I trust President Obama. I wish him and his family peace and happiness always!
Semper Fi Sir!
Semper Fi Sir!
I admire President Obama greatly, but I am disappointed that global warming and climate change, and addressing their effect on people around the world, didn't make his list of topics. Dramatic change in the climate, and the consequent, inevitable dislocation of millions of people, will overwhelm governments all over the world if we backslide on the Paris Agreement and other efforts to moderate global warming. This, I think, is the greatest threat to humanity, to liberal democracy, and if we don't address it, everything else just gets even harder.
2
Is this the same type of "red line" that he used with Syria? See how well that turned out !
4
I think we are in such perilous times that we need Obama, Bush, and Clinton (William Jefferson and the one who won in 2016) to step in often to defend liberty. We can't count on the Congress or the individual in NY to do that. I for one will watch any news conference these four give (and if GHWB were in better health). I will not be watching the political pornography coming from the 2016 non-legit POTUS.
1
We need to get Obama seated on the Supreme Court.
I know, I know....as if...
I know, I know....as if...
Sorry, but in this case, Bush had it right. Obama thinks he is still president. He accomplished some good things, and some bad things. Divisiveness was his most outstanding negative outcome, and that wasn't limited to the US.
Bush didn't agree with Obama's policies, but he had the grace to go. Will Obama?
Bush didn't agree with Obama's policies, but he had the grace to go. Will Obama?
5
Come tomorrow, appropriately at High Noon, a new onerous tin horn sheriff comes to town. In his odorous wake leaves a magnificent gentleman, a man of decorum, grace under pressure, a truly class act. We mourn President Obama's passing, though we know after a respite out in the desert beauty of Palm Springs he will return. To DC, but a short drive away from the House he cared for with such aplomb. And we will need him now more than ever to guide we Dems, to be aggressive and activist members of the loyal opposition. I see by the intense grilling from Senators Sanders, Warren and Franken we Dems have much to take pride in. Compared with the pathetic group of backslapping Republican rubber stampers we in the DNC we be the watchdog of the Congress and most assuredly the Executive, branch that never has needed as mush scrutiny as it will deserve to get after tomorrow.
God Bless You President Obama. We will wait patiently, rudderless for now with this Illegitimate One in the White House, until the day we return to fight another day. For now, keeping the faith as well as the powder dry.
DD
Manhattan
God Bless You President Obama. We will wait patiently, rudderless for now with this Illegitimate One in the White House, until the day we return to fight another day. For now, keeping the faith as well as the powder dry.
DD
Manhattan
4
This man deserved SO much better than he received.
5
We have been spoiled by Obama's intelligence, thoughtfulness, wisdom, demeanor and constant sense of hope. We're going to experience the exact opposite from his replacement, and will be far poorer for it politically and personally.
Trump supporters are clueless about the presidency, and mistake boorish dishonesty and narcissism for leadership and change. An intellectual vacuum is not presidential. Saying the old rules of the office don't apply is just ignorance. Being unpredictable is not an asset and doesn't install confidence.
Obama leaves with a rising approval rating, Trump takes office with one that is falling, a first in modern presidential history. A lot of citizens have made the comparison and are resigned to four years of mediocrity. Obama has assured us we will survive it. We won't like it, but there will be light at the other end.
Eclectic Pragmatist — http://eclectic-pragmatist.tumblr.com/
Eclectic Pragmatist — https://medium.com/eclectic-pragmatism
Trump supporters are clueless about the presidency, and mistake boorish dishonesty and narcissism for leadership and change. An intellectual vacuum is not presidential. Saying the old rules of the office don't apply is just ignorance. Being unpredictable is not an asset and doesn't install confidence.
Obama leaves with a rising approval rating, Trump takes office with one that is falling, a first in modern presidential history. A lot of citizens have made the comparison and are resigned to four years of mediocrity. Obama has assured us we will survive it. We won't like it, but there will be light at the other end.
Eclectic Pragmatist — http://eclectic-pragmatist.tumblr.com/
Eclectic Pragmatist — https://medium.com/eclectic-pragmatism
5
I won't dwell on the many great things you could have done for these United States of America if you had not been stymied at every turn by the wacko selfish repubs. I share your love of this beautiful experiment these United States. As I approach the final years of my life I am grateful to have had the opportunity to have voted for you twice. Go, be the voice for sanity, reasonable thought and know many many Americans love you, love what wanted to accomplish. Carry the torch high, let your light illuminate us all.
7
I am sorry, but it it time for Ex President Obama to step aside. The people of the US have spoken with their vote and it is now time for the next President to put forth an agenda supported by the people. In general, more than 70% of people in the US think the country has been going in the wrong direction - what part of that does Pres. Obama not understand.
4
I will miss President Obama. He brought dignity to the Office of the President of the United States. He accomplished a lot despite the fact that the Republicans tried to block him at every step of the may as they stated they would do.
I am most concerned with the direction President Elect Trump seems intent to take given his public statements and the slate of key personnel he will bring in the White House. In a short period of time his bully tactics will likely destroy what has been built over decades of seat and blood. By the time this will be realized it will, unfortunately, be too late.
I am most concerned with the direction President Elect Trump seems intent to take given his public statements and the slate of key personnel he will bring in the White House. In a short period of time his bully tactics will likely destroy what has been built over decades of seat and blood. By the time this will be realized it will, unfortunately, be too late.
3
I wonder if he'll follow through on these red lines...
2
I voted for Obama twice - the Obama we heard at the 2004 convention - the Obama who would transcend racial politics and was as inspiring to hear as JFK and RFK. That is not the Obama we got. No more need be said. Now to 2016. I voted for Trump. I could not vote for a warmed over, bedraggled Clinton any more than I could have voted for a warmed over, bedraggled McCain in 2008. I might have voted for Sanders, but the corrupt DNC and the corrupt HRC campaign did not give me or anyone else the chance. Sanders could have won if he had been able to balance his economic budget and somehow convince the financial sector not to engineer a stock market debacle as punishment to the middle class for a Sanders vote. He was a more appealing candidate in the Rust Belt, he would have kept the millennials engaged, and that would have made the difference. But the DNC could never allow a white man, nominally Jewish, to be the candidate. It goes against the self-ordained minorities and identity politics that they covet. I see the DNC continuing with divisive identity politics in 2020, continue to actively dismiss the white middle class, and continue to stoke the divides we have in the US to our own detriment and the detriment of the world community.
2
Pres Obama has been very good at drawing red lines. But very poor on acting when they are crossed.
3
Red lines or not, Pres. Obama should certainly remain in the fray. When former Pres. GW Bush left office both Pres. Obama and the American people deserved his silence. Pres. Obama had won a sweeping victory and inherited a mess, both foreign and domestic. Bush's silence was appropriate under the circumstances.
That is not the case this time around. Trump has demonstrated that he is the creator and perpetrator of falsehoods - ranging from being an unrepentant birther, to claiming to have seen thoudsands of Muslims in New Jersey cheering the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
As individuals we too must speak out and stay in the fray. But, the media will not report on what each of has to say. They will report what Pres. Obama says - he will be our spokesman. He will be speaking for us in rebuttal of Trump's lies which, we know, surely will continue.
