the right questions I was all in. I am not a public speaker, in fact the thought of it terrifies me, yet there I was a few months later, testifying before the Ways and Means Committee one week and speaking before hostile crowds, who thought attending a public meeting granted them a waiver of civil behavior, the next. I had no illusions, whatever came of the effort to reform our inefficient, third rate approach to health care delivery would be a mash up of compromises. That is the price of a democratic process, one that requires thoughtful, wise leaders to calculate the cost and go ahead anyway in the name of a massive step forward. The ACA is not my version of health care reform, mine would look a lot like the one Bernie Sanders is promoting these days. I continue to work on progressive issues and have learned that listening and considering those who at first blush oppose me, is often far more effective than shouting, no matter how hard my blood may be boiling at the time. As a small business owner I also know I can ill afford tilting at wind mills but I also know I can't live in isolation. Thank you Mr. President.
14
This president has been a disappointment in too many ways to catalog. When I hear him describes as "the most radical president in American history" I want to giggle. FDR was a radical. It isn't even close.
Still, I never regretted twice voting for Barack Obama - not for a millisecond. Given the treasonous obstruction put in his path by the GOP, it's a miracle the poor guy was able to accomplish anything - and he has accomplished a lot.
Hats off to him for trying.
http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com
Tom Degan
Still, I never regretted twice voting for Barack Obama - not for a millisecond. Given the treasonous obstruction put in his path by the GOP, it's a miracle the poor guy was able to accomplish anything - and he has accomplished a lot.
Hats off to him for trying.
http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com
Tom Degan
7
History will be very kind to Mr Obama. He has set a new standard both personally as well as with the people he has surrounded himself with. No indictments no scandal. Just hard working people who for the most part, who were dedicated to public service.
The first rule if governing is to first do no harm. He stepped into a terrible financial mess and put in policies to help correct the disaster. He dealt with our nations foreign policy as well as anyone could have. We have so many voices who can criticize without consequences but future historians will place him right up there with the great presidents.
I thank him for his service and will miss him. I suspect the country will miss him as well. He has been a source of pride because he elevated the office and made America a stronger and better place.
The first rule if governing is to first do no harm. He stepped into a terrible financial mess and put in policies to help correct the disaster. He dealt with our nations foreign policy as well as anyone could have. We have so many voices who can criticize without consequences but future historians will place him right up there with the great presidents.
I thank him for his service and will miss him. I suspect the country will miss him as well. He has been a source of pride because he elevated the office and made America a stronger and better place.
12
Not another word describing Obama as "haughty" and "arrogant." I listened to the same speeches and sound bites, and what came across was an adult talking to his constituents as if they were adults, too. That the audience behaved like middle-school students with a substitute teacher is their fault, not his.
14
I only wish Bernie and Donald would listen to this speech and take heed. I know Hillary knows this intuitively and that is why she is best for the country.
15
All Obama did at Howard University was preach to the choir. It's really pathetic how the Times and the bloggers always circle the wagons around Obama (no matter what happens) for the past 7 years.
9
Another wonderful speech from President Obama that we will only appreciate in retrospect, maybe in 10 years when people will look back and wonder how we didn't appreciate the man more. How is it that such words of grace and challenge, of unity of purpose in diversity, get pushed aside in the media's daily roundup in exchange for the latest Trump outrage?
10
No matter what the angry white men's party says, Obama will go down in history as one of our better presidents. He is so sensible, it is a shame he got no respect from our republican congress his whole presidency. I hope that is fully reported in the history books also.
13
What is with this long soulful goodbye idea. He is still in office there is still work to do 7 months of it in fact. And while everyone else is distracted by the drama he could still get a few things done.
2
Bernie Sanders, are you listening?
6
Obama is a classy guy. Also very smart. I was a Republican and did not vote for him the first time. However, the slim, disappointing pickings on the R side plus Obama's class act pulled me over. I admire intelligence and am also criticized for my aloofness. Those of us who have dignity and don't like rolling in the dirt with the doofus types are often disparaged. People who are less than always criticize those they envy. It drives the white folks crazy that Obama and Michelle are classier and smarter than the white working class. I can identify. I am a very successful female and most women hate and resent me too. Few people are comfortable enough in their own skin to admire those who have and do more. For me -- I would LOVE it if all Blacks were like the Obamas. I might even lose some of my ingrained prejudice.
6
Your comment makes me laugh for its honesty. Personally I think there are millions of black people like the Obamas and always were -- but they're especially awesome. Work on that ingrained prejudice and we'll all be better off.
4
I was with you until the last line - it is not a Clinton-Trump death match. Please - let's keep our rhetoric less extreme, our hyperbole to a minimum. That's what the President is saying and what you reported/commented on and praised. Let's try and emulate. Let's stick to facts, avoid agitation, bring more light, less heat.
8
the problem, as the late Edward Said pointed out (i paraphrase) is not how your story ends, but where you choose to begin. Naysayers see Obama as the originator/mishandler of problems which arose or were created in an earlier presidency. but no. the the Middle East's massive murderous muddle, the middle class loss of jobs/houses/hopes following the 2008 economic meltdown ... lay it all at his door. he, the incompetent/evil black man who had no business being in the White House ("He wasn't even an American, or a Christian, for Chrissake!) he's responsible for derailing the country and the economy. he is where the decline started. never mind history.
3
This is called an "if only" column. We can always dream, can't we.
3
President Obama's words at Howard University were brilliant. It's time to put the race anger in a bottle. The Irish, and the Jews still suffer slights after thousands of years. Hate never seems to end.
5
I'll be very sad to see the President and his family leave the White House. He has by no means been a perfect President but the reactionaries created something out of him beyond all resemblance to the reality of his tenure. To put it bluntly, he, his character, and his formidable abilities may have been mostly wasted on a large swathe of the electorate. And that is a tragedy.
7
Dear Mr. Bruni,
He will be sorely missed but, as you eloquently point out, his was a "voice crying in the wilderness" as witnessed by the actions of our Congress these last two years.
This country is as polarized as it was when George Wallace ran for president.
And no candidate of either major party seems capable of bringing us all together.
So, no matter which of the two is elected, it seems we will have four more years of sequester, filibuster and just plain, old bluster as, once more, the ship of state has no rudder.
And we worry about North Korea and their nukes?
He will be sorely missed but, as you eloquently point out, his was a "voice crying in the wilderness" as witnessed by the actions of our Congress these last two years.
This country is as polarized as it was when George Wallace ran for president.
And no candidate of either major party seems capable of bringing us all together.
So, no matter which of the two is elected, it seems we will have four more years of sequester, filibuster and just plain, old bluster as, once more, the ship of state has no rudder.
And we worry about North Korea and their nukes?
1
He is the greatest president we have had in my lifetime. I was born in 1959 and am certain I will never see another president with such integrity, compassion and intelligence in my lifetime.
13
Barack Obama would have been a great president--if the US were a university. A university presidency is devoted to raising money and making high-minded speeches. Most of the real decisions are made by Provosts and Deans. The president floats above it all with his regalia, his gown, his mortar board, and a few Latin phrases. The job is almost all ceremonial. With plenty of time for golf with trustees and benefactors. And the Alumni Magazine is devoted to constant adulation and mystification. Quite a job, if you can put up with the platitudes and the tired rhetoric.
4
If the "job is almost all ceremonial" why then to his opponents blame him for all they believe is wrong with this country? Why do they oppose his executive orders and his activities in foreign affairs.
You can consider the President's speeches as "platitudes and the tired rhetoric" and just turn off the TV when he speaks, but you are missing the profound messages that Mr. Bruni identifies. You are the perfect example of the person the President encourages the students to engage and attempt to understand while never becoming -- the closed mind.
You can consider the President's speeches as "platitudes and the tired rhetoric" and just turn off the TV when he speaks, but you are missing the profound messages that Mr. Bruni identifies. You are the perfect example of the person the President encourages the students to engage and attempt to understand while never becoming -- the closed mind.
5
Every Amercian should take heed! No matter the party or the beliefs. It is a time for coming together & doing the business of our country & not this" my way or the highway" talk.
I believe it will start & stop with the grassroot voter-- echoing President Obama's thoughts.
"Enough with a kind of identity politics that can shove aside common purpose. Enough with a partisanship so caustic that it bleeds into hatred.
Enough with such deafening sound and blinding fury in our public debate. They make for entertainment, not enlightenment, and stand in the way of progress."
I believe it will start & stop with the grassroot voter-- echoing President Obama's thoughts.
"Enough with a kind of identity politics that can shove aside common purpose. Enough with a partisanship so caustic that it bleeds into hatred.
Enough with such deafening sound and blinding fury in our public debate. They make for entertainment, not enlightenment, and stand in the way of progress."
2
Obama talks real good. Of course, walking the walk ain't his strong suit--or-- A Professor professes but a Statesman does not just make statements: he creates change. A recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize should be strive to be more than just a remarkable "pathetic" preacher.
5
Changing the world order by empowering a new nuclear armed Persian Empire(read the agreement.the bomb is there's in 15 years no matter what)
Not excactly "gorgeous" Over rated ......Barack Hussein Obama.....
Not excactly "gorgeous" Over rated ......Barack Hussein Obama.....
3
I used to admire you when you were president of the AFT.
1
Miss him already.
10
The grassroots nature of the Black Lives Matter movement inherently means that most of them were not there to hear his message firsthand: they can't get in to college, for the very reasons many are protesting. To read his speech - if they bother - from the insecurity of the streets, unemployed and impoverished, or from prison, will likely leave them cold. No matter, they are exceedingly proud of having a black man in the White House if at arms length.
"Extreme voices fill the void" said President Obama in Illinois 9 years ago when he announced his bid for the 2008 Presidency. We knew, in 2004 - when he was the keynote speaker at the DNC - that he was a great American and inspired our better angels. The extreme voices (like the presumptive RNC presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump) fill the void even more today during this awful 2016 Presidential campaign. Barack Hussein Obama was, at that time in 2007, young(er), gifted, and black in America. His commencement address at Howard University last week was "gorgeous" and honest and inspiring in every way and will be long remembered. Obama's opponents then and now (bigoted Republicans, Tea Party racists, conservative think tanks, the richest plutocrats) have grown in their loathing of the finest president we have been blessed with since FDR and Harry Truman. Your last paragraph of "Obama's Gorgeous Goodbye" is a brilliant pieces of writing, Frank. That Obama's "blunt, soulful goodbye" at Howard University's 2016 Commencement " brings him full circle, from the audacity to the tenacity of hope". Bravo.
395
Thank you, Nan, for graciously and poignantly highlighting Frank's sentiments. I will weep many sad tears when President Obama gathers up his beautiful (unblemished and scandal-free) family and departs from the While House. I've come to realize that the vast majority of folk in this country simply do not appreciate intelligence, erudition, sophistication, intellect, a humanistic vision, and just plain decency. Though many years in the making, this speedy descent in unadulterated bigotry and hatred - I place the blame squarely at the feet of McCain in his craven and scurrilous choice of that ignorant, know-nothing from Wasilla, thus giving her a platform to spew her incoherent bile on this nation ... ultimately opening the floodgates to what we have today the the GOP Spiritual Leader.
2
“If you think that the only way forward is to be as uncompromising as possible, you will feel good about yourself, you will enjoy a certain moral purity, but you’re not going to get what you want," Funny but this phrase was described by other commentators as Obama's criticism of Sanders, without naming him specifically. I read it as part of Obama's attempt at a legacy. To rationalize his incrementalism which he believes, despite his distrust of Clinton, that she will continue, thereby justifying his failures. His failure to propose an infrastructure bill when he had a Democratic majority in both houses, for example. Or his incredibly poor negotiating skills once the Republicans got in and he would offer his bottom line as an opener. No wonder he looked like an amateur. It's late to be presidential.
As to the disrespect he got from Republicans, well a stronger leader would have nipped that in the bud. All he had to do when Rep Wilson, said, "You lie!" was stop the speech and declare that Wilson leave the chamber as no one is allowed to disrespect the office of the president. Obama's instincts failed him there and it all went downhill after.
As to the disrespect he got from Republicans, well a stronger leader would have nipped that in the bud. All he had to do when Rep Wilson, said, "You lie!" was stop the speech and declare that Wilson leave the chamber as no one is allowed to disrespect the office of the president. Obama's instincts failed him there and it all went downhill after.
He also said this, same speech:
"And democracy requires compromise, even when you are 100 percent right. This is hard to explain sometimes. You can be completely right, and you still are going to have to engage folks who disagree with you. If you think that the only way forward is to be as uncompromising as possible, you will feel good about yourself, you will enjoy a certain moral purity, but you’re not going to get what you want. "
"And democracy requires compromise, even when you are 100 percent right. This is hard to explain sometimes. You can be completely right, and you still are going to have to engage folks who disagree with you. If you think that the only way forward is to be as uncompromising as possible, you will feel good about yourself, you will enjoy a certain moral purity, but you’re not going to get what you want. "
5
Too bad he doesn't agree with it or demonstrate it.
2
George - According to FOX and Rush Limbaugh that may be true, but can you give specific context?
3
I have never found President Obama to seem haughty or arrogant, nor do I find anything wrong with his sometimes seeming professorial. Facts do not always permit simplistic explanations, sound bites, or slogans, and if we are able to admire excellent athletes, we ought to be able to admire excellent thinkers as well. I cannot prove it of course, but I suspect that those who see haughtiness in President Obama simply don't like a man of "color" in the oval office or the spring in his feet as he mounts the steps on his way to speak, just as many, if not most, of those who constantly harp about Hillary Clinton don't like "uppity" women.
12
Obama is the ultimate democratic elite now with a foundation in the works, funded and run by Wall Streeters. The man who can quote Reinhold Niebuhr, the protestant theologian who believed for a time in armed struggle for oppressed workers, has become another take-the-money and run pol. I’m sure it will only be a matter of months until he is signed with the same speaker’s agency that made the Clintons obscenely wealthy.
Like the Clintons, he will wrap himself in fake virtue while income equality and huge gaps in health care claim American lives, one by one.
Obama and his rich friends miss the point that, if you are not a “gifted” black in America, life is still pretty lousy. Between toxic Flint water, lead paint brain damage, police shootings, unemployment and lack of easily accessible medical care, there is a lot for activists to be angry about. They need to be careful of warnings like Obama’s to settle down and come calmly to the table since there’s no evidence the country is actually taking them seriously. Not even their president.
Like the Clintons, he will wrap himself in fake virtue while income equality and huge gaps in health care claim American lives, one by one.
Obama and his rich friends miss the point that, if you are not a “gifted” black in America, life is still pretty lousy. Between toxic Flint water, lead paint brain damage, police shootings, unemployment and lack of easily accessible medical care, there is a lot for activists to be angry about. They need to be careful of warnings like Obama’s to settle down and come calmly to the table since there’s no evidence the country is actually taking them seriously. Not even their president.
7
Beautiful line "...from the audacity to the tenacity of hope." Obama will be remembered as one of the great presidents who took office under some of the worst economic conditions. He governed during one of the most hostile political times. History will judge the republican's obstructionism as bad for our country. We will miss his beautiful rhetoric and incredibly sharp intellect.
15
"He chided them for demonizing enemies and silencing opponents."
This coming from a President who said: "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.” “I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in their face.” “We need to punish our enemies." "I want to know “whose ass to kick." Also, His DOJ spied on journalists and his IRS targeted conservative not for profits.
Do what I say and not what I do. Apparently violent rhetoric coming from Barack Obama is fine.
This coming from a President who said: "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.” “I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in their face.” “We need to punish our enemies." "I want to know “whose ass to kick." Also, His DOJ spied on journalists and his IRS targeted conservative not for profits.
Do what I say and not what I do. Apparently violent rhetoric coming from Barack Obama is fine.
8
The following line stopped me cold: "The Illinois speech, wise and gorgeous, received less attention than it deserved." Yes. and Trump's "Mexicans are Rapists" speech was stupid and vulgar and received more attention than it deserved. I am hoping Mr Bruni is not the only journalist making this observation - and learning from it.
8
To bad he did not have more experience before he was elected. He was an amateur in a pros job who received absolutely no respect from the Republicans in congress. He did have a mandate and was elected twice. Did people call President Bush king when he used executive privilege or ignored laws that he did not like? He has his flaws and could have done better at some areas of foreign policy. But the truth is he overall respected in other countries.
5
Watching President Obama's Howard University speech on TV I was once again mesmerized by this kind articulate "old soul's" wisdom and insights. It was like listening to a Zen master. These same deep personal traits and characteristics are found in his book, Dreams of My Father, written when he was still a very young man.
I find it painfully hard to believe that soon he will be replaced by someone new. And even harder to believe much less imagine that his replacement might be the likes of a Donald Trump, an insecure clueless destructive divisive buffoon con artist lacking in any sign of substance. How could America and the world make lemonade out of that?
Among all of the numerous other tidbits of wisdom, this one I thought was a veiled comment on Trump: "There's been a trend...to disrupt a politician's rally (who holds a different point of view.) Don't do that--no matter how ridiculous or offensive you might find the things that come out of their mouths. Because as my grandmother used to tell me, every time a fool speaks, they are just advertising their own ignorance. Let them talk. Let them talk. If you don't, you just make them a victim, and then they can avoid accountability." Amen.
I find it painfully hard to believe that soon he will be replaced by someone new. And even harder to believe much less imagine that his replacement might be the likes of a Donald Trump, an insecure clueless destructive divisive buffoon con artist lacking in any sign of substance. How could America and the world make lemonade out of that?
Among all of the numerous other tidbits of wisdom, this one I thought was a veiled comment on Trump: "There's been a trend...to disrupt a politician's rally (who holds a different point of view.) Don't do that--no matter how ridiculous or offensive you might find the things that come out of their mouths. Because as my grandmother used to tell me, every time a fool speaks, they are just advertising their own ignorance. Let them talk. Let them talk. If you don't, you just make them a victim, and then they can avoid accountability." Amen.
15
Obama, a POTUS that made me proud to be American. Capable, intelligent, caring, and with massive patience in the face of taunts and insults that would break a lesser being.
935
Interesting observation about a man who is not proud of America.
2
Of course he is: just not your America.
5
Beautifully said - and in one sentence. You're good.
From day one Obama was confronted by a mean spirited opposition party. They blamed him for Bush's failures - the disaster in the middle-east, and the tanking of the economy. And, of course, his radical idea that even poor people need health care caused a near revolution. Reagan led the way for the disappearance of the middle-class by slashing taxes for the rich and putting major corporations on the dole. Obama, like many black men, was driving while black! Only the vehicle he was steering was the country. Any rational change he instituted was met with volatile posturing by the other side of the aisle. The white right simply couldn't recognize a black President. But, kudos for the country, we reelected him. There's a lot to be said for that fact. His elegant demeanor is something we will all grow to miss. The decency of the man and his family as classical American will be felt more strongly when he is gone. The radical right is painting him as a weakling because of Iran and Cuba. Never once did they tell us about the failure of our policy for the last 50 years. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over, and over and expecting a different outcome. Obama wasn't perfect, but he was always Presidential!
548
Paul, I think President Obama is speaking to you.
Yes, I agree with the 99% below who mourn Obama's passing into the history books and I see no one on the near or far horizon to follow in his footsteps, and I, too hope he continues to use his strong, intelligent, eloquent and reasoned voice in some capacity post-Presidency.
But mostly I am saddened by us, his Democratic constituency. Where were we when we had him and he needed us? Why did we not go to the polls in record breaking numbers in the midterm elections to show him the support and hand him the political tools he needed to realize the Presidency he could have had?
Now we gnash our teeth and wring our hands and cry our tears and blame the obstructionist Republicans who were only in office because we - we allowed them to be.
It is a heavy burden of responsibility we bear as we bid a heavy-hearted farewell to an amazing man who was, and to an amazing Presidency that could have been.
But mostly I am saddened by us, his Democratic constituency. Where were we when we had him and he needed us? Why did we not go to the polls in record breaking numbers in the midterm elections to show him the support and hand him the political tools he needed to realize the Presidency he could have had?
Now we gnash our teeth and wring our hands and cry our tears and blame the obstructionist Republicans who were only in office because we - we allowed them to be.
It is a heavy burden of responsibility we bear as we bid a heavy-hearted farewell to an amazing man who was, and to an amazing Presidency that could have been.
1035
this rarely gets said, wish I could recommend this a 1000 times.
I remember when the vitriol against Obama was a bad as what we are seeing against HRC now. remember when we loved her and thought he was the lightweight.
never mind the republicans being the enemy, the democrats can impale themselves just fine on their own.
I remember when the vitriol against Obama was a bad as what we are seeing against HRC now. remember when we loved her and thought he was the lightweight.
never mind the republicans being the enemy, the democrats can impale themselves just fine on their own.
3
Complacency? Laziness? Indifference?
Where was his party when He needed them? That's why all incumbents should fear for their jobs, in the next couple of elections. We have squandered a unique opportunity. I feel mournful about that.
2
Just looking at the answers you see the impact of “We can choose our own facts,” he lamented. “We don’t have a common basis for what’s true and what’s not.”
"One is that he’s not just taking jabs at opponents" Well, if true it would be a new thing for him. From his "I won" to talking about "punishing our enemies" this arrogant president has been extremely divisive from the onset. Did he have members of Congress opposed to him from the start? Of course - and so did George W. Bush (truly hated by many on the Left), Clinton, Reagan, etc.. The effort to portray Obama as unique in this has always been absurd, especially when reduced to the tiresome rant about his opponents not being able to stand "seeing a Black man in the White House" nonsense.
He continues to polarize in order to serve his own agenda and the modern quest for image and legacy. Oppose his ideas? You're a "hater". Don't agree with his administration's interpretation of statute? You must now be bullied and sued and pounding down for only the beliefs from Washington are acceptable and no dissent is to be tolerated, thank you very much.
President Obama is a symbol of this problems we have in our country, and to blame for much of it. Lauding him for a "gorgeous goodbye" is risible and insulting.
He continues to polarize in order to serve his own agenda and the modern quest for image and legacy. Oppose his ideas? You're a "hater". Don't agree with his administration's interpretation of statute? You must now be bullied and sued and pounding down for only the beliefs from Washington are acceptable and no dissent is to be tolerated, thank you very much.
President Obama is a symbol of this problems we have in our country, and to blame for much of it. Lauding him for a "gorgeous goodbye" is risible and insulting.
7
Your post is nonsense, I'll give you an example why.
On multiple occasions in his first year and first term Obama attempted to reach a common middle ground with the GOP, every time he was rejected and often rejected by 100% of Senate Republicans. On the Stimulus, Obama reduced the spending side and increased the tax break side to get some Republican Votes. The result - two GOP Senators voted for it. The bigger more obvious example is the ACA. Obama choose a plan once championed by the Heritage foundation and once supported by multiple Republicans. A plan implemented in Mass. by Mitt Romney. The result Obama got zero GOP votes for their own plan!
On multiple occasions in his first year and first term Obama attempted to reach a common middle ground with the GOP, every time he was rejected and often rejected by 100% of Senate Republicans. On the Stimulus, Obama reduced the spending side and increased the tax break side to get some Republican Votes. The result - two GOP Senators voted for it. The bigger more obvious example is the ACA. Obama choose a plan once championed by the Heritage foundation and once supported by multiple Republicans. A plan implemented in Mass. by Mitt Romney. The result Obama got zero GOP votes for their own plan!
6
If Erdogan and Putin can game their respective political systems in order to extend their presidencies, now might be the time to consider employing the same strategy to 1) continue our economy's upward trajectory and 2) mothball the current presidential election.
Four more years indeed!
Four more years indeed!
3
I was born 1948 the year George Orwell gave the world 1984 and a new language Newspeak. I watched as men like William F Buckley Jr and Ronald Reagan's script writers perfected this language and with the aid of a compliant media love is hate and freedom is slavery.
Barack Hussein Obama is the most American of all American Presidents, he personifies everything America was supposed to be. Barack Obama knows America's Constitution and loves America's Constitution. How tragic that America's Constitution should become the property of men like Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito and Ted Cruz. Men who hate the constitution and stand foursquare against the values and visions of America's founders. How tragic is it that the man likely to be America's next President led the fight against the President by questioning Obama's American identity?
We will never know what kind of President Obama may have been if he had been given a congress and court led by people of integrity and vision instead of Jonathan Swift's Yahoos.
America's greatest sin is that it allowed it most powerful, selfish and greedy to chase its best and brightest from the field of public service.
I am grateful Barack Obama had the courage to run the gauntlet and win the Oval Office I am afraid America will never again see a leader who understands "We the people."
Barack Hussein Obama is the most American of all American Presidents, he personifies everything America was supposed to be. Barack Obama knows America's Constitution and loves America's Constitution. How tragic that America's Constitution should become the property of men like Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito and Ted Cruz. Men who hate the constitution and stand foursquare against the values and visions of America's founders. How tragic is it that the man likely to be America's next President led the fight against the President by questioning Obama's American identity?
We will never know what kind of President Obama may have been if he had been given a congress and court led by people of integrity and vision instead of Jonathan Swift's Yahoos.
America's greatest sin is that it allowed it most powerful, selfish and greedy to chase its best and brightest from the field of public service.
I am grateful Barack Obama had the courage to run the gauntlet and win the Oval Office I am afraid America will never again see a leader who understands "We the people."
964
Brilliant. Thanks for a memorable, articulate comment. As well said as the column you are responding to. I agree with you wholeheartedly.
2
President Obama in spite of resistance from the supreme court and Congress has behaved with courage and hope. He is a near great president.
I heard his Howard speech and more should have heard it. History will be kind to this man and his presidency.
I heard his Howard speech and more should have heard it. History will be kind to this man and his presidency.
3
Hey Moe-man. Did you forget the O-man had both the Senate and House under his control at the beginning of his social experiment -- and accomplished nothing? What's up with that? Now 8 years later he's whining about all the people and institutions who weren't predisposed to support his regime with government control as the only solution to any and everything that needs improvement.
2
Mr Obama is such a wise man. Mr Bruni is such a generous columnist.
6
Obama talks the talk but doesn't (didn't) walk the walk. He is just as guilty as the rest of them although he claims to be the victim.