That is not the case this time around. Trump has demonstrated that he is the creator and perpetrator of falsehoods - ranging from being an unrepentant birther, to claiming to have seen thoudsands of Muslims in New Jersey cheering the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
As individuals we too must speak out and stay in the fray. But, the media will not report on what each of has to say. They will report what Pres. Obama says - he will be our spokesman. He will be speaking for us in rebuttal of Trump's lies which, we know, surely will continue.
6
As for Obama's "red line" on Syria, he didn't ignore his pledge, but asked Congress to support its enforcement, which they refused to do. Why? because they were resolved to give him nothing he asked for. Then the issue of poison gas went away, and lately it's become uncertain which side actually used it. Surely there was some political craft on Obama's part, but I'd say his refusal to engage directly in Syria was wise. Russia now owns the Syrian mess, as we own the messes in Iraq and Afghanistan, but at least the Russians are nearby, and can intervene more easily and effectively. The Middle East is a sh*t storm that will last a hundred years - at least, unless we stop supporting Israel's misdeeds, no matter how outrageous.
3
I am so very sad to see President Obama and his family leave the White House. His tenure has been a non stop struggle against obstruction republicans but thru it all he has been a sterling example for our nation of what a good man is. From the terrifying economic meltdown we were in when he was sworn in to the elimination of mass murderer Bin laden and everything in between he did his job with intelligence and calm and made me very happy that I voted for him twice.
5
So many of those who voted for President Obama and are now expressing disappointment that all their hopes and dreams were not fulfilled should think back to the many times when he called on us all to take action for the causes we loved. In my mind President Obama was never going to be the "Fixer-in-Chief" solving all the problems of the nation and the world. We who were voters, citizens, residents, and the undocumented seeking to be citizens needed to accept our responsibilities to make the changes happen and inspire hopes for a more perfect union.
When the successes and failures of the Obama administration are tallied--beyond the obvious fact of individual human imperfection--achievements do not depend on one man. Yes, the Republican obstructionism was a formidable and unnecessary obstacle; the challenges of targeted racism were deplorable. Still a nation fully committed to using its amazing knowledge and wealth to make sure every person had a opportunity to be part of a healthy community and achieve her/his dreams could have made more progress if more of us had answered President Obama's call to take action and not left all the work to him.
Thank you, President Obama for your hard work as president. Thank you also for being willing to continue the work of citizenship.
When the successes and failures of the Obama administration are tallied--beyond the obvious fact of individual human imperfection--achievements do not depend on one man. Yes, the Republican obstructionism was a formidable and unnecessary obstacle; the challenges of targeted racism were deplorable. Still a nation fully committed to using its amazing knowledge and wealth to make sure every person had a opportunity to be part of a healthy community and achieve her/his dreams could have made more progress if more of us had answered President Obama's call to take action and not left all the work to him.
Thank you, President Obama for your hard work as president. Thank you also for being willing to continue the work of citizenship.
19
Add me to the list of those disappointed by President Obama's performance in office. He was an inspiration to many, but fell short of effective leadership as measured by winning the hearts and minds -- and hands and votes -- of the American people to support tangible action in response to that inspiration.
The article says he "does not plan to stay involved in the hurly-burly of politics." I'm not sure he ever was. The occasional rousing speech can fire up loyalists, but it's the day-to-day grind of implementing inspired policies that makes the difference. How much better might he have succeeded had he spent the time and effort going to the American people in general, and those indifferent and even opposed to him in particular, to explain how his ideas would benefit everyone, especially disaffected workers left behind by automation and globalization (Trump's "angry white men"), and at the same time challenging scorched-earth Republican opposition to progress. One can't just throw out a good idea and expect it to flourish on its own.
Republicans from Reagan on down have shown that trickle-down economics doesn't benefit the people. Now Mr. Obama has added proof that trickle-down inspiration and intelligence, unsupported by the political hurly-burly necessary to carry its message and implement its goals, is just as ineffective.
The article says he "does not plan to stay involved in the hurly-burly of politics." I'm not sure he ever was. The occasional rousing speech can fire up loyalists, but it's the day-to-day grind of implementing inspired policies that makes the difference. How much better might he have succeeded had he spent the time and effort going to the American people in general, and those indifferent and even opposed to him in particular, to explain how his ideas would benefit everyone, especially disaffected workers left behind by automation and globalization (Trump's "angry white men"), and at the same time challenging scorched-earth Republican opposition to progress. One can't just throw out a good idea and expect it to flourish on its own.
Republicans from Reagan on down have shown that trickle-down economics doesn't benefit the people. Now Mr. Obama has added proof that trickle-down inspiration and intelligence, unsupported by the political hurly-burly necessary to carry its message and implement its goals, is just as ineffective.
3
And we all know what crossing a red line means to Obama.
2
“There’s a difference between that normal functioning of politics and certain issues or certain moments where I think our core values may be at stake,”
Yes there is. I just don't get why challenge is seen as such a no-no in a democracy. Trump has been given (is given) a huge pass on every negative he has said and done and is still saying and doing. The Republicans vowed to block Obama from day one in office, even if they agreed. At least we know if Obama has anything to say it will be intelligent, reasoned, well thought out and for the good of America and Americans, unlike most Republicans whose order of priority is self, career, party.
Taking a hands off approach, being politically polite to a fault, is a major fault and especially so in a democracy.
Yes there is. I just don't get why challenge is seen as such a no-no in a democracy. Trump has been given (is given) a huge pass on every negative he has said and done and is still saying and doing. The Republicans vowed to block Obama from day one in office, even if they agreed. At least we know if Obama has anything to say it will be intelligent, reasoned, well thought out and for the good of America and Americans, unlike most Republicans whose order of priority is self, career, party.
Taking a hands off approach, being politically polite to a fault, is a major fault and especially so in a democracy.
1
We will miss President Obama. He is a "class act" who would be difficult to replace. I shudder when I think the person who is the president-elect, the antithesis of his decency, thoughtfulness and humanity.
3
Millions of Americans wish he would just go away, play golf and go whatever pleases, but please keep the destructive and divisive policies you created that divided and polarized our country. Good riddance snd good luck.
5
In bizarro world, where up is down and down is up, you'd be right on!
3
Violence is coming from the Left. Trump actually is a 3rd party candidate and even the GOP establishment are against him. We face devastating collapse because of the establishment.
1
With Barack Obama's history of ignoring his self-declared red lines, the new administration can rest assured that this red line threat will go the way of the Syria red line.
4
Interesting that any thing, any single word or term, Obama stated has to be 100% perfect.
If you'd apply your standards to Trump, you'd have to think of him as tyrcdevik incarnate. Or at the least a loony.
If you'd apply your standards to Trump, you'd have to think of him as tyrcdevik incarnate. Or at the least a loony.
2
I'd like to thank President Barack Obama for his protection of my values in his eight years of service...I also appreciate the eight years of sacrifice he, his wife & his daughters have suffered for our nation...their suffering (the intrusions into their lives) will continue for years. Thank you from my heart.