4
"Guilty as the rest of THEM?" Which "them" are you referring to? African Americans? Democrats? Politicians? Whatever your age or race, President Obama was talking directly to YOU. I see he hit the target.
2
If the US Congress can somehow amend Constitution to grant a third term to President Obama, their approval rating would shoot through roof...
8
in regards to Obama's departure as President, the old saw comes to mind "Don't Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out. "
3
Mr. Obama is fueled by Marxism and racism and this is clear in all he has said and done throughout his administration.
3
Janis – your comment says much about the prism through which you view the world, but nothing true about President Obama.
4
Like wetting your pants in a blue sege suit. It gives you a nice warm feeling and nobody notices. Entropy is held back only by constant and concerted effort, which only a small number of people are willing to expend any more Face-paint partisanship is so much more, well, energizing. Welcome to the emerging Feral Republic.
Mike: I suggest you invest in diapers. Cheaper than blue serge suits.
2
President Obama said it right. Enough! Take for example, today's information about the Email Server controversy. Going back for the better part of his administration, the State Department routinely sent sensitive and even what might be construed as either classified or confidential information over their"low side" email system. It is understandable how a State Department employee might get confused and use the low side system instead of the high side system. Reaction to international events and their exigencies, probably did require almost instantaneous communications up and down the chain of command. These actions were not done maliciously, thoughtlessly yes, but not maliciously. As President Obama described the "sever issue" a few weeks ago, carelessness played a large part in the lack of oversight to include Mrs. Clinton's use of a private server. Even her Democratic opponent in an early primary debate said enough of the email business, let's talk about what really important in this race, or words to that effect. Enough!
2
Low side versus high side is not in the same category as using your own private server. It remains a valid point of examination and scrutiny, especially if one considers what the motivation was for Mrs. Clinton (i.e., shielding herself). It was not "carelessness" but a deliberate, conscious choice.
3
I've seen every president since JFK. He was, and still is my favorite, and we would've been a much better country if he had lived. With his assassination, and the assassinations of MLK, and RFK (the only presidential candidate I've gone to see speak), I witnessed the death of idealism--and we've never recovered it.
Watergate took that death of idealism, and seeing our own president involved in a common burglary explicitly designed to undermine our democracy, turned it into deep cynicism. Hard to have much hope or faith in our vaunted governmental institutions after that.
Those assassinations, and Watergate put America on a very dark path. And the emergence of Trump as a serious candidate for president illustrates how lost and hopeless America is now.
I can't say I've seen a great president in my lifetime. Were it not for Vietnam, LBJ might've qualified with the civil rights act, Medicare, and what he tried to do for poor people.
In all my years, I've never seen a president take over such a shattered, terrified nation as the one Obama took over. Losing 700,000 jobs a month, shattered banking system and auto industry, two poorly prosecuted wars, a housing collapse of the first magnitude.
Though I've often disagreed with many of his decisions, eight years later, by every objective metric, this nation has greatly improved under Obama's leadership without any help from an intransigent, obstructionist GOP. And he didn't break a sweat.
So, I have to say well done.
Watergate took that death of idealism, and seeing our own president involved in a common burglary explicitly designed to undermine our democracy, turned it into deep cynicism. Hard to have much hope or faith in our vaunted governmental institutions after that.
Those assassinations, and Watergate put America on a very dark path. And the emergence of Trump as a serious candidate for president illustrates how lost and hopeless America is now.
I can't say I've seen a great president in my lifetime. Were it not for Vietnam, LBJ might've qualified with the civil rights act, Medicare, and what he tried to do for poor people.
In all my years, I've never seen a president take over such a shattered, terrified nation as the one Obama took over. Losing 700,000 jobs a month, shattered banking system and auto industry, two poorly prosecuted wars, a housing collapse of the first magnitude.
Though I've often disagreed with many of his decisions, eight years later, by every objective metric, this nation has greatly improved under Obama's leadership without any help from an intransigent, obstructionist GOP. And he didn't break a sweat.
So, I have to say well done.
1438
I'm confused by your comments:
"I can't say I've seen a great president in my lifetime"
With all your words about the accomplishments of Obama, you still say you have never seen a great President!
Using your metrics why doesn't he qualify? If he doesn't qualify, I don't know who does!
"I can't say I've seen a great president in my lifetime"
With all your words about the accomplishments of Obama, you still say you have never seen a great President!
Using your metrics why doesn't he qualify? If he doesn't qualify, I don't know who does!
Wow, thanks for saving me the time to write my own comment. I'm 66, and I'm with you all the way. RFK, JFK, Johnson (and I was drafted into a year's accommodation in Vietnam, but his civil rights record is historical (can't wait for the HBO series in a few weeks w Bryon Cranston)). Thank you, Jazz (incidentally, the name of one of my favorite former cats and my favorite music). I too say well done.
1
This is why it's harder to marry a widow or widower than a divorced person: we can idealize the dead. Spattered with blood, they are eulogized instead of facing death by a thousand cuts. I was in third grade when Kennedy was killed, in a one-room schoolhouse in the foothills of Appalachia, and my teacher heard the news on his radio as he ate his lunch in the car. I remember that he said it was the best thing that ever happened to America. Ugliness is always there and it's up to all of us to confront it when we can, but liberals, too, react with self-righteousness and anger. And I think this part of Obama--the part that feels compassion but sees the truth at the heart of it, the fear, the provincialism--is what has made so many hate him because nothing is so wounding than to be found out and by a black man with a Harvard degree. And by the way, some of the smartest people I know are white guys in the South who got their college degrees--like Frank O'Connor and Tillie Olsen--in the library. Big group of folks, working class white guys: more diversity than you might think.
I am struck by the continuation of the divisions between the citizenry referenced by President Obama and Mr. Bruni here among the commenters. Whether by circumstance, social media or self selection we seem to increasingly repel one another. I am reminded of nothing as much as that horrific first dance in Junior High School where boys and girls were plastered up against opposite walls with no one moving. Nothing can get done without comity--at a dance, in a country or in a world.
6
We are lucky to have a man like this in charge. His insights into the world are better than anyone else, and way better than anyone with any power. Jeffrey Goldberg's article on the "Obama Doctrine" shows a man who sees the root causes of the strife in the world, things like tribalism and authoritarian behaviors. If only there were more like him out there willing to serve rather than try to make a fortune exploiting others.
22
Unlikely Obama will have an equal for many, many years -- if ever. It takes great talent to lie through one's teeth to the American people while pursuing an agenda based on hatred of the country one has been elected to govern.
Facts in evidence include, but are by no means limited to "you can keep your health insurance plan," false talking points about Benghazi, secrets surrounding the Iran "deal," including missing state department tapes, and a clandestine communication system operated by and for the benefit of his secretary of state.
Let's hear no more from or about him once he finally leaves than we have from or about George W Bush for the last 8 years.
Facts in evidence include, but are by no means limited to "you can keep your health insurance plan," false talking points about Benghazi, secrets surrounding the Iran "deal," including missing state department tapes, and a clandestine communication system operated by and for the benefit of his secretary of state.
Let's hear no more from or about him once he finally leaves than we have from or about George W Bush for the last 8 years.
3
"hatred of the country"? Upon what basis do you reach that conclusion? When he said that Benghazi attacks were "an act of terror" the day after the attack how is that a lie? The two previous secretaries of state had their own private email accounts they used. I hate to be blunt, Mr, McKinney but everything you said was a lie except his comment about Keeping your doctor which originally was true but became false when there was a retroactive change in the law. Many who did change insurance are happier now so its not the end of the world. I think you have no credibility to assess this President since you are relying on falsehoods.
3
While Obama's moral compass shaped his most enlightened initiatives, it also hobbled his handling of a defiant congress. After being used as a punching bag for six years, he reluctantly relinquished his quixotic search for reasoned compromise, becoming more realistic and effective in his dealings with an obstreperous opposition, without abandoning the moorings of his moral constitution.
7
I am very proud of President Obama and happy I voted for him twice. One of the big reasons is that he has endured 7 years of attack, hate, obstructions, lies etc from the GOP but has never stooped to their level, still has a upbeat message and hope for America. I will miss him.
19
President Barrack Obama has been through the rough and tumble of politics, and the great disappointments of trying hard for his country but hitting roadblocks from a intransigent GOP party.
He came to power through his oratory speeches and great hope for a better America.
He might have succeeded if not for the obstructions.
He has found a way to peace through patience and negotiation and has defeated many of the ISIS without committing too many boots on the ground.
So now he speaks with the experience gained from his 8 years in office. And people should listen because America is going through a very brutal electoral phase at the moment which could well overturn all the good work that has been achieved.
Most Presidents followed a pattern based on the power of America when it came to minor and major wars, and young men returned home in body bags.
It was a familiar pattern until Obama assumed office and it became a case of trying to win or equalize through words not weapons.
America should be thankful for this.
Think about it..!!
STAN CHUN
Wellington
New Zealand
11 May, 2016.
He came to power through his oratory speeches and great hope for a better America.
He might have succeeded if not for the obstructions.
He has found a way to peace through patience and negotiation and has defeated many of the ISIS without committing too many boots on the ground.
So now he speaks with the experience gained from his 8 years in office. And people should listen because America is going through a very brutal electoral phase at the moment which could well overturn all the good work that has been achieved.
Most Presidents followed a pattern based on the power of America when it came to minor and major wars, and young men returned home in body bags.
It was a familiar pattern until Obama assumed office and it became a case of trying to win or equalize through words not weapons.
America should be thankful for this.
Think about it..!!
STAN CHUN
Wellington
New Zealand
11 May, 2016.
8
It is a brilliant message of hope but it also is a poignant reminder of how determined and how hard this man tried to bring about change to little avail. We have a system today in part driven by social media where the wise , thoughtful and judicious words of President Obama are basically lost to those clamoring loudly for attention by stirring anger, discontent and promising a " revolution". The thoughtful , studied and nuanced approach of President Obama to nearly every crisis or situation has been fodder for the talking heads and GOP who promise fire and brimstone and deliver nothing but empty promises at best and often ruined relationships, monetary crisis and deeper struggles for the poor and less fortunate. Unfortunately in the age of the tweet and sound bite , Donald Trump and his message of hate , xenophobia, and toxic mix of incredible lies garners much more attention and provokes and motivates people much more than the words of this incredibly intelligent , sensitive and thoughtful man.
609
To little avail? The ACA is a wonderful achievement, something Democratic presidents have wanted since FDR. It is flawed, but it is a great start.
1
The speech overall was good and hit some high points, but what I have seen is that Democrats compromise too much and give away the store to Republcians without getting anything significant in return. The left tends to start in the middle and then negotiate from there, which gives Republcians all the power. Negotiation only works when both parties want to negotiate, and Republcians always have the advantage because Democrats just want a deal, no matter the consequences.
1
Having been an active voter for more than 50 years, I am already missing Mr. Obama's thoughtful form of communication, and at a loss as to what to do this coming November. The prospects across the political map are disappointing ad scary. For the first time I can remember in those 50 years, I am actually fearful for our democracy. Vitriol has replaced debate, and the prospects for more of the same loom large.
524
This is certainly not the first time I have felt fearful for our democracy: When Reagan was elected (and re-elected) and when GW Bush was appointed (and later elected) I strongly felt our country was starting a downhill slide that maybe would be unstoppable. I hope I am wrong.......
2
You can always vote for Mr. Trump. Let's give him a chance to prove we are wrong about him. Hillary is a known commodity, as well as Bill. We all need a change that was promise by Mr. Obama, and Mr. Trump will deliver.
1
I must protest! A victory lap is inappropriate while our own people don't even have safe water to drink and our electoral process is in ruins! As to his actions not always living up to his rhetoric..that's an understatement. As he travels to Japan where school children are taught that Japan was a victim in WWII, it will be interesting to see if he buys into the victim story. Will he apologize? It wouldn't surprise me, not at all.
His legacy is a tarnished on full of corporatist giveaways and secrets; too big to fail too big to jail and TPP AND TTIP.
His good bye visit to Saudi Arabia to placate the Saudis...did Tony Podesta arrange that.
His legacy is a tarnished on full of corporatist giveaways and secrets; too big to fail too big to jail and TPP AND TTIP.
His good bye visit to Saudi Arabia to placate the Saudis...did Tony Podesta arrange that.
5
His speech was hardly a victory lap. The fact you perceived it as such indicates the delusional nature of his critics and proves his point. You argue he has no right to make his points because you disagree with him on certain issues some of which (TPP) he bears responsiblity and others (the Flint water system) he does not.
3
I don't know about gorgeous good-bye, but it certainly is a long good-bye, considering that he still has almost nine months, the better part of a year, to be president of the United States.
4
So true Frank. But sadly, I am afraid that large swaths of America's soul-less and too often gun-slinging population -- with little capacity to apply any critical thinking to the very concept of civil society -- prefer to fill their daily emptiness with the Reality TV Show that American Politics has become. You can thank the CNN and Fox News incessant bimbo-istic "news" programs for that.
And what's more, many Americans are prone to make their own lives worse by voting for candidates like Trump or Palin whose specious and jingoistic sound bites provide them with a temporary dose of "feel-goodism". It has become just as addictive to them as the prescription painkillers on which so many of them now depend to get through the day.
The only way to fix our "troubled democracy" is to overturn Citizens United and to mimic European campaign rules that level the playing field and limit the length of the electoral process.
They'll be little chance of that if Trump wins. To the contrary, under a Trump presidency the addiction will deepen; the walls around our country will imprison us; no lives will matter; and the dependence on toxicity (in our language and water) will poison us further and bring about a sure death of our democracy.
And what's more, many Americans are prone to make their own lives worse by voting for candidates like Trump or Palin whose specious and jingoistic sound bites provide them with a temporary dose of "feel-goodism". It has become just as addictive to them as the prescription painkillers on which so many of them now depend to get through the day.
The only way to fix our "troubled democracy" is to overturn Citizens United and to mimic European campaign rules that level the playing field and limit the length of the electoral process.
They'll be little chance of that if Trump wins. To the contrary, under a Trump presidency the addiction will deepen; the walls around our country will imprison us; no lives will matter; and the dependence on toxicity (in our language and water) will poison us further and bring about a sure death of our democracy.
6
And the Republicans call him a 'lame duck'! The contrast to the quack who is apparently the next possible US President - Donald Trump - could not be more stark. Obama is intelligent, wise and has integrity - not qualities that spring to mind for Trump - or any of the Republican candidates, for that matter. Republicans have not recovered from their defeat by a black man eight years ago, and have consistently denied Americans most of Obama's attempted legislation, in spite of the fact that Americans voted for him twice. Republicans deserve Trump - I hope America doesn't.
736
Don't underestimate Trump's intelligence. He is very very smart.
1
Other than Abe Lincoln and FDR, I cannot think of any other person who entered the presidency with as many crises as our current president.
It matters little at this late date if Obama has been a disappointment, or, if we need to be charitable and judge the man on a sliding scale, due to the nature of his opponents and the concerted efforts they made at thwarting him at every instance.
What matters now, less than six months from our next election for our chief executive, is whether or not we, the people, are going to elect a person wholly unqualified for the position solely to send a message to the elites that we are angry and frustrated at our political system.
As Obama said last week: "This is not a reality show".
It matters little at this late date if Obama has been a disappointment, or, if we need to be charitable and judge the man on a sliding scale, due to the nature of his opponents and the concerted efforts they made at thwarting him at every instance.
What matters now, less than six months from our next election for our chief executive, is whether or not we, the people, are going to elect a person wholly unqualified for the position solely to send a message to the elites that we are angry and frustrated at our political system.
As Obama said last week: "This is not a reality show".
62
No mention of Obama's cameo in Flint last week. You know the city that knowingly poisoned its citizens with lead tainted drinking water. Obama took a big gulp of the filtered water, proclaimed the problem solved and flew out.
No sense of urgency in bringing Flint clean water. No massive response like calling on the Army Corp. of Engineers to lay new pipes. Nope. It only involves domestic terrorism--a Republican Gov. cutting taxes for the rich while neglecting clean water for the poor--so no need for any response. Fundraisers and private donations will take care of the problem.
The Republicans--like the Michigan Governor are crazy--yet Obama is complimented for his compromise with people like him. Weird.
As for getting anything done before leaving, let's hope he does not. For he continues pushing the TPP trade deal, a jobs killer for America, and a conservative Supreme Court justice.
On deck--a Democrat who is even more conservative than Obama. No need to compromise by Hillary, as her policies are loved by the neocons and neoliberals. The best candidate a Republican could ever want.
No sense of urgency in bringing Flint clean water. No massive response like calling on the Army Corp. of Engineers to lay new pipes. Nope. It only involves domestic terrorism--a Republican Gov. cutting taxes for the rich while neglecting clean water for the poor--so no need for any response. Fundraisers and private donations will take care of the problem.
The Republicans--like the Michigan Governor are crazy--yet Obama is complimented for his compromise with people like him. Weird.
As for getting anything done before leaving, let's hope he does not. For he continues pushing the TPP trade deal, a jobs killer for America, and a conservative Supreme Court justice.
On deck--a Democrat who is even more conservative than Obama. No need to compromise by Hillary, as her policies are loved by the neocons and neoliberals. The best candidate a Republican could ever want.
11
Wow! You prove Bruni and Obama's point. First of all, TPP is not necessarily a job killer. It raises standards for other countries which mean labor in those other countries will not be so attactive to multi-nationals because savings on labor will be less. As for Flint, a bill is stuck in Congress to appropriate funds for the problem. The fact you seek to invalidate his point that we must negotiate with those with which we disagree and that this is a good time to live (for those students) demonstrates how people on the extremes have dug themselves in a way that impedes progress. And he has appointed two liberal justices and Garland is no conservative by any means; a moderate yes.
5
This was a gorgeous addition to the ongoing Obama legacy tour. It truly captured the president's mythos and the spirit of compromise for which he does deserve much credit.
My quibble is this: why lecture the Black Lives Matter movement in such a scolding way? When black people are getting killed by a law enforcement at the rate of about one per day, they rightly protest, march, interrupt fundraisers of a politician who once called young blacks "super-predators who must be brought to heel," and make all the noise they can to try and stun our elected officials into paying attention to them. This is an existential crisis, not a tea dance or Aspen Ideas forum.
Obama has been criticized in the past, notably by Ta-Nehisi Coates, for using graduation speeches to very successful young black people as a way to "dog-whistle" a reassuring message to white people. There is none of Martin Luther King's "fierce urgency of now" rhetoric coming from his lips. Then again, he's often said he is president of all the people, even the angry white dudes who can't find work because of off-shoring trade deals that have profits over people as their implicit mantra and their only objective.
We need to examine and acknowledge the root causes of their despair before lecturing people about their excessive "purity." There's nothing wrong with young people afflicting the comfortable when they refuse to budge from their comfort zones. When your very life is on the line, politeness seems almost suicidal.
My quibble is this: why lecture the Black Lives Matter movement in such a scolding way? When black people are getting killed by a law enforcement at the rate of about one per day, they rightly protest, march, interrupt fundraisers of a politician who once called young blacks "super-predators who must be brought to heel," and make all the noise they can to try and stun our elected officials into paying attention to them. This is an existential crisis, not a tea dance or Aspen Ideas forum.
Obama has been criticized in the past, notably by Ta-Nehisi Coates, for using graduation speeches to very successful young black people as a way to "dog-whistle" a reassuring message to white people. There is none of Martin Luther King's "fierce urgency of now" rhetoric coming from his lips. Then again, he's often said he is president of all the people, even the angry white dudes who can't find work because of off-shoring trade deals that have profits over people as their implicit mantra and their only objective.
We need to examine and acknowledge the root causes of their despair before lecturing people about their excessive "purity." There's nothing wrong with young people afflicting the comfortable when they refuse to budge from their comfort zones. When your very life is on the line, politeness seems almost suicidal.
38
Why? Because those are the people that will listen to Obama. If he tried to critique other groups, such as Trump supporters, it would be completely useless.
1
"There's nothing wrong with young people afflicting the comfortable when they refuse to budge from their comfort zones."
I grew up in the Sixties, went to college in the Seventies, and continue to live in a college town. I was a small-town reporter and had a front-row seat to a lot of protests. What I've seen in the past decade is a growing nastiness on the part of student protestors and their "townie" supporters. Not "speak truth to power," but "treat power with contempt and yell in its face." Not a reasoned exchange of ideas, but a shrieking of the same two or three factoids. Literally unplugging the microphone when the other side speaks, then plugging it in again for the next railing protestor.
And nothing--NOTHING--gets accomplished or solved this way, because human beings can only take so much abuse before shutting down.
The president of the university sat down with one such group. He was sympathetic to their concerns, but their demands were many and most were impractical, to say the least. Rather than lay out their case, the group continued to attack him on a personal as well as professional level. After they repeatedly ignored his suggestion to focus on the issues at hand, he got up and left.
As the president of this country said, once “elected officials or people who are in a position to start bringing about change are ready to sit down with you, then you can’t just keep on yelling at them.”
Unless, of course, the yelling is what really interests you.
I grew up in the Sixties, went to college in the Seventies, and continue to live in a college town. I was a small-town reporter and had a front-row seat to a lot of protests. What I've seen in the past decade is a growing nastiness on the part of student protestors and their "townie" supporters. Not "speak truth to power," but "treat power with contempt and yell in its face." Not a reasoned exchange of ideas, but a shrieking of the same two or three factoids. Literally unplugging the microphone when the other side speaks, then plugging it in again for the next railing protestor.
And nothing--NOTHING--gets accomplished or solved this way, because human beings can only take so much abuse before shutting down.
The president of the university sat down with one such group. He was sympathetic to their concerns, but their demands were many and most were impractical, to say the least. Rather than lay out their case, the group continued to attack him on a personal as well as professional level. After they repeatedly ignored his suggestion to focus on the issues at hand, he got up and left.
As the president of this country said, once “elected officials or people who are in a position to start bringing about change are ready to sit down with you, then you can’t just keep on yelling at them.”
Unless, of course, the yelling is what really interests you.
6
Well, for one, the "super predators" you refer to were dealing crack, killing innocent people and at its height, more blacks than whites supported the 1994 crime bill. Secondly, black college kids may have taken a couple of classes and are armed with all the knowledge they need to point out society's hypocrisy. But yelling at candidates does little to bring down the murder rate in Chicago or Detroit and create conditions for someone/anyone to actually invest where the poor non-college educated blacks live. Coincidentally, these areas, rife with crime, are also where the majority of police abuse they are protesting occurs. Like the President said, a little long term perspective, please. Perhaps a few more classes, then out to the work world where they can scream at whomever they want and see how much changes for them or the poor people they claim to represent.
4
Mr. Obama should just go around quoting what Paul Newman shortly before he died, when asked: "How did the nation really change so much." He simply replied: "We lost our sense of community."
93
That's exactly right and that's exactly what many people, just common folk, know and have been saying. But 'communities" don't just form by themselves. It requires a degree of intelligence, knowledge, honesty and altruism amongst our leaders to achieve this spirit of community. I believe that president Obama has these attributes in abundance but he is almost alone in this respect, particularly when you look across the aisle at the Republican leadership who, despite the rise of Donald Trump, continue to push a sharply dogmatic agenda aimed at vilifying and creating discord for narrow personal and political ends. Consider that they have actually worked hard to debase our most important institutions, from Congress to the White House to the Supreme Court, until they have been reduced ridicule, with more to follow if Trump wins in November. How on earth can any community survive such visceral attacks on it from within?
1
But community can be found and is always built by all of us every day. Like a dam or a road, it can get out of repair, but we can fix it.
Many of the comments here seem to lay the blame for political deadlock and vicious rhetoric on both political parties. I think that's the "false equivalence" that Thomas Friedman's recent column discussed.
Remember the shutdown of the government, the 2011 refusal to raise the debt ceiling. Listen to the rants, personal attacks, denial of science and decide whether you hear those from your left or right ear.
It is truly a sad state of affairs we find our country in.
Remember the shutdown of the government, the 2011 refusal to raise the debt ceiling. Listen to the rants, personal attacks, denial of science and decide whether you hear those from your left or right ear.
It is truly a sad state of affairs we find our country in.
253
You say that Friedman has discovered false equivalence? Wowsers, he's only a dozen years behind "Views on shape of planet differ".
2
the left is nearly as anti-science as the right, when they deny the role of nature (genetics) as opposed to culture (nurture) in determining human behavior.
1
Sue: fair enough. But it's not a matter of equivalence. It's a matter of what our own roles are in this. Who will change the tone? Beck, Coulter, Savage? Fox? If not us, who?
I am constantly surprised that most Americans don't appreciate Obama. What is wrong with decent, compassionate, reasonable and intelligent? I have observed American politics since the 1960s and he is the President who has most impressed me - by a margin. I have no doubt his reputation will grow with time.
1307
Helps to be in Brisbane or Prague. The view is a little clearer.
6
Nothing wrong and nothing good. It is just not enough to be decent, compassionate, reasonable and intelligent to properly drive and administer the state of free and market society. On this position it is not enough to be a good guy with good intentions to obtain good results...
1
I completely agree with your point. He has made decisions I don't always agree with. However, I am always impressed by his integrity, decency, his deliberate approach to complex issues, and the dignity with which he has behaved in the face of sometimes outrageous behavior of others. It's sadly become a rarity to come across public figures like him in this country today, whether in politics or business.
12
"…he has been an agent…of the poisoned environment he rues."
The divider-hater is the last person who should be preaching this to us. Listen closely. The hate and division spew still. He can't help it. This is who he is. This is how he operates.
That it comes on the heels of his unmasking by Ben Rhodes as a betrayer of the public trust adds to the hypocrisy & irony.
Ben Rhodes is to Obama's Iran nuke deal as Jonathan Gruber is to Obamacare. Both Obama tools showed us that even life itself is not too precious for Obama's betrayal. The delicious irony is that the Obama-Rhodes inside joke is at the expense of their own useful idiots.