5
Anybody who has been in a position to create change in an organization know how much push back comes from the status quo. President Obama has done an exceptional job in his position. I for one, hope that after taking a long deserved rest Ex. President Obama will be there to bring the voice of reason to a world that is racing towards chaos.
4
a few of these people need to reread this article, President Obama does not want to interfere with Elect Trump. he wants to make sure folks who were unable to vote in this last election for whatever reason they were denied are able to vote in next. immigration is a very important issue that needs to be watched over by everyone who has a sense of decency for mankind. the haters seem to forget from day one, congress explicitly told America that we arent working with President Obama. take your hate out on Congress.
7
I love you President Obama . I wish that you could have had a working congress so everyone would know the great things you had in store for our country. Instead you got a congress that took a pay check and did nothing and I am not talking about the democratic congress. I feel ashamed that I live in the same state a bully Mitch McConnell . He is just that a bully that got his pay check . I cannot wait until he is out of congress . Wake up young Americans for we now have the most amoral group of people moving into the White House .
7
Dear President Obama,
I am still wondering why you were given the Nobel Peace Prize? Your only peace centered policy has been to just not get involved and let the fire continue to grow. Kicking out 35 Russian diplomats just because you are mad (really scary) that your Party is the one that had the lamest system so got hacked? Mr. Obama, it is the end of your Presidency and it is too late. You let your constituents down and they voted appropriately. What about our Swords to Plowshares program with Ukraine. We said we would protect them under this agreement and all you did was hide under your desk as Putin walked right in and took part of that country. Guess that is why you used the closed front Resolute desk, like Bill, so no one could see what was going on under there? Your Presidency has escalated world conflict by your do-nothing attitude beyond saying (or sending Kerry in), “Gee, let's be friends and all get along." Mr. Obama, Iran is tied directly to Palestinian Hezbollah and they want Israelis to not exist at all (dead). Peace? And how is this Laissez Faire attitude working in your hometown of Chicago? Go home and get involved in the Black Lives Matter group and teach them that if their lives matter so much killing each other is not the path to follow. In closing, please do not leave the jail doors ajar at Guantanamo Bay. Box up all your memorabilia and don't let the door hit you on the way out.
I am still wondering why you were given the Nobel Peace Prize? Your only peace centered policy has been to just not get involved and let the fire continue to grow. Kicking out 35 Russian diplomats just because you are mad (really scary) that your Party is the one that had the lamest system so got hacked? Mr. Obama, it is the end of your Presidency and it is too late. You let your constituents down and they voted appropriately. What about our Swords to Plowshares program with Ukraine. We said we would protect them under this agreement and all you did was hide under your desk as Putin walked right in and took part of that country. Guess that is why you used the closed front Resolute desk, like Bill, so no one could see what was going on under there? Your Presidency has escalated world conflict by your do-nothing attitude beyond saying (or sending Kerry in), “Gee, let's be friends and all get along." Mr. Obama, Iran is tied directly to Palestinian Hezbollah and they want Israelis to not exist at all (dead). Peace? And how is this Laissez Faire attitude working in your hometown of Chicago? Go home and get involved in the Black Lives Matter group and teach them that if their lives matter so much killing each other is not the path to follow. In closing, please do not leave the jail doors ajar at Guantanamo Bay. Box up all your memorabilia and don't let the door hit you on the way out.
6
Obama sets red lines? Like the "red line" he drew in 2012 over Syria’s use of chemical weapons that Assad crossed with impunity? Remember "We don't yet have a complete strategy" against Isis in Syria.
Why doesn't he have the decency to fade away? Instead he exits like he governed: on an ocean of words signifying nothing.
Obama leaves the world a far more dangerous place than he found it. His negligence and fecklessness and appeasement created a vacuum that was quickly filled by tyrants and thugs.
On his watch the situation in the Middle East was allowed to fester -- to the point where most experts think the only hope, a two-state solution, is no longer viable. It took Obama eight years to decide that the US should abstain from the Security Council's vote to condemn of Israel's illegal settlements. It took him at least 2 years to remove the road-block to Secretary Kerry's feeble scolding of Netanyahu!
Why doesn't he have the decency to fade away? Instead he exits like he governed: on an ocean of words signifying nothing.
Obama leaves the world a far more dangerous place than he found it. His negligence and fecklessness and appeasement created a vacuum that was quickly filled by tyrants and thugs.
On his watch the situation in the Middle East was allowed to fester -- to the point where most experts think the only hope, a two-state solution, is no longer viable. It took Obama eight years to decide that the US should abstain from the Security Council's vote to condemn of Israel's illegal settlements. It took him at least 2 years to remove the road-block to Secretary Kerry's feeble scolding of Netanyahu!
8
Barack and Michelle, thanks for bringing so much intelligence, grace and love to the White House. You are loved and you will certainly be missed!!!
5
I admire President Obama's desire to 'keep lines of communication open to privately influence Mr. Trump to the degree that he can.' Unfortunately, this may be another case of Obama's optimism being less than grounded in reality. Trump is a 'user.' Right now, he feigns openness because he knows President Obama's popularity is high and his handlers are probably urging him to tread lightly. And... he's scare to death. The longer he sits on the throne, though- surrounded by sycophants and his goon squad- the less open he will be to anything that contradicts his world view (whatever that may be). If President Obama comes to realize that he's being used for PR purposes- but having no impact on this man's thinking or actions- I hope he reverts to playing the game Trump's way. After all, Obama won both the electoral college AND popular vote two times. Trump has never 'beaten' him. He can afford to call Trump out in no uncertain terms, and has absolutely nothing to fear from this petty, vindictive little man. Trump should not be able to intimidate President Obama as he does everyone else in government.
3
Dear Mr President
Free Leonard Peltier.
We will need the voice of this Native American more than ever now. The twisted justice he has been suffering from can be ended with the stroke of your pen. Please remove this dark cloud of suffering from the earth.
Free Leonard Peltier.
We will need the voice of this Native American more than ever now. The twisted justice he has been suffering from can be ended with the stroke of your pen. Please remove this dark cloud of suffering from the earth.
2
I am happy he'll still be in the fray on these issues that are most important to so many marginalized Americans, and I hope he still uses his influence to support action on climate change. He deserves a break in the short term, but he and Michelle have so much to offer the American people and the rest of the world that I hope their seclusion doesn't last too long.
2
What a way to leave the White House, his inner soul revealed. Commute a deviation that committed theft & espionage, endangering his countrymen. Loser!
1
We all know the value of President Obama's "red lines." Just ask the citizens of Aleppo.
5
We must all practice not calling Barack Obama president. But we can't forget that he showed us what an incorruptible, morally unquestionable leadership looks like. Trump's transition has showed us how loose are the laws and rules that would actually mandate a principled presidency.
There's Trump's no-show tax return. His refusal to divest himself of conflict-ridden business assets. His appointment of his own son-in-law as senior advisor. His actual boast, come tomorrow, that he can pretty much do as he wishes in running the West Wing. He even sung of how he could manage both his tangled businesses and the nation simultaneously, which actually is, thankfully, illegal.