Obama's irrational, nuke-proliferating, legacy-driven deal with insane, apocalyptic signatories depended ultimately on the stupidity of Obama's agitprop press, not on the stupidity of the American people, the Gruber claim. Caught on camera when Gruber was crowing to academe, Gruber's claim captured the angst-fee ease with which Obama had hoodwinked America in that other health-and-death matter.
This is a very dangerous time. The magnitude & frequency of Obama's acts of irreversible damage to America vary inversely & exponentially with his time left in office. A despot can do a lot of damage in 9 months & a deluded one blinded by his own imagined brilliance will.
The divider-hater is the last person who should be preaching this to us. Listen closely. The hate and division spew still. He can't help it. This is who he is. This is how he operates.
That it comes on the heels of his unmasking by Ben Rhodes as a betrayer of the public trust adds to the hypocrisy & irony.
Ben Rhodes is to Obama's Iran nuke deal as Jonathan Gruber is to Obamacare. Both Obama tools showed us that even life itself is not too precious for Obama's betrayal. The delicious irony is that the Obama-Rhodes inside joke is at the expense of their own useful idiots.
Obama's irrational, nuke-proliferating, legacy-driven deal with insane, apocalyptic signatories depended ultimately on the stupidity of Obama's agitprop press, not on the stupidity of the American people, the Gruber claim. Caught on camera when Gruber was crowing to academe, Gruber's claim captured the angst-fee ease with which Obama had hoodwinked America in that other health-and-death matter.
This is a very dangerous time. The magnitude & frequency of Obama's acts of irreversible damage to America vary inversely & exponentially with his time left in office. A despot can do a lot of damage in 9 months & a deluded one blinded by his own imagined brilliance will.
19
You've imbibed the proverbial Kool-Aid.
21
Can you possibly be unaware of such republican highlights as:
Watergate,
Iran Contra,
Giving Saddam Hussein satellite imagery to improve his use of WMD's,
Shooting down Iran Air 655, killing 290 civilians, 66 of them children,
Funding death squads in El Salvador, genocide in Guatemala,
Allowing bin Laden to walk out of Tora Bora to lead AQ another decade,
The Charge of The Fools Brigade into Iraq,
Torture as USG policy,
Subcontracting torture to, among others, Bashar al Assad od Syria?
Watergate,
Iran Contra,
Giving Saddam Hussein satellite imagery to improve his use of WMD's,
Shooting down Iran Air 655, killing 290 civilians, 66 of them children,
Funding death squads in El Salvador, genocide in Guatemala,
Allowing bin Laden to walk out of Tora Bora to lead AQ another decade,
The Charge of The Fools Brigade into Iraq,
Torture as USG policy,
Subcontracting torture to, among others, Bashar al Assad od Syria?
24
Wow. You certainly live in some alternate universe. I shudder to think of what sort of President and policies you'd prefer. "Despot?" Really?
16
It's laughable to represent Obama as a success, a model and an advocate of moderation and compromise. His arrogant behavior at the beginning of his presidency when the Dems controlled both houses of Congress set the stage for the current mess and he has been completely ineffectual since his supporters and the ACA were rejected in the 2010 elections.His administration has failed utterly since then to show any effectiveness on either the domestic or international fronts. His vacillation and timidity have given advantage to a daunting array of international scoundrels, including Putin, Khamenei, Assad, Kim, ISIS, Al Qaeda branches, Boko Haram and now, likely, an invigorated Xi Jinping. Really memorable.
20
"His arrogant behavior at the beginning of his presidency..."
Really? Did anyone else's arrogance escape your detector?
You apparently are part of what Gore Vidal called "The United States of Amnesia".
Really? Did anyone else's arrogance escape your detector?
You apparently are part of what Gore Vidal called "The United States of Amnesia".
9
I have many arguments with the items you mentioned. But because of space limitations, let me focus on just one - the ACA - or as some like to call it - Obamacare. Which, if you recall is a version of the act that a republican put in place in a certain state.
And let us not forget that when the ACA was being talked about, President Obama was asking, no- just about begging the republicans to sit down and make the bill better. He knew it wasn't perfect. And the republican answer? Mitch McConnell went on television to state that their job (the republicans in congress) was to ensure that President Obama was a one-term President. And they have stuck to that even after the election.
So, instead of helping to make the ACA a better plan for the American people, the republicans voted over 50 times to repeal the ACA - and several of those times is after the SCOTUS said the ACA was legal. And when asked what their (the republicans) plan was - we were left listening to crickets - because the republicans didn't and still don't have a plan. Their only plan, it seems, is to go to the opposite of anything the President proposes, even at the cost of hurting the American people.
Please keep this in mind the next time you think the President is a failure. Again, this is only one example of the lack of vision on the current republican party's part.
And let us not forget that when the ACA was being talked about, President Obama was asking, no- just about begging the republicans to sit down and make the bill better. He knew it wasn't perfect. And the republican answer? Mitch McConnell went on television to state that their job (the republicans in congress) was to ensure that President Obama was a one-term President. And they have stuck to that even after the election.
So, instead of helping to make the ACA a better plan for the American people, the republicans voted over 50 times to repeal the ACA - and several of those times is after the SCOTUS said the ACA was legal. And when asked what their (the republicans) plan was - we were left listening to crickets - because the republicans didn't and still don't have a plan. Their only plan, it seems, is to go to the opposite of anything the President proposes, even at the cost of hurting the American people.
Please keep this in mind the next time you think the President is a failure. Again, this is only one example of the lack of vision on the current republican party's part.
14
The beginning of his presidency was marked by unsuccessful efforts at bipartisanship. The Turtle Man, et al, stiffed him.
5
President Obama is a class act all the way, and I love the man as I have not loved any other political figure. But I think his chiding is misguided. If the middle-class white guys who encouraged his audience to understand had every taken the time to develop that empathy, they could have avoided many of the ills that now plague them -- ills that people of color in this country have been complaining about and working to resolve for more than forty years while they were told by those same white guys that drug addiction and unemployment were personal failures, or were the result of problems in "their culture" (but not American culture as a whole).
A call for empathy is always understandable, and always humane, but it is not always just, when you ask black people to have empathy for white people, but not the other way around. I have never in my life heard a major politician make this kind of plea for understanding TO a white audience on behalf of black communities.
It is President Obama's role, more than anyone else, to make that kind of speech, not in front of an audience at Howard, but in front of white audiences. At the very least, he could acknowledge how unfair it must seem to some of his listeners that they are being asked to give empathy, compassion, understanding, and attention, to people who have refused to give them the same.
A call for empathy is always understandable, and always humane, but it is not always just, when you ask black people to have empathy for white people, but not the other way around. I have never in my life heard a major politician make this kind of plea for understanding TO a white audience on behalf of black communities.
It is President Obama's role, more than anyone else, to make that kind of speech, not in front of an audience at Howard, but in front of white audiences. At the very least, he could acknowledge how unfair it must seem to some of his listeners that they are being asked to give empathy, compassion, understanding, and attention, to people who have refused to give them the same.
55
I watched the whole speech live, and while I also love our President, I could not help sharing your feeling that this was the wrong audience for a lot of the message. Maybe he thought it was practical, and ultimately helpful, given the reality in which these young people find themselves, but I thought it was too much to ask, and that the wrong people would infer the wrong message...thanks for your great post.
"At the very least, he could acknowledge how unfair it must seem to some of his listeners that they are being asked to give empathy, compassion, understanding, and attention, to people who have refused to give them the same."
In other words, he should ask them to do unto others as you would have done to you. Hmm, where have I heard that before?
In other words, he should ask them to do unto others as you would have done to you. Hmm, where have I heard that before?
4
Actually that isn't true.
Empathy with other people won't bring jobs back which is the beginning of the cycle that ends in increased drug addiction and increased suicide rates.
The root cause has absolutely 0 to do with race. It's about automation and that we don't really have the "next phase" that will absorb the jobs that are eliminated.
Yes, we have a race problem. But the economic problem and the race problem are two separate problems that occasionally intersect.
Empathy with other people won't bring jobs back which is the beginning of the cycle that ends in increased drug addiction and increased suicide rates.
The root cause has absolutely 0 to do with race. It's about automation and that we don't really have the "next phase" that will absorb the jobs that are eliminated.
Yes, we have a race problem. But the economic problem and the race problem are two separate problems that occasionally intersect.
2
Watching Obama in interviews and the Howard commencement speech the last few weeks is to be reminded about the potential of this supremely talented, motivated and disciplined man when he won the presidency in 2008.
What frustrates me in the discussion about his failures, such as effectively addressing the increasing disparity of wealth in this country, is the blindness to the most influential factor in determining his ability to unleash the powers of government to create jobs and pull resources back to the middle.
He only had a cooperative congress for 2 years! Even when this is discussed, the blame is put on the Republican obstructionists. Politicians and pundits won't say this, but the blame lies squarely with the voters themselves. Republican candidates didn't get more votes in the mid-terms- the Democrats got fewer, because of low voter turnout. This is exactly what happened to Bill Clinton.
I expect when Obama talks about the impatience of those who want change he may be partially thinking about those voters who were so passionate when he first ran but somehow were too tired to get to the polls 2 years later, giving congress to a group of mediocre demagogues that tied his hands for the next 6 years of his presidency.
What frustrates me in the discussion about his failures, such as effectively addressing the increasing disparity of wealth in this country, is the blindness to the most influential factor in determining his ability to unleash the powers of government to create jobs and pull resources back to the middle.
He only had a cooperative congress for 2 years! Even when this is discussed, the blame is put on the Republican obstructionists. Politicians and pundits won't say this, but the blame lies squarely with the voters themselves. Republican candidates didn't get more votes in the mid-terms- the Democrats got fewer, because of low voter turnout. This is exactly what happened to Bill Clinton.
I expect when Obama talks about the impatience of those who want change he may be partially thinking about those voters who were so passionate when he first ran but somehow were too tired to get to the polls 2 years later, giving congress to a group of mediocre demagogues that tied his hands for the next 6 years of his presidency.
331
well said mr. haigh. enjoy the "fruits" of your words. Harvestman.
1
"Even when this is discussed, the blame is put on the Republican obstructionists. Politicians and pundits won't say this, but the blame lies squarely with the voters themselves. Republican candidates didn't get more votes in the mid-terms- the Democrats got fewer, because of low voter turnout."
I'm going a bit off topic here-
This point is something I hope both Bernie and Hillary supporters grasp.
Not voting because your candidate isn't the nominee, hurts us all.
Not voting in November will be the same thing as voting for Trump.
A 3rd party/write-in vote is the same. Remember Nader in Florida in 2000?
Sometimes you vote for the nominee, sometimes you vote for the party.
Don't waste your right as an American. Please vote.
I'm going a bit off topic here-
This point is something I hope both Bernie and Hillary supporters grasp.
Not voting because your candidate isn't the nominee, hurts us all.
Not voting in November will be the same thing as voting for Trump.
A 3rd party/write-in vote is the same. Remember Nader in Florida in 2000?
Sometimes you vote for the nominee, sometimes you vote for the party.
Don't waste your right as an American. Please vote.
7
So you choose to ignore the parts of his speech that recognized the continued existence of deep racial inequality for his "gorgeous" critique of the Black Lives Matter movement. Protesting is fine, so long as it is done with proper deference and respect for the very system that it is seeking to transform, right? Obama's caricature of the Black Lives Matter movement is deeply problematic, as is your eagerness to embrace it.
6
Chad: no caricature there, except maybe in some fevered imaginations. Protest is ineffective unless it has a plan. So, would you sit down with those who haven't shown they believe Black Lives Matter? Would you take the opportunity to discuss and explain? Or would you just go on protesting?
6
Rational discourse hasn't been very effective in dealing with institutionalized racism. Far from it. Does that require an explanation? It has taken the President and the intervention of the Justice Department to force communities to change.
Politics and policy aside, President Obama has been a fine example of dignity, poise and character.
The constant disrespect and vitriol directed toward him personally by the right-wing propaganda machine and the disloyal opposition in Congress has been staggering. Intelligent, honest debate and engagement from the Republicans was never a consideration.
The reactionary zealots have been utterly outclassed.
The constant disrespect and vitriol directed toward him personally by the right-wing propaganda machine and the disloyal opposition in Congress has been staggering. Intelligent, honest debate and engagement from the Republicans was never a consideration.
The reactionary zealots have been utterly outclassed.
617
Just because he is more articulate and better mannered than George Bush doesn't excuse the fact that he continued and extended Bush's policies. e.g. Bailing out Wall Street, Continuing and starting wars, making torture a viable possibility by refusing to prosecute the other war criminals, extending the unitary presidency by carrying on illegal (unsanctioned by Congressional declaration) wars, prosecuting more whistle blowers than any previous POTUS, the drones, etc. The list, alas, is long, too long..
2
And where would we be if Wall Street had collapsed? How many pension plans do you think would have survived, or smaller businesses? It isn't about destroying Wall Street that our government should concern itself with, it is about regulation and compliance oversight.
4
It is Mr. Obama's oratorical gifts and inspirational tone that helped to become President Obama. He is continuing to use his oratorical gifts as he departs the stage.
Whether it is in delivering a eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pinckney (http://tinyurl.com/nz2huhj) or delivering a speech on race relations (http://tinyurl.com/zz9swtt) Mr. Obama rises to the occasion with words that soothe and words that make you reflect. Let's hope he continues to speak even after he vacates the office of the presidency.