Someone just came to him days back with a proposal to build a multi-billion-dollar project abroad. He actually announced that in self-praise. That foreign businessman's approach reinforces, if nothing else, the impression he's given the world that he's still open for business, that he's corruptible.
We must impose the same stringent requirements on our biggest job holder that many of his top subordinates must practice. In fact, the laws should be that much greater, given the outsize importance of his post.
Mr. Obama, whatever you say about him, didn't need to be told how to follow voluntary ethical standards set willingly by his modern-day predecessors. It ran on the honor system, and it was honorable. But the election of Donald Trump has exposed the faults in our country's presidential system.
There's Trump's no-show tax return. His refusal to divest himself of conflict-ridden business assets. His appointment of his own son-in-law as senior advisor. His actual boast, come tomorrow, that he can pretty much do as he wishes in running the West Wing. He even sung of how he could manage both his tangled businesses and the nation simultaneously, which actually is, thankfully, illegal.
Someone just came to him days back with a proposal to build a multi-billion-dollar project abroad. He actually announced that in self-praise. That foreign businessman's approach reinforces, if nothing else, the impression he's given the world that he's still open for business, that he's corruptible.
We must impose the same stringent requirements on our biggest job holder that many of his top subordinates must practice. In fact, the laws should be that much greater, given the outsize importance of his post.
Mr. Obama, whatever you say about him, didn't need to be told how to follow voluntary ethical standards set willingly by his modern-day predecessors. It ran on the honor system, and it was honorable. But the election of Donald Trump has exposed the faults in our country's presidential system.
23
You had your chance at hope and change. Now it's someone else's turn. Go home. Chicago needs a good dose of hope and change right now.
11
And we all know what happens when Obama sets red lines...
4
Yes we do. Syria acquiesces to the destruction of its chemical weapons.
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/world/middleeast/syrias-chemical-arse...
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/world/middleeast/syrias-chemical-arse...
2
Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread.
Make no mistake, President Obama will not be going gently into that good night. By sheer coincidence he and Michelle had already planned a temporary move to Washington for the next couple of years. He will be in the thick of DC political arena. Knowing full well how ill-equipped the Illegitimate One is to manage doing even a competent job, and letting evildoers like Pence, Ryan and McConnell have their way with him, President Obama, 15 years The Idiot's junior, will be as close as one can be to the Red Zone of the Republican Regime. Barack will be our shadow President for as long as The Demagogue can manage to stay in office. For now we NeverTrumpers will be without a president. We are counting on our Dems to make sure not too damage is done while The Idiot is at the helm. God help US.
DD
Manhattan
DD
Manhattan
7
Farewell, President Obama, I do hope you are correct, and that "we will be OK". Those words will be my mantra as I brace for the coming onslaught.
Thank you for your calm leadership and your sacrifice.
Thank you for your calm leadership and your sacrifice.
12
We have a minority of misinformed people who, through the use of Gerrymandering and a dysfunctional Electoral college, republicans used to gain power over our lives.
The majority of We The People have been conned, scammed and robbed of our Government by a mound of hideous greed whose god is money and whose credo is Mother Earth be Damned rape Her for all we can get. Foul the atmosphere , Pollute the water, turn the Garden into a hell we can milk for every dollar.
Trump is illegitimate by any valid measure democracy entails.
The majority of We The People have been conned, scammed and robbed of our Government by a mound of hideous greed whose god is money and whose credo is Mother Earth be Damned rape Her for all we can get. Foul the atmosphere , Pollute the water, turn the Garden into a hell we can milk for every dollar.
Trump is illegitimate by any valid measure democracy entails.
11
President Obama will always be a great note in our countries' and the world's history. He not only helped to forge a new era of how we, as Americans and as people, should think about each other. In the process, the opposition to his graciousness and compassion fought and attacked him not only in a policy stance but also personally. He developed thick skin and never seemed to allow the personal attacks to enter into his job as President. His greatest speech was in Charleston, SC after the horrific shooting at the church. To me, that was a defining moment in our history.
We have a long way to go as our Democracy is a living entity, with movement to either the Left or Right from time to time. We perform best when we follow our hearts, with high road ethics and morays in the teachings of the great religious leaders in world history.
Obama may have wanted to accomplished even more, as some/most of us on the Progressive/Liberal side wished to see, but the Office of the Presidency and the politics of the times tempered those desires, sometimes to a fault.
To those who wish to see Obama to "stay home and shut up", I see that as capitulation. Without opposition where applicable, our Democracy becomes stagnant, never grows, and has the opportunity to become a despotic, tyrannical form of govt. If there is no opposition to lies, corruption and despotic power (If we allow one way of thinking without sensible, peaceful, sane, and intelligent debate), then we have no Democracy.
We have a long way to go as our Democracy is a living entity, with movement to either the Left or Right from time to time. We perform best when we follow our hearts, with high road ethics and morays in the teachings of the great religious leaders in world history.
Obama may have wanted to accomplished even more, as some/most of us on the Progressive/Liberal side wished to see, but the Office of the Presidency and the politics of the times tempered those desires, sometimes to a fault.
To those who wish to see Obama to "stay home and shut up", I see that as capitulation. Without opposition where applicable, our Democracy becomes stagnant, never grows, and has the opportunity to become a despotic, tyrannical form of govt. If there is no opposition to lies, corruption and despotic power (If we allow one way of thinking without sensible, peaceful, sane, and intelligent debate), then we have no Democracy.
33
Barack Obama's race and blind Republican jealousy of a man, eloquent, powerfully knowledgable, graceful and madly in love with his equal, Michelle, I believe, doomed him to an 8-year tantrum of obstruction. No one in this country could have accomplished what Barack Obama did in light of that tsunami of hatred and still come out an intact and productive human being. I am inspired by the strength of the individual shown by our departing president and pray for his and his family's continued health.
64
Obama is an elegant man who appears to respect and love his wife. He presents himself well and is a great orator. That said, I'd enjoy hearing precisely what he did in eight years other than improve jobs, which mainly are part time and therefore the worker has to pay their own health insurance. Was it Solynda? Was it Cars for Clunkers where the gov't paid up to $3500 per car? Was it Shovel Ready Jobs? Was it his great success in the Middle East or the great success he's had internationally with our allies? Every President makes errors but goodness, most of his were expensive, both financially and n our standing in the world. Was it rushing to judgement about police intervention prior to the facts being revealed? I don't dislike him and I'm not thrilled with Trump, particularly with his crass manner and language. However, the test will be what mistakes he makes and at what magnitude they are. Meanwhile, like I did with Obama, I support him. It's a very difficult job.
4
Annabelle:
For starters, He did everything he could to protect our earth.
He appointed an AG who looked out for our liberties, He supported the rights of "All" of us. He saved the auto industry. He pulled us out of the republican disaster that was hurling us into a depression. He appointed Merrick Garland to fill the supreme court vacancy, who republicans refused to hold hearing for. The list of Obstruction by republicans goes on and on...Where have you been?
TV stuck on the Fox channel? Radio on Limbaugh?
For starters, He did everything he could to protect our earth.
He appointed an AG who looked out for our liberties, He supported the rights of "All" of us. He saved the auto industry. He pulled us out of the republican disaster that was hurling us into a depression. He appointed Merrick Garland to fill the supreme court vacancy, who republicans refused to hold hearing for. The list of Obstruction by republicans goes on and on...Where have you been?
TV stuck on the Fox channel? Radio on Limbaugh?
1
So glad to see him go. A joyful goodbye and wishing you a wonderful life. Imagine what all you could do for humanity if you lived abroad!!
4
We all know how good BHO is with red lines......
3
Do you actually believe this President? Remember Syria, Lybia, Egipt, Russia (invaded Ukraine) red lines? Nothing happened, Obama is too much talk no freaking action. Glad he will be gone tomorrow. What is is legacy? LGBT rights .. big deal!
4
How do you know he didn't do anything. Do we ever really know? So much of our military interventions are covert. If you think Congress votes on our warfare, you're fooling yourself -- still. Obama isn't the first nor will he be the last to operate in that manner. He promised transparency. You think that's what you got for these eight years?
1
the eloquent and elegant mr obama is about to leave the stage...but not the theater. thank you president obama for your service to this country and for the comfort you afford by staying in washington and being involved in politics.
6
I love obama's red line. Let's talk about the Syria red line. He is the boy that cried wolf. Oh wait I can't use boy, it's racialially offensive...
5
Let's talk about the Syria red line. That red line got Syria to hand over its chemical weapons arsenal.
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/world/middleeast/syrias-chemical-arse...
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/world/middleeast/syrias-chemical-arse...
2
I will miss him. The country will soon find out just how badly they will miss him.
We are losing an intelligent, thoughtful and deliberative man and installing an ADHD adolescent possessing all the qualities of an egomaniacal schoolyard bully lacking judgement and personal restraint. To say nothing of his lying and questionable business practices.
Turbulent days ahead for America.
We are losing an intelligent, thoughtful and deliberative man and installing an ADHD adolescent possessing all the qualities of an egomaniacal schoolyard bully lacking judgement and personal restraint. To say nothing of his lying and questionable business practices.
Turbulent days ahead for America.
7
Oh yeah, #BarackObama will not be gone. To keep the country divided as best he can, he will continue to race-bait and community agitate with the stature of former President as collateral.
#BarackObama is a sociopathic liar, a national disgrace, aids illegals in avoiding deportation, an enemy of the Constitution, TREASONOUSLY encourages illegals to vote, is decimating our military, politicizes death to meet his gun control agenda, racially divisive, a promoter of black genocide by abortion, has engineered the weakest economic recovery in the post-war era, denies the threat of radical Islam and then supports that threat, a communist sympathizer and a traitor to civilization. That is his disastrous legacy.
#BarackObama is a sociopathic liar, a national disgrace, aids illegals in avoiding deportation, an enemy of the Constitution, TREASONOUSLY encourages illegals to vote, is decimating our military, politicizes death to meet his gun control agenda, racially divisive, a promoter of black genocide by abortion, has engineered the weakest economic recovery in the post-war era, denies the threat of radical Islam and then supports that threat, a communist sympathizer and a traitor to civilization. That is his disastrous legacy.
11
I will truly miss President Barack Obama,god bless America...
2
The press will walk a fine line trying to stay in the White House with this next president. Trump will become incensed with them if they criticize what needs to be criticized, expose what needs to be exposed, and paint an accurate picture of reality for the rest of us about the doings of man who would prefer they report verbatim the inaccuracy, hyperbole and fake news he generates.
4
I supported President Obama, sent money to his campaigns for president, voted for him twice and I am still a loyal Democrat. But soon after he took over the White House it became clear that he considered himself above the political fray and that schmoozing across the aisle, something that is a necessary component of the political process, was not something he would lower himself to do.
Sure, the Republicans were obstructionists, but he made it easy for them to justify that position. He had no real experience in the political world, a new US Senator who voted "present" for most of the bills put before him, a former state senator and community organizer. His inexperience showed.
And unfortunately, the Democratic Party lost more majorities in state legislatures during his tenure than in the last 75 years, with the result being gerrymandering to an extreme scale and ALEC-sponsored bills becoming the norm. It was a slow drip, drip, drip erosion of Democratic positioning across the country, and the president admitted his failure recently, saying that he wished he had shown the zeal and support for Dems during the mid-term elections as he displayed when he was running for election and re-election.
He had the mandate in 2008, he had the White House, the Senate and the House, and even though - yes - he had to deal with an economic crises left to him by W, he had an opportunity to push through legislation that would have been VERY difficult for the Republicans to dismantle.
Sure, the Republicans were obstructionists, but he made it easy for them to justify that position. He had no real experience in the political world, a new US Senator who voted "present" for most of the bills put before him, a former state senator and community organizer. His inexperience showed.
And unfortunately, the Democratic Party lost more majorities in state legislatures during his tenure than in the last 75 years, with the result being gerrymandering to an extreme scale and ALEC-sponsored bills becoming the norm. It was a slow drip, drip, drip erosion of Democratic positioning across the country, and the president admitted his failure recently, saying that he wished he had shown the zeal and support for Dems during the mid-term elections as he displayed when he was running for election and re-election.
He had the mandate in 2008, he had the White House, the Senate and the House, and even though - yes - he had to deal with an economic crises left to him by W, he had an opportunity to push through legislation that would have been VERY difficult for the Republicans to dismantle.
13
He reached across the aisle many times. And that hand got slapped back every single time by those whose only stated goal was to obstruct his every move.
3
To paraphrase Motley Crue:
Mr President, don’t go away mad
Mr Obama, just go away
Please just go away.
Mr President, don’t go away mad
Mr Obama, just go away
Please just go away.
8
Here goes obama and his red lines again. when other countries cross his red line, does he do anything? No. Will this be any different? Probably not.
5
It takes a strong personality with a great deal of courage to have the humility to change course, negotiate behind the scenes with no fanfare and stand firm in the face of attacks and slurs from the people they represent.
Bush's tough guy stance sacrificed thousands of American and coalition troops, and hundreds and thousands of Iraqi lives and set the Arabian peninsula ablaze - the world is still paying for it in every day in more and more blood and tears.
You would have preferred Obama repeat that destructive course of action? Which, by the way, has been repeating and failing for hundreds of years - the great game goes on.
Bush's tough guy stance sacrificed thousands of American and coalition troops, and hundreds and thousands of Iraqi lives and set the Arabian peninsula ablaze - the world is still paying for it in every day in more and more blood and tears.
You would have preferred Obama repeat that destructive course of action? Which, by the way, has been repeating and failing for hundreds of years - the great game goes on.
So.....are these Mr. Obama's new "Red Lines"?
2
it is amazing ; how Mr Obama would not pardon or commute the sentence of Jonathan Pollard , who served a full sentence of 30 yrs, and still has restrictions on him for 5 yrs after being released . Mr or Miss Manning created much greater damage affected many people in many countries . and was published for all to know.
6
Mr. President, we love you here at our house, and we know you love us back. Your first inauguration day was our daughter's 10th birthday, and she grew up on your watch, which is something she'll always have. She was to have come of age on day one of Madame President, which is now kaput. And here we shamble like zombies toward tomorrow, when this country will bear out what its lesser, darker, dimmer half has been eight years proving: that it just isn't good enough to have the likes of you leading it. Boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly to the slime. I deplore.
31
How about freeing Leonard Peltier? Isn't a "core value" having a system of justice that is fair? The guy has been in prison for decades due to a sham of a trial, dubious facts, and the FBI having been firmly infiltrated in the Lakota Nation? The guy has served enough time. Two FBI agents were killed, and many Lakota. So what weights what in your view of justice Mr. President? This is very disappointing and he will surely die in jail because of your unwillingness to truly take this on. And now we get Trump... jesus.
1
I hope to never hear from Obama again .
9
Who cares about Obama and any lines? He was, is, and will be a failure. Anyone so consumed with hatred toward his fellow man is doomed to be insignificant. His insignificance is his own doing. He wants to be in the one percent with the white half of himself, not in the ghetto with the black half of himself. Anybody remember him ever talk about being white? EVER? NO! Yet, it was his "white privileged" mother, grandmother and grandfather that provided him with opportunity. Not Frank Marshall Davis his Communist father and "mentor" that poisoned him with hatred. His whole life is an illusion...a fraud... And now, realizing his real legacy, not the rose colored legacy he has tried to perpetrate on anyone who would listen, he is like an eight year old throwing a tantrum: kicking holes in the walls, breaking his toys, and throwing his gifts back in his parents faces. Why? Because he sees a real man in action. A man that has accomplished more in the two months before he is actually POTUS than he was able to do in eight years. He WANTS in the fray because he is drunk on power...power he misused, misdirected, and misunderstood, the worst error of all. Just give us peace. Go away. Sit down. Shut up. And leave us to straighten out the mess YOU created. You have no place here. You never had one to begin with. Lies are powerful when you want to believe they are truth. Just like Eve, then Adam, wanted to believe the serpent.
6
So he reenters the fray and does what? He'll blab about how Trump is ruining the country just like every other democratic politician. He's good at getting himself elected, but as a party leader he was a disaster on the scale of the Titanic. He's got no ability to change the political landscape.
10
As yang steps forward, yin steps back. I hate to see you go, Mr. President. And I don't think we can say we hardly knew you. God bless you for choosing to live in Washington. And God bless the United States of America.
5
Same red lines he established for Syria's use of chemical weapons, and he did not adhere to?
5
But if we are to believe Tulsi Gabbard, Obama actually did retaliate in Syria.
Those who are truly looking forward to the Trump presidency...has decrease in number a tad since the election as more become afflicted with buyer's remorse.
But hey...it's all good in Trumpistan...why, just look at that number Der Donald can boast and brag about...he's broken more records than any incoming President in U.S. history, he'll absolutely love that fact.
But hey...it's all good in Trumpistan...why, just look at that number Der Donald can boast and brag about...he's broken more records than any incoming President in U.S. history, he'll absolutely love that fact.
3
To paraphrase Shakespeare, nothing became G.W. Bush's presidency as the leaving it. Barack Obama would do well to consider that before he sets himself up as some sort of shadow President. That would be an unmitigated (and unprecedented) disaster.
10
Oh my, more red lines? And just how are we to know when he really, really means it?
7
I never once had to even give a thought to Barack Obama embarrassing or demeaning one single woman.
Oh, what we're in for!
Oh, what we're in for!
14
I have witnessed ten men become POTUS. Obama is the first president that actually made me care about politics and our country. Conversely, IMO, Trump is the most disgusting man to occupy the office in my lifetime. I am cutting the cable cord so I can avoid hearing his voice for the next few years as it makes me cringe. I would sooner slit my wrists than have to watch Trump walk into the White House. I have NO respect for the man. Trump may be POTUS, but he is not MY President.
21
"Red lines", really? Unfortunate choice of words, given the context...
7
Sad to see him go, but happy he'll be around. But I fear for his safety.
2
Based on what? And he will still have life time Secret Service protection. Honestly, where do people come up with this stuff?!?
3
So he isnt giving up leadership with the presidency. Oh dear. Divided authority isnt good.
4
Your words, not his.
1
Thank you, Mr. Obama. We are a better nation for your having held the office with dignity, compassion and knowledge gained from study and experience.
Wishing you well on the next phase of your life and comforted to know that you will stay engaged in the nation's political, social and economic life.
Wishing you well on the next phase of your life and comforted to know that you will stay engaged in the nation's political, social and economic life.
10
I believe I've heard the phrase "red line" before.
4
Obama, he always was very conscious he was the black man in the white house. He tried his best to thread the needle of race relations only to see those relations not getting any better.
He was very well aware of the aspirations and hopes that his presidency raised in the public. He tried to walk the fine line between playing politics, building a consensus and working towards those aspirations. Ultimately, he gave up consensus building in order to achieve at least a little of what he set out to do.
He knew there is new world order that is taking over and struggled to define America's role in that without compromising his ideals and ideology. He realized the world will go it's merry way even without America doing anything.
And, in a strange way, Obama's strong desire to appear to be equanimous and the equally strong desire of a congress that wanted to obstruct him at everything, the whole institution of Presidency lost it's relevance.
We have a Trump for president, now.
He was very well aware of the aspirations and hopes that his presidency raised in the public. He tried to walk the fine line between playing politics, building a consensus and working towards those aspirations. Ultimately, he gave up consensus building in order to achieve at least a little of what he set out to do.
He knew there is new world order that is taking over and struggled to define America's role in that without compromising his ideals and ideology. He realized the world will go it's merry way even without America doing anything.
And, in a strange way, Obama's strong desire to appear to be equanimous and the equally strong desire of a congress that wanted to obstruct him at everything, the whole institution of Presidency lost it's relevance.
We have a Trump for president, now.
3
Again with the red lines? Let's not forget the disasterous consequences of the last time he tried that.
3
Tradition has it that former presidents don't involve themselves in public commentary regarding the actions and performance of a current president. The same standard applies to a president-elect; especially having direct communication/interaction with foreign leaders. At this desperate time; damn tradition - especially since Mr. Trump has already done so - President Obama. We need you more then ever!
12
Listening to his last press conference -- and the farewell address -- I felt that my decision vote for him twice was the right choice and made me proud of that decision. Thank you, Mr. President for job well done and made us proud about our leader.
14
Red lines and President Obama don't really go together. Apparently the NYT doesn't remember Obama's red line in Syria. In hindsight failure to act in Syria was pragmatic since most of the negative impact occurred outside US borders.
Policies and opinions aside Obama tried to give the American people what he told us he would try and give us. Granted he ignored inconvenient laws and, in a few cases, the Constitution but he did pursue his campaign promises. The man has integrity.
Let's hope President Trump is as faithful to his own campaign promises.
Policies and opinions aside Obama tried to give the American people what he told us he would try and give us. Granted he ignored inconvenient laws and, in a few cases, the Constitution but he did pursue his campaign promises. The man has integrity.