Whether it is in delivering a eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pinckney (http://tinyurl.com/nz2huhj) or delivering a speech on race relations (http://tinyurl.com/zz9swtt) Mr. Obama rises to the occasion with words that soothe and words that make you reflect. Let's hope he continues to speak even after he vacates the office of the presidency.
116
The President has called out our fragmented and omnipresent media and social media as the perpetuation of divisiveness and identity politics. And he is probably right. We are taking powerful technology and using it wrong. Imagine giving Goebbels Twitter.
But let's put the blame where it belongs for so many of the issues, identities, ways of thinking, that are supposed to categorize us and fit us in voting bloc slots. Our political parties have exploited and broadened the social fault lines on purpose, as part of a broad based marketing strategy, to make the job of winning votes easier.
Why waste time and money chasing a vote, if you can get it by making wedding cakes and bathrooms a cause celebre? Demonize a few people, and get the vote secured. On the left, all you need to say is "1%" or "Wall Street," The coded identity is a now demon, a figurehead for everything wrong with the country, rather than a actual person.
If we want to take the country back, we are going to have to both take a step back, and use the meat inside our skulls. And we are going to have to accept some hard truths. Our problems may not be easily fixed. We may never again be as rich as we were. We may have to accept that some people don't believe in God in the same way, and some people who work on Wall Street are not actually spawns of Satan.
Are we big enough grown ups to do that? I admire President Obama because he believes we are.
But let's put the blame where it belongs for so many of the issues, identities, ways of thinking, that are supposed to categorize us and fit us in voting bloc slots. Our political parties have exploited and broadened the social fault lines on purpose, as part of a broad based marketing strategy, to make the job of winning votes easier.
Why waste time and money chasing a vote, if you can get it by making wedding cakes and bathrooms a cause celebre? Demonize a few people, and get the vote secured. On the left, all you need to say is "1%" or "Wall Street," The coded identity is a now demon, a figurehead for everything wrong with the country, rather than a actual person.
If we want to take the country back, we are going to have to both take a step back, and use the meat inside our skulls. And we are going to have to accept some hard truths. Our problems may not be easily fixed. We may never again be as rich as we were. We may have to accept that some people don't believe in God in the same way, and some people who work on Wall Street are not actually spawns of Satan.
Are we big enough grown ups to do that? I admire President Obama because he believes we are.
847
Cathy, your eloquent comment does justice to the eloquence of Pres. Obama. Thank you!
3
Obama gives great speech. But actions do speak louder than words. He has governed in the style of a Rockefeller Republican on domestic issues. His signature accomplishment the ACA is a Republican inspired massive giveaway to the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries. It turns out the emphasis is on A for AFFORDABLE. So their are 3 kinds of care depending on what you can afford, the Gold plan, the Silver plan or the Brass plan. Now, why anyone would model a health care system on the business model of the airlines boggles the mind. Like those long lines, those narrow seats, those hidden charges, those no-frills. Enjoy Obamacare.
On trade Obama and Republicans agree. Strange isn't it. The TPP and the European Trade pact for which he is the great salesman --by the way, his salesmanship was totally AWOL on the ACA which cost Democrats their seats in 2010--is the one area of agreement. Hmm. Funny that. It's a giant corporate giveaway. It has a poison called Investor State Dispute Settlement and a special court of binding arbitration that lets corporations sue countries for EXPECTED profits when their regulations interfere. But countries can't sue corporations if they damage environment, say. Obama is a very articulate and very conservative president. In addition to the Racism the current Republicans hate him because he reminds them of what they once were. Well spoken conservatives.
On trade Obama and Republicans agree. Strange isn't it. The TPP and the European Trade pact for which he is the great salesman --by the way, his salesmanship was totally AWOL on the ACA which cost Democrats their seats in 2010--is the one area of agreement. Hmm. Funny that. It's a giant corporate giveaway. It has a poison called Investor State Dispute Settlement and a special court of binding arbitration that lets corporations sue countries for EXPECTED profits when their regulations interfere. But countries can't sue corporations if they damage environment, say. Obama is a very articulate and very conservative president. In addition to the Racism the current Republicans hate him because he reminds them of what they once were. Well spoken conservatives.
2
There are those who are so locked into their anger that they will actually say things such as how ignorant our president is, and how he wasn't smart enough to get into any university without affirmative action. They say such ridiculous things because, too often, a man whose ability to speak with quiet passion and great intelligence frightens them. They prefer the loud, the brash, the 'don't annoy me with facts' and an insistence on brute strength and vulgarity doesn't bother them.
We have few presidents that are actually intellectuals. Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Woodrow Wilson, Abraham Lincoln. What a short list. And, as things are shaping up in 2016 politics, the list is even shorter.
We have few presidents that are actually intellectuals. Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Woodrow Wilson, Abraham Lincoln. What a short list. And, as things are shaping up in 2016 politics, the list is even shorter.
77
Would add John Adams and Jefferson to your short list of 'intellectual' Presidents.
5
Oh, good grief! How in heck did I miss those two! I agree wholeheartedly, of course.
2
I think they prefer someone who doesn't violate every stereotype they hold about black men, thereby threatening their sense of natural white superiority and their justifications for continuing to believe in it.
6
The extent that the Republicans have denied this extraordinary man's intelligence, thoughtfulness and grace is truly worrisome for us all. Does bigotry run through their veins so deep that it blinds them to their own honesty, and goodness for the country?
296
m, what evidence is there that Obama is intelligent?
1
Yes.
4
coffic, what evidence would you accept?
3
Agreed.... it was a fine, a wise, an important speech.... look it up.... watch it.... it was in the NYT recently entitled
"Obama Says Thought and Compromise Are Key to Bringing Change"
"Obama Says Thought and Compromise Are Key to Bringing Change"
34
Barack Obama's humanity, equanimity, and nuanced intellect are manifest. When you compare Barack Obama to Donald Trump, the intellectual and behavioral dissonance is like comparing a surgical laser to an unwieldy meat cleaver.
177
As another reader posted, I miss President Obama already. Even in the face of hurricane-force hatred and obstruction from the Tealiban, his record of accomplishments is breathtaking. It is painful to think how much more he and the nation could have accomplished had there been reasonable negotiating from the Republican party. Instead, we got the party of NO. If President Obama issued a statement in favor of breathing, the Republican response would be to asphyxiate themselves. Oh wait, they are doing that right now, at least from a political perspective.
205
Look, I sympathize with the feeling that we will miss the guy. No doubt we will. But the sentiment should be different: let's carry on what he started, he had eight years and progress did happen, less than we hoped but more than was thought to be possible. Look at the economic recovery and the advancements in civil rights. Obama will hopefully be around for a long time. We don't need the (diminishing) power of the presidency to promote civility, tolerance and social justice. Obama will be the most powerful former president in US history, the time of "yes we can" has just begun.
139
I hope you're right.
2
I caught a piece of that speech and thought it was one of the most presidential things I’d ever heard Barack Obama do. That he’s able to advise perspective in the teeth of the hatred, on both sides, that reactions to his presidency have caused, says a lot about the man’s basic balance. I get a whiff of that in this column by Frank, a gay man in a society in which some still have profound problems with Americans who don’t conform to their notions of what “American” should mean. Takes perspective, and a profound maturity of mind.
But it’s also discernibly wise to insist that change “requires listening to those with whom you disagree, and being prepared to compromise.” One of the places where like-minded liberals congregate to reinforce their convictions is right here, in the NY Times forum. But there are a very few of us here, as well, who strike a discordant note on some of those convictions, who challenge them; and rather than be automatically dismissed we should be used as a window into the convictions of many millions of Americans with whom every one of you must contend in order to jointly craft a more inclusive America, even a more livable one.
We can recognize politics for what they are in the coming entertainment as Trump and Hillary vie for the presidency; but we can also appreciate a wisdom and balance to which we should all aspire in the words of a president saying his own leisurely goodbye to us all.
But it’s also discernibly wise to insist that change “requires listening to those with whom you disagree, and being prepared to compromise.” One of the places where like-minded liberals congregate to reinforce their convictions is right here, in the NY Times forum. But there are a very few of us here, as well, who strike a discordant note on some of those convictions, who challenge them; and rather than be automatically dismissed we should be used as a window into the convictions of many millions of Americans with whom every one of you must contend in order to jointly craft a more inclusive America, even a more livable one.
We can recognize politics for what they are in the coming entertainment as Trump and Hillary vie for the presidency; but we can also appreciate a wisdom and balance to which we should all aspire in the words of a president saying his own leisurely goodbye to us all.
68
When you stick to the facts, Richard, you are a distinct pleasure to read; however, it is the all-too-frequent instances when you delve into the realm of your imagination, when you channel your inner 'Rod Serling', that causes me to react in a caustic manner; for I know that you are capable of much greater insight from your end of the political spectrum when you remain moored to reality, and do not morph into a Rush Limbaugh caricature.
And, yes, I need to oftentimes practice what I preach, too.
And, yes, I need to oftentimes practice what I preach, too.
20
Beautifully expressed. We can only fervently hope (pray if that is your wont) that the next President Clinton, who lacks both her husband's and Obama's rhetorical skills, can nevertheless muster the wisdom it will take to move us forward. Furthermore, let us hope that her outwardly less empathic persona is a facade, which I suspect it is, that she has had to assume to compete in the man's world of American politics. However, it's going to take another wave election at both the national and state levels to continue and expand on Obama's legacy. Let us also hope (and even this atheist may have to resort to prayer - nah) that external events won't force the unleashing of the dogs of war.
3
Please list ways in which we can "jointly craft a more inclusive America, even a more livable one." Ted Cruz's former campaign manager stated on the radio yesterday that Donald Trump would have to get a larger share of the lesser educated white male vote in order to win since he wouldn't be getting much of the ethnic minority citizen votes. So should we be working to get those Hispanic and black, etc. voters to love the Donald and his hatred spewing, or should some GOP members be looking to compromise on their hard core stances?
2
Too bad Mr. Obama didn't practice co-operation during his two terms.
His "mandate" decreased over the years. Yet he continued to define compromise as allowing his opponents to sign on to his initiatives unaltered by compromise.
His two major "accomplishments" -- Obamacare & the Iran Deal - were not achieved by compromise. But by blatant misrepresentations to the American public. Even worse, his two point men for those initiatives - Gruber and Rhodes - now gloat about those deceptions.
His "mandate" decreased over the years. Yet he continued to define compromise as allowing his opponents to sign on to his initiatives unaltered by compromise.
His two major "accomplishments" -- Obamacare & the Iran Deal - were not achieved by compromise. But by blatant misrepresentations to the American public. Even worse, his two point men for those initiatives - Gruber and Rhodes - now gloat about those deceptions.
14
Co-operate with whom? The Republican party?
72
Interesting interpretation of Obama's experience in the White House and certainly a validation of what Obama stated: "We can choose our own facts".
60
Actually, yes. And also with the Democrats who held the majority in congress during most of his first term. Obama compromised with neither.
The elegiac tone of Mr. Obama's comments reflects his conviction that our political impasse arises from a diminished sense of community. While Democrats and Republicans do not share equal responsibility for the divisions that have paralyzed the federal government, neither party has sought to heal those divisions.
The Democrats, for their part, exude a sense of superiority that blinds them to the legitimacy of GOP anxiety over the pace and direction of changes in American society and values. One need not accept the validity of conservative hostility to abortion, for example, to acknowledge that the opposition springs from a genuine concern over the fate of the unborn child. In like manner, some of the resistance to full equality for the LGBT community stems from an authentic, if misplaced, fear that the erosion of traditional cultural standards heralds the corruption of our society.
That said, the GOP bears the heavier responsibility, because its leaders have espoused divisive ideas that marginalize whole sectors of American society and depict Democrats as alien interlopers in the political process. The southern strategy dismisses the political importance of black and latino Americans, while sustained attacks on a robust safety net treat disadvantaged citizens as if they were outsiders.
These political attitudes, combined with skepticism about science, mark Republicans as a radicalized party, unwilling to compromise. Trump, not Lincoln, now symbolizes the GOP.
The Democrats, for their part, exude a sense of superiority that blinds them to the legitimacy of GOP anxiety over the pace and direction of changes in American society and values. One need not accept the validity of conservative hostility to abortion, for example, to acknowledge that the opposition springs from a genuine concern over the fate of the unborn child. In like manner, some of the resistance to full equality for the LGBT community stems from an authentic, if misplaced, fear that the erosion of traditional cultural standards heralds the corruption of our society.
That said, the GOP bears the heavier responsibility, because its leaders have espoused divisive ideas that marginalize whole sectors of American society and depict Democrats as alien interlopers in the political process. The southern strategy dismisses the political importance of black and latino Americans, while sustained attacks on a robust safety net treat disadvantaged citizens as if they were outsiders.
These political attitudes, combined with skepticism about science, mark Republicans as a radicalized party, unwilling to compromise. Trump, not Lincoln, now symbolizes the GOP.
75
If the "genuine concern over the fate of the unborn child" spilled over into genuine concern for born children, I might have more respect for them!