Let's hope President Trump is as faithful to his own campaign promises.
2
Yes, let us hope that Trump is as faithful to his own campaign promises. The rich will get richer at the expense of everyone else. Millions of people will lose their health insurance. We'll waste billions of dollars on a wall while our public education dollars go to private schools, and large portions of our population will worry about their future more than ever before.
What a wonderful world it will be.
What a wonderful world it will be.
17
If you are Catholic and conservative, my guess is you are mainly interested in two of Trump's campaign promises: overturn Roe v. Wade and abolish same sex marriages. In other words, you're hoping Trump returns America to the good old days when women died in back alleys and people were arrested for frequenting gay bars.
1
While we all having our feelings about President Obama, we should remember his words that the change we seek lies within us, not in a single person. WE are still here. We can still work together to make the world we want. I will miss Barak too, but I am still here and I am marching on Saturday with thousands who support our vision. I am not alone. None of us are.
8
Over half of voting Americans will miss a leader who can actually speak and think in more than 140 character snippets.
11
Thank you Mr. president. Alas, I dread the next four years and cannot bring myself to call the next occupant my president.
9
Obama will always remain in my heart my president and I will support his plans to tackle gerrymanding , racism and all the. Obnoxious things that infantile Trump does. I am glad I lived during a time to see a president of his stature and class. I won't watch Trumps inauguration. It's like watching the US be hijacked by terrorists. That's how I see it. Doubt you will print this.
11
Commuting the sentence of Manning was perceived by us in the military as a final slap in the face. absolutely unbelievable
4
Well, we know what hppens when Obama draws red lines. Nothing. I think it's time for him to follow the guidelines of previous presidents when their last term is over. Shut up, go home, enjoy retirement and let the new regime take over. Anything less than that supports the notion that his arrogance is and was his downfall.
5
Edmund Burke famously said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
I can think of no good reason for Obama - or any other decent person - to remain quiet at this point in time.
I can think of no good reason for Obama - or any other decent person - to remain quiet at this point in time.
1
The underlying vitriol in this article was uncalled for. I suggest Mr. Shear and Mr. Baker re-read what they wrote. Even the use of the term "red lines" was obviously intended to disparage President Obama's intent. Is this a news piece or an opinion piece? If the latter, that should have been specified. If the former it should not have been run.
3
The White House press corp will miss him tremendously, and they know it, because in a few hours the country begins a self-imposed journey into the wilderness.
6
Haha. "A self-imposed journey into the wilderness". Both poignant and funny.
If only he had kept his word on the "red line" he drew for Syria. It serves no good purpose for him to try to set up a "shadow government". There was plenty of drama- just didn't fit the narrative we were being spoon fed by the media, hence, we got Trump.
2
Shadow Government? since when is disagreement, dissent or challenge viewed as a shadow government. Sounds like the definition from a dictator's handbook.
Red line: nobody wanted boots on the ground or bombs. The peaceful removal of 1,300 tons of Syria’s chemical weapons was achieved.
"Congress and the American people proved strongly opposed to the use of force. In the end, however, the threat of military action and a surprise offer by Russia ended up achieving something no one had imagined possible: the peaceful removal of 1,300 tons of Syria’s chemical weapons (there have been reports of stray weapons and widespread use of industrial chemicals like chlorine, but no evidence of systematic deception on the part of the Syrian government). "
Red line: nobody wanted boots on the ground or bombs. The peaceful removal of 1,300 tons of Syria’s chemical weapons was achieved.
"Congress and the American people proved strongly opposed to the use of force. In the end, however, the threat of military action and a surprise offer by Russia ended up achieving something no one had imagined possible: the peaceful removal of 1,300 tons of Syria’s chemical weapons (there have been reports of stray weapons and widespread use of industrial chemicals like chlorine, but no evidence of systematic deception on the part of the Syrian government). "
An Obama red line? I'm sure the Trumpster is quaking in his boots at that threat. After all, look at everything Obama did following his red line on Syria using chemical weapons against its own people.
3
Since 2009, Republicans have gained seats in the Senate, House, state legislatures as well as governors and now the White House all under Obama's watch. Democrats should advise this failed president to stay home and shut up to prevent further losses.
9
We should not blame Obama for the ignorance of our electorate. That is on each and every one of us.
2
Unfortunately, he set many red lines which he then ignored. Perhaps he has learned, but confrontation is just not in his nature.
2
Maybe peace would have broken out with a different kind of White House, one less committed to waging a perpetual campaign—a White House that would see a 51-48 victory a call to humility and compromise rather than an irrefutable mandate.
—Senator Barack Obama in his book written shortly after the 2004 election of George W. Bush by 51-48—the same margin Obama won in the 2012 election!
The Washington Post on Sunday, Karen DeYoung and Dan Balz observed that while Obama’s no-strategy remark “may have had the virtue of candor,” it in no way projected “an image of presidential resolve or decisiveness at a time of international turmoil.”
"It's not what I would have recommended at a moment of crisis,” says Henry Kissinger of the President’s acknowledgment that we do not have a strategy against ISIS
"At one point he [Netanyahu] scolded the president — the president of the United States!…"
Shocking! Simply shocking!
You probably believe a president is immune from criticism—especially Obama.
Let's get this straight. Obama's face is not on Mt. Rushmore—yet.
If he lies he should be told he is a liar.
If he has radicals as friends that he wants to put into positions of government power he should be exposed for it.
If he has covered up political scandals and his errors of judgment someone has to open their mouths.
If we followed your awe of Obama we would not have rid our country of a president like Nixon who disgraced the office of the presidency.
1
President Obama has helped to show us how we can all become better people. (Unfortunately, many had chosen to do the exact opposite.)
It will be a daily inspiration to know that he and Michelle will remain close to us.
Thank you both.
It will be a daily inspiration to know that he and Michelle will remain close to us.
Thank you both.
8
The last press conference means he can today do the Big Pardons without worrying about answering any questions from any actual journalists. He can pardon
Hillary Clinton
Eric Holder
Loretta Lynch
and any others he thinks might mention his name if put under oath.
But he cannot pardon himself.
Hillary Clinton
Eric Holder
Loretta Lynch
and any others he thinks might mention his name if put under oath.
But he cannot pardon himself.
2
It's so hard for me to read or hear anything about President Obama. 1. I shall miss him so much. 2. The thought of Trump taking over makes my stomach churn.
6
Well, unlike the red line in Syrian, which was not enforced (leading to deaths of hundreds of thousands of mostly innocents), I'm sure this red line, deisgned to ensure the freedom of traitors like Manning (who owes his freedom to his status as a member of a minority group identified with the Democrat Party) rather than the defense of the US, will be enforced. Ensuring illegals are allowed to remain and vote against American interests, ensuring that illegals can vote, ensuring that victims of Communist dictatorships (e.g., Cuba), who might vote against the leftist march toward communism if given refuge in the US, are sent back to their torturers, ensuring that Islamist crazies, who overwhemingly vote Democrat, are welcomed to America, ensuring that friends of America (e.g., Israel) are treated as enemies, increasing welfare to (mostly) Democrat voters, while starving the military (whose members mostly vote against the Democrats) -- these are the kind of red lines Obama is likely to enforce, as best he can as a discredited President.