13
"And there’s legitimate disagreement about the degree to which he has been an agent as well as a casualty of the poisoned environment he rues. His administration’s actions haven’t always been as high-minded as his words."
Really? Please provide examples, Mr Bruni. I appreciate the message you convey in this piece, but the attempt to take the objective center is only necessary when there are two sides to a story. The Right has been hateful and prejudiced with regard to this Presidency, and Obama has shown a class in both words and actions that far exceeds any predecessor in the office.
Really? Please provide examples, Mr Bruni. I appreciate the message you convey in this piece, but the attempt to take the objective center is only necessary when there are two sides to a story. The Right has been hateful and prejudiced with regard to this Presidency, and Obama has shown a class in both words and actions that far exceeds any predecessor in the office.
353
I don't recall other presidents having given up so thoroughly with the better part of a year left on the job.
7
You are serious? The last time I looked, it wasn't the President who refused to do his job by nominating a Supreme Court justice. It certainly wasn't the President who proudly proclaimed to the country that he was willing to sit on his hands, and simply NOT do the job he was elected to do.
26
Lets stick with the big picture. Barack has been, and think will continue to be, an exceptional gift to us.
What is possible has greatly expanded under his tenure. He and his family have reminded us of what we should strive for and they have expended much energy in moving us in that direction.
Imagine where we could have gone if we had supported him appropriately.
What is possible has greatly expanded under his tenure. He and his family have reminded us of what we should strive for and they have expended much energy in moving us in that direction.
Imagine where we could have gone if we had supported him appropriately.
312
"What is possible has greatly expanded under his tenure."
True!
Today it's possible to pay exorbitant premiums for health insurance yielding more frustration than genuine well-being.
True!
Today it's possible to pay exorbitant premiums for health insurance yielding more frustration than genuine well-being.
5
I love your remarks and especially the last question regarding President Obama's altitude if he had been respected as deserved. Although one of the best reigns and actors on the stage he was often booed or ignored best he was a gorgeous racially mixed man. The bigots could only see his blackness given to him by God and judged by ignorant and jealous non contributors to rightness. Thank you for expressing the truth. It is so refreshing to read the truth. Simple and true, it sounds so good and so natural.
20
You were already paying exorbitant premiums before the ACA aka Obamacare and tolerating a capitalistic insurance system that regards health care as a commodity and not the human right that it is in almost every other country in the world. Obama had to compromise with the existing immoral system to realize the not insubstantial progress toward universal coverage the ACA achieved. To do so he had to jettison the public option, which would have eventually become Medicare for all by reducing/eliminating the profits that continue to drive upward the "exorbitant premiums" you bemoan. Obama succeeded in enacting major incremental progress toward universal coverage where previous Presidents failed or were stifled by external events. Truman, Nixon (yes, Tricky Dicky) and the Clintons tried the Maoesque Great Leap Forward approach - and failed. Johnson got univerasl coverage for seniors and both Roosevelts, Kennedy and Ford evinced aspirations toward the goal. Even Shrub managed the deeply flawed coverage of drugs for seniors. What has to happen, and eventually will, is for the citizenry to recognize and come to believe that we are all in this together and have a moral duty to "Do unto others as we would have done unto us".
9
Mr. Bruni is exactly right. All politicians have their faults, but few have the insight to pinpoint the dilemma that our nation currently faces with the poisoned rhetoric over thoughtful debate as Mr. Obama has because he's been through his own trial by fire with a opposition Congress that was motivated by some members that have no reservations about stoking hate, not only for the democratic process and government itself, but for Mr. Obama personally.
There may have been uglier episodes in the history of the Republic, but not
in my lifetime have I seen a Congress so determined to sabotage a president
at the expense of the nation itself.
It's a sign of how our technology has enabled people to nurture rage over
solutions by creating an infinite feedback loop of their own opinions without
having to listen and understand others. This internet age seems to have
banished the ability to seek common ground at the expense of the common
good. A current battle cry 'I want my country back' ignores the fact that
America belongs to every American but no one in particular, the nation
as it is will always be 'our country' rather than 'my country' alone.
I doubt that we'd have the country we claim as America if the founders
simply blogged their discontent rather than seeking solutions for
their disagreements.
There may have been uglier episodes in the history of the Republic, but not
in my lifetime have I seen a Congress so determined to sabotage a president
at the expense of the nation itself.
It's a sign of how our technology has enabled people to nurture rage over
solutions by creating an infinite feedback loop of their own opinions without
having to listen and understand others. This internet age seems to have
banished the ability to seek common ground at the expense of the common
good. A current battle cry 'I want my country back' ignores the fact that
America belongs to every American but no one in particular, the nation
as it is will always be 'our country' rather than 'my country' alone.
I doubt that we'd have the country we claim as America if the founders
simply blogged their discontent rather than seeking solutions for
their disagreements.
1674
I agree with you, James, and I will add what I have pointed out before - the steady and deliberate tactics of right wing radio and Fox News to purposely undermine any message but their own.
These organizations have been so transparent in deliberately stoking the fires in their tactics of shooting down any messages, as well as messengers other than their own. They're plan has always been to go full bore in making sure to first undermine any messengers who disagree with their vision of total control, and then making sure it's been their own ideology that is heard the loudest and most dominantly. They've successfully passed themselves off as legitimate news outlets when they've all along been nothing more than the right wing apparatchiks.
I can't remember a time when they've even hinted they may possibly have been wrong or even open to reasoned discussion/dissection of the issues. It's been the constant drum beat of dissent without cause, to the point of making up their own 'facts', in order to cause an angry divide among the citizens of this country. While everyone else has continued to play by the time honored rules of civil engagement, they've run roughshod over any semblance of having a conversation. They've been very insufficiently called on their obvious tactics to out yell or kill the mics of anyone who disagreed with them in order to win the argument at any cost, with absolutely no concern for what's in the best interest of the country.
These organizations have been so transparent in deliberately stoking the fires in their tactics of shooting down any messages, as well as messengers other than their own. They're plan has always been to go full bore in making sure to first undermine any messengers who disagree with their vision of total control, and then making sure it's been their own ideology that is heard the loudest and most dominantly. They've successfully passed themselves off as legitimate news outlets when they've all along been nothing more than the right wing apparatchiks.
I can't remember a time when they've even hinted they may possibly have been wrong or even open to reasoned discussion/dissection of the issues. It's been the constant drum beat of dissent without cause, to the point of making up their own 'facts', in order to cause an angry divide among the citizens of this country. While everyone else has continued to play by the time honored rules of civil engagement, they've run roughshod over any semblance of having a conversation. They've been very insufficiently called on their obvious tactics to out yell or kill the mics of anyone who disagreed with them in order to win the argument at any cost, with absolutely no concern for what's in the best interest of the country.
12
This has happened before during the clinton administration. Remember Kenneth Starr? How could you forget that the country was caught up in high drama and no one cared about how it was run. I agree with the final comment a thousand fold. Not Me US was my favorite sig at the Bernie Sanders rally in the Bronx, but we need to participate. And demand of our politicians more integrity.
4
Beautiful. Thank you for saying it so eloquently.
Thank you for this clear, simple message to NYTs readers.
Obama spoke the words of black-American elders, the upright patience which have been passed down for generations. However, this waiting is warning not to run head-to-head with the barrel of a shotgun, or into the new irons of the prison complex.
Though the message might be for the greater audience, it should not be misconstrued as less than a mother's cry for the survival of her son or daughters flesh and humanity.
Obama spoke the words of black-American elders, the upright patience which have been passed down for generations. However, this waiting is warning not to run head-to-head with the barrel of a shotgun, or into the new irons of the prison complex.
Though the message might be for the greater audience, it should not be misconstrued as less than a mother's cry for the survival of her son or daughters flesh and humanity.
15
And his final legacy will be Donald Trump! Thank you, Barack Obama. And good by!
5
Trump is the product of the GOP, a political monster unleashed by the tea party, a willful reaction of Republicans with the goal of denying Obama and his supporters the change they voted for
128
Ed, I've no idea what the basis for this assertion is when it has been the GOP from day one who have refused compromise with this president. If anything, they have shown that compromise is not necessary in their estimation. They have caused a major rift in this country which following their lead, has brought about the ascendancy of Donald Trump.
75
Really you can't lay Trump at Obama's feet! Trump is the creation and embodiment of the ignorance, vulgarity, misogyny and racism that the Republican leadership has been pimping all these years.
83
"...a pointed, powerful civic lesson" is certainly Obama's final bequest as he leaves the White House. We must respect Obama's experience as a community organizer, a task which depends on sharing grievances AND goals and requires listening to and through all sides on any issue and pondering what lies beneath emotional outbursts. You might call this anti-Cruzism in religion or anti-Trumpism in secular matters. That the GOP and even dear Sanders don't listen and ponder is evidenced daily, and debates with 60-second sound bites show how debased our communal discussions are becoming.
Instead of calm reason, ideological stances seem everywhere we look and in every media we examine. "Conservative" and "progressive", under-defined when defined at all, reveal what George Orwell warned of when he wrote "Politics and The English Language" -- when we debase language for ideological purposes, we ruin political life, endanger the body politic, and disorganize society. A society with voices and no ears to deconstruct the cacophony is a zoo, animals barking and roaring. Trump has Ryan and a score of media agitators telling us we need to be "great", urging us to have St. Ronnie guide us, or, sadder yet, beat, punch, insult those resisting our shouted slogans. Check your pulse when Obama speaks. Listen.
He is the "town hall" voice among our leaders, the person who respects, and delights in America, singing in its thousand voices, as Whitman, praised us.
Honor his dream.
Instead of calm reason, ideological stances seem everywhere we look and in every media we examine. "Conservative" and "progressive", under-defined when defined at all, reveal what George Orwell warned of when he wrote "Politics and The English Language" -- when we debase language for ideological purposes, we ruin political life, endanger the body politic, and disorganize society. A society with voices and no ears to deconstruct the cacophony is a zoo, animals barking and roaring. Trump has Ryan and a score of media agitators telling us we need to be "great", urging us to have St. Ronnie guide us, or, sadder yet, beat, punch, insult those resisting our shouted slogans. Check your pulse when Obama speaks. Listen.
He is the "town hall" voice among our leaders, the person who respects, and delights in America, singing in its thousand voices, as Whitman, praised us.
Honor his dream.
85
The three stages of the Obama presidency: Yes, we can. Maybe we can but those other guys keep getting in the way. No, we can't.
10
The reality of US politics -- legislation begins in Congress and is passed into law in Congress, not in the executive branch. For the President to acknowledge this fact is not a sign of his failure, it is a recognition of the Constitution. You can blame the President for not achieving all he want to achieve, but to do so is the wrongly assume that he creates law. The blame, for example, for not closing Guantanamo lies entirely with Congress, which passed a law forbidding the closing and making it impossible to move the men imprisoned there to US prisons.
29
Janet is correct. The framers of our nation's founding document wanted to forestall tyranny, not to ensure "progress". They were knew that without "checks and balances", power would accrue to whomever wanted it the most. The separation of government powers codified in the Constitution was intended to keep power from being concentrated in the hands of would-be autocrats. If Its effect has been that nothing gets accomplished, we can be sure that was also intentional.
7
It moved me to read a positive article about Obama. Reformers have always been hated by the right whose interest they threaten and despised by the left who have no patience with democracy. Obama is a perfect example. He was constantly obstructed by the GOP, for which the GOP is now paying because Trump will "get things done" and "make America great again," and is loudly criticized by democrats for "all he promised to do and hasn't done."
35
Has there ever been a greater contrast between the civilized, intelligent, and compassionate discourse of Barack Obama and the ignorant raunchy hate-mongering rants of Donald Trump? We will never hear Trump asking his supporters to try to get into the heads of any minorities who have experienced social and/or economic injustice here or elsewhere. Having based his career and private life on the principle of being a law unto himself, "United we stand, divided we fall" is not something Donald Trump will ever understand. He's always been in this race for himself and his all encompassing self-interest governs his every thought and deed. Too bad his supporters cannot penetrate his true mind - they might just have second thoughts about voting for him.
162
I doubt they would have second thoughts about supporting Trump; there's no evidence that they had first thoughts. Or any real thoughts: it's all visceral. If you listen to what his supporters and minions say, all you hear, really, is foaming-at-the-mouth diatribes with zero substance--and an equivalent set of facts.
27
Obama, a wonderful human being that can see beyond narrow categories. Missing the guy already.
258
"Missing the guy already."
Actually for the past 6 years....
Actually for the past 6 years....
3
Could it be that the divisive politics in America are because an easily accessible internet and social media place an over-sized megaphone into the hands of anyone who wants one?
Anyone who wishes, for example, to spout off personal opinions in the online comments of The New York Times is completely free to do so. Can that really be harmful in a democracy?
It is difficult to grasp the concept, put forth by President Obama, that too much free speech may be a bad thing. It is doubtful that a sometimes annoying dialogue of competing opinions is pernicious. To believe otherwise is to endorse those small steps towards the precipice of suppression.
President Obama makes a more compelling case when he points out that the internet allows people to find a slew of websites and blogs supporting the biases the searchers already hold.
But even this technological improvement over choosing the newspapers and magazines one reads is not where the real difficulty resides.