2
So, now we go from "I put in that category explicit or functional obstacles to people being able to vote, to exercise their franchise. I’d put in that category institutional efforts to silence dissent or the press. " to "No puppet, no puppet- you're the puppet!"
A great eight years, Mr. President, thank you.
A great eight years, Mr. President, thank you.
5
As a nation we have been blessed to have as President for the past eight years. He has served with grace, intelligence, and a sense of humor. He cared.
7
It was an extraordinary speech from an extraordinary man. Thoughtful, well considered, and well spoken from his heart, mind and commitment for the last eight 8 years. Was he perfect? No, but then none of us are. But I sincerely believe he gave all he had, to do the best job he could with dignity, grace and diplomacy, the likes of which will be missing from the president elect as already demonstrated in his behavior over the past year and a half.
President Obama led the country through the most difficult periods of obstructionism in our times and yet always with dignity and thoughtful respect. I am neither a DEM or GOP but I will miss this man and am grateful for how he managed the last eight years.
And, what are we looking forward to…………a man who cannot even speak in coherent sentences, who is nasty, disrespectful, crude, unknowledgeable, unwilling to learn because his ego is to big to listen, and a blatant liar. I fear for the very foundation of America that is in jeopardy with this most unqualified personage we have ever had in the White House with his billionaire “courtiers” who follow him like blind mad hatters down the rabbit hole, disdainfully leaving the majority of our citizens abandoned. His choices for Cabinets heads are a collection of people who either have no experience for the cabinet they are being selected for or who have a history of being rabidly against the very purpose of that cabinet. Heaven help us……………..
President Obama led the country through the most difficult periods of obstructionism in our times and yet always with dignity and thoughtful respect. I am neither a DEM or GOP but I will miss this man and am grateful for how he managed the last eight years.
And, what are we looking forward to…………a man who cannot even speak in coherent sentences, who is nasty, disrespectful, crude, unknowledgeable, unwilling to learn because his ego is to big to listen, and a blatant liar. I fear for the very foundation of America that is in jeopardy with this most unqualified personage we have ever had in the White House with his billionaire “courtiers” who follow him like blind mad hatters down the rabbit hole, disdainfully leaving the majority of our citizens abandoned. His choices for Cabinets heads are a collection of people who either have no experience for the cabinet they are being selected for or who have a history of being rabidly against the very purpose of that cabinet. Heaven help us……………..
75
Please spare us. Unless he's asked by the new president he should follow the example of most of his predecessors and go quietly into silence. But this man's ego and narcissism are so immense he will likely have trouble doing so.
8
Calling out Obama for his "ego and narcissism" is pretty incredible in the face of Donald Trump's inauguration.
Spare us, indeed.
Spare us, indeed.
2
Oh they can both be huge egoists - it's not a one or the other thing.
Obama and Carter have been the most morally enlightened presidents in my lifetime, and I was born in the last years of FDR. These pseudo-Republicans have no business in a democratic republic. They are actually pool boys and maids in Mammon's perverted bathhouse.
3
Does enlightened mean economically destructive?
3
Well, it is clear that it's not just academic anymore, folks.
Today is a major milestone.
Those who believed that the messengers of signs of democratic deterioration were Cassandras--they are being proven wrong every day.
We've gone from Levitsky and Ziblatt's identification of academic indicators of our country becoming unmoored from democracy (Is Donald Trump a Threat to Democracy? The New York Times DEc. 16, 2016), to the President Obama raising an actual alarm that Trump poses a threat to some of our most cherished rights, including the rights to vote and freedom of the press. And that he poses a Gestapo-like threat to round up kids, as well as to commit systematic discrimination.
Today is a major milestone.
Those who believed that the messengers of signs of democratic deterioration were Cassandras--they are being proven wrong every day.
We've gone from Levitsky and Ziblatt's identification of academic indicators of our country becoming unmoored from democracy (Is Donald Trump a Threat to Democracy? The New York Times DEc. 16, 2016), to the President Obama raising an actual alarm that Trump poses a threat to some of our most cherished rights, including the rights to vote and freedom of the press. And that he poses a Gestapo-like threat to round up kids, as well as to commit systematic discrimination.
A philosopher-king-like leader is about to be replaced by a fraudulent, thin-skinned narcissist with explosive hatred, who will now get his hands on the nuclear codes. The whole world trembles.
7
Viewed from afar, I am sure most of us in the liberal west outside of the US view the imminent departure of President Obama with concern, and not relief. If we had a vote he would be a shoo-in for a third term, constitutional amendment and all. Why? Because he was a liberal, because he was thoughtful, because he realised the leader of the US is the leader of the liberal western world, and he did try and lead. He did some good, at least as we see it. And he did no harm, either to us or his fellow citizens. A world in which the US is no longer liberal, no longer the leader of a loose confederation of like minded liberal states, is a world that fills us with great trepidation.
4
The increase in Mr Obama's approval rating is less a matter of a job well done Mr President and more an indicator of the nation's disapproval of the incoming president and his administration. Regardless of the reason it gives Mr Obama an excellent opportunity to actively confront the new administration and help protect the nation from monied special interest groups and industry deregulation.
2
The upswing in Obama's approval rating is clearly a case of the American public realizing that you don't know what you've got till it's gone. After a few years of the upcoming Trumpster fire, we will all sit back and regret the days that were wasted under a good and decent president.
1
President Obama will be formidable as a voice for reason. He is at his best when speaking in poetry rather than governing in prose. Under his leadership Democrats have essentially lost government. But as a lone voice he is unmatched.
1
It's very nice that President Bush declined to weigh in on President Obama's decisions--but then, he didn't have to. VP Cheney made a point of publicly denouncing everything Obama did and said. He was harsh and relentless. Let's not forget that.
6
I will not leave Washington D. C. in my mind. Those of us who feel we got outsmarted will remain as guerrillas. In time, I believe those voters who were so fervently for Trump are going to realize they are being played. Voters regret will follow.
1
Mr. Obam, please fade away like all good ex-presidents as you are not in power now. I hope one of the first things Mr. Trump and congress do is make it a Federal Law that all voters in the furture must have Federal Approved State Identification that is free to all people to vote in any state or federal election! This would keep all the "dead" people from voting for republicans as well as democrats! Now who and why would anyone have a problem with this law?
7
Voter fraud is infinitesimal. The number of good, hard working Americans who would be prevented from voting due to such a law would far outweigh the benefits of stamping out a non-existent problem. Voter ID laws do nothing but discriminate against poor people and minorities, which is exactly why Republicans love them so much.
Wake up.
Wake up.
1
I have a problem with this proposed law. First, many people cannot afford the fees associated with such an ID. Thus, it amounts to a poll tax. Second, the background documents necessary for such a federal ID are not readily available to many people--especially those born in rural areas. Third, and more fundamentally, your proposal is a fix in search of a problem. There is no in-person voter fraud--except in the form of Republican-controlled