The actual problem is that we seem to have a large segment of the population which cannot differentiate between an honest discussion of issues and a raving piece of polemics.
Whether that gullible, undiscerning slice of our citizenry is larger than it was fifty years ago is unknown. It may just seem larger because of the big megaphone.
Anyone who wishes, for example, to spout off personal opinions in the online comments of The New York Times is completely free to do so. Can that really be harmful in a democracy?
It is difficult to grasp the concept, put forth by President Obama, that too much free speech may be a bad thing. It is doubtful that a sometimes annoying dialogue of competing opinions is pernicious. To believe otherwise is to endorse those small steps towards the precipice of suppression.
President Obama makes a more compelling case when he points out that the internet allows people to find a slew of websites and blogs supporting the biases the searchers already hold.
But even this technological improvement over choosing the newspapers and magazines one reads is not where the real difficulty resides.
The actual problem is that we seem to have a large segment of the population which cannot differentiate between an honest discussion of issues and a raving piece of polemics.
Whether that gullible, undiscerning slice of our citizenry is larger than it was fifty years ago is unknown. It may just seem larger because of the big megaphone.
21
It's not just a matter of 'free speech'. Many simply resort to screaming...sure
it's a form of speech, I suppose, but screaming is what babies do when
they don't get what they want. It's free speech vs. poisoned speech and
history has shown how poisoned speech is a threat to democracy if those
who scream the loudest can't abide the democratic principles that the
nation is founded upon.
it's a form of speech, I suppose, but screaming is what babies do when
they don't get what they want. It's free speech vs. poisoned speech and
history has shown how poisoned speech is a threat to democracy if those
who scream the loudest can't abide the democratic principles that the
nation is founded upon.
10
"It is difficult to grasp the concept, put forth by President Obama, that too much free speech may be a bad thing"
Didn't see this and I hope Obama really didn't say this. There are still a few of us left in this country that will be going down, crouching behind the fences and shooting our muskets, before we let anyone implement " the concept" and try to stop us from speaking our minds.
You want a smaller "gullible, undiscerning [sic] slice of our citizenry", stop voting for wars, stop voting against your local school budgets, and stop telling teachers how they should teach our children.
Didn't see this and I hope Obama really didn't say this. There are still a few of us left in this country that will be going down, crouching behind the fences and shooting our muskets, before we let anyone implement " the concept" and try to stop us from speaking our minds.
You want a smaller "gullible, undiscerning [sic] slice of our citizenry", stop voting for wars, stop voting against your local school budgets, and stop telling teachers how they should teach our children.
1
"Anyone who wishes, for example, to spout off personal opinions in the online comments of The New York Times is completely free to do so."
Wrong!
Unlike the WSJ and the WAPost, comments here are heavily censored, especially if you attempt irony or humor.
Wrong!
Unlike the WSJ and the WAPost, comments here are heavily censored, especially if you attempt irony or humor.
3
This is a handsome summary of Obama's recent, thoughtful, civil speeches.
Oh, but I do hope that the man, Barack, has a little bit of the devil in him and will write and publish a knife-sharp, tell-all (or almost-all) autobiography in the next three years, describing his two terms as President. I will read and treasure it. Because we all need to hear what Mr. Obama has concluded about the backstage and front-stage performances in the House and Senate (and on Fox News) that have transported us all into a country threatened by the rise of the know-nothing political thug, Donald Trump.
Oh, but I do hope that the man, Barack, has a little bit of the devil in him and will write and publish a knife-sharp, tell-all (or almost-all) autobiography in the next three years, describing his two terms as President. I will read and treasure it. Because we all need to hear what Mr. Obama has concluded about the backstage and front-stage performances in the House and Senate (and on Fox News) that have transported us all into a country threatened by the rise of the know-nothing political thug, Donald Trump.
231
An exceedingly well written essay. And I agree with everything except this " there’s legitimate disagreement about the degree to which he has been an agent as well as a casualty of the poisoned environment he rues." While President Obama, may not have reached across the aisle as much has he could have or should have, the intractable, obstinate obstruction in Congress was not his doing. Unless you consider him getting the Affordable Healthcare Act, for which he was elected, an act of obstructing the Republicans. They have had the agenda to oppose every single thing he attempted to do from his day one, and they never let up. The far right wing fighting Obama is the same far right wing which fought Clinton. And if we have a Democratic President elected in November, they will be doing the same thing all over again. I see zero evidence that things will be any different.
74
How dare elected representatives attempt to block policy with which they and their constituents disagree!!! Really, they ought to simply acquiesce to the President's wishes in all things. Don't they know their role?
1
Let's face it - the thought of Donald Trump having a possibility of becoming his successor must nauseate Barack Obama. And rightfully so.
If ever there were opposites, it would be those two. It is unimaginable to picture Donald Trump making a speech anywhere, college, foreign country, State of the Union without making our hair stand on end. Feeling like we would either have to take some kind of anti-anxiety med first, stiff drink, or just not watch - for fear of what might come out of his mouth. We never had to even be concerned about that with President Obama, man of intelligence, class, and calm.
Oh, how we'll miss that man, Barack Obama.
If ever there were opposites, it would be those two. It is unimaginable to picture Donald Trump making a speech anywhere, college, foreign country, State of the Union without making our hair stand on end. Feeling like we would either have to take some kind of anti-anxiety med first, stiff drink, or just not watch - for fear of what might come out of his mouth. We never had to even be concerned about that with President Obama, man of intelligence, class, and calm.
Oh, how we'll miss that man, Barack Obama.
459
Mr. Bruni, your column follows, by almost exactly three months, the soulful apologia of your colleague David Brooks ("I Miss Barack Obama", February 9). With eight months and eight full days left on his calendar as president, Mr. Obama is going to be the subject of many long good-byes.
It's going to be hard for Congress ("you lie!") to ignore his simple grace and humility, his powerful wisdom and intelligence, and contrast these virtues with the circus that will be ours for the next half-year. Millions of Americans, as they consider his successor, should ask themselves one of two honest, pointed questions: "with whom or what do we wish to replace this singular presidency?", or "do I have the decency to assess President Obama's eight years in the round?"
Thomas Edsall, elsewhere in these pages today, authors a long and troubling piece about the seriousness of the Donald Trump candidacy; how much support he has from white anger and resentment (especially Independents) that is muted in public polling but viral in private. How many American voters have, or will, stop and take an honest stock of Barack Obama as an American president, setting aside his policy goals, successful or failed? I wonder just how many citizens have asked themselves, "OK, now he's gone, but what comes next"?
Mr. Obama's scores of enemies in Congress, from before Day One ("one-term president") are going to lie down with more than a little regret when he leaves us.
We're going to miss him. Terribly.
It's going to be hard for Congress ("you lie!") to ignore his simple grace and humility, his powerful wisdom and intelligence, and contrast these virtues with the circus that will be ours for the next half-year. Millions of Americans, as they consider his successor, should ask themselves one of two honest, pointed questions: "with whom or what do we wish to replace this singular presidency?", or "do I have the decency to assess President Obama's eight years in the round?"
Thomas Edsall, elsewhere in these pages today, authors a long and troubling piece about the seriousness of the Donald Trump candidacy; how much support he has from white anger and resentment (especially Independents) that is muted in public polling but viral in private. How many American voters have, or will, stop and take an honest stock of Barack Obama as an American president, setting aside his policy goals, successful or failed? I wonder just how many citizens have asked themselves, "OK, now he's gone, but what comes next"?
Mr. Obama's scores of enemies in Congress, from before Day One ("one-term president") are going to lie down with more than a little regret when he leaves us.
We're going to miss him. Terribly.
666
Thanks, Frank Bruni, for your words about the President and for leading me to his speech at Howard, which I have read in its entirety. I recommend reading it, especially from "First of all..." to the end. Gives me reason to wish he were continuing but since that cannot be I look forward to the choices he makes concerning "What's Next?" for him.
I hope that he will learn some new things about how we in America classify people and then finally declare, "You know what, now that I have had some time to learn more about how we put people in boxes, I realize that we - each of us - should declare there is only one race, the human, but we sure are diverse, why there are at least 153 Haplogroups and subgroups, and just think about us who call ourselves black. I always call myself African American but really that is not my black ethnic group, I am really African immigrant American, since my father came directly from Kenya."
These lines from his speech suggest he is just beginning to awaken on this subject: "America is big and it is boisterous and it is more diverse than ever. The president told me that we've got a significant Nepalese contingent here at Howard. I would not have guessed that."
Many things well said, Mr. President.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Dual citizen US SE
I hope that he will learn some new things about how we in America classify people and then finally declare, "You know what, now that I have had some time to learn more about how we put people in boxes, I realize that we - each of us - should declare there is only one race, the human, but we sure are diverse, why there are at least 153 Haplogroups and subgroups, and just think about us who call ourselves black. I always call myself African American but really that is not my black ethnic group, I am really African immigrant American, since my father came directly from Kenya."
These lines from his speech suggest he is just beginning to awaken on this subject: "America is big and it is boisterous and it is more diverse than ever. The president told me that we've got a significant Nepalese contingent here at Howard. I would not have guessed that."
Many things well said, Mr. President.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Dual citizen US SE
35
"...I fear, will be lost in the din of the Trump-Clinton death match."
Our activist president, the one who told us that he intended to get things done has done so. I suspect he always knew he'd get hit with everything but the kitchen sink, and I think what's kept him solid, quiet inside, and not roaring with indignation is an internal checklist-- one that he had formulated way back in 2007, that list that includes all the "other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard because those goals will serve to organize and measure the best of our efforts..." He knew it would be hard, but what he might not have known and what you are missing Frank, is that his poll numbers are gradually going up, and the gap between congressional approval that stays in the miserable 15% range, and Obama's approval has never been greater in modern political history. He is being vindicated and, and his valedictory speeches are being heard and gradually, his quiet reserve, dignity, and enduring efforts are now being embraced by many who formally disapproved of him.
Our activist president, the one who told us that he intended to get things done has done so. I suspect he always knew he'd get hit with everything but the kitchen sink, and I think what's kept him solid, quiet inside, and not roaring with indignation is an internal checklist-- one that he had formulated way back in 2007, that list that includes all the "other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard because those goals will serve to organize and measure the best of our efforts..." He knew it would be hard, but what he might not have known and what you are missing Frank, is that his poll numbers are gradually going up, and the gap between congressional approval that stays in the miserable 15% range, and Obama's approval has never been greater in modern political history. He is being vindicated and, and his valedictory speeches are being heard and gradually, his quiet reserve, dignity, and enduring efforts are now being embraced by many who formally disapproved of him.
134
From the other side of the world.
President Obama will be sorely missed. He is an inspiration to us all and proof that decent people still care for others of all creeds and races.
I wish he could serve a third term!
President Obama will be sorely missed. He is an inspiration to us all and proof that decent people still care for others of all creeds and races.
I wish he could serve a third term!
476
Have you noticed what two have done to him? I think a third might kill him. Being President of the United States is a thankless tough job.
11
If Trump gets elected, I'm going to seriously look into moving to Geelong!
4
In stand up comedy the hardest thing is to follow a really gifted comic.
So too in the Presidency.
Barack Obama is a one in 300 million. Lightning in a bottle.
No President before him faced the multiple moving disasters created by the war criminals Bush and Cheney, nor the vast bloodletting on Wall Street, occurring simultaneously.
He has done a remarkable job with what he was handed and done it with more humility, class and grace of any President since FDR.
We will miss him.
So too in the Presidency.
Barack Obama is a one in 300 million. Lightning in a bottle.
No President before him faced the multiple moving disasters created by the war criminals Bush and Cheney, nor the vast bloodletting on Wall Street, occurring simultaneously.
He has done a remarkable job with what he was handed and done it with more humility, class and grace of any President since FDR.
We will miss him.
1202
Well said, Craig.
Oh how we shall miss his cool and steady hand in the years ahead.
And how we fear that the unstable, know-nothing little hand could take the WH.
Oh how we shall miss his cool and steady hand in the years ahead.
And how we fear that the unstable, know-nothing little hand could take the WH.
26
Craig--in case it escaped your notice we're still in Afghanistan.
2
Thanks for saying it so well.
6
"Enough with a partisanship so caustic that it bleeds into hatred."
Bleeds into hatred? More like gushes into hatred, cannonballs dives into hatred, nurtures and covets hatred as Tolkiens gollum nurtures and covets his Ring.
Bleeds into hatred? More like gushes into hatred, cannonballs dives into hatred, nurtures and covets hatred as Tolkiens gollum nurtures and covets his Ring.
21
Unthinkable problems that loom
With doom lurking in the next room,
So dire, so complex,
Continue to vex,
And do not diminish but zoom.
Obama gave it a real try
With efforts we should not deny,
The very next POTUS
Should be on cruel notice
She/He won't face Pie in the Sky!
With doom lurking in the next room,
So dire, so complex,
Continue to vex,
And do not diminish but zoom.
Obama gave it a real try
With efforts we should not deny,
The very next POTUS
Should be on cruel notice
She/He won't face Pie in the Sky!
19
I'm grateful that President Obama gave you a reason to write it and hope that both your column and his message are widely shared and considered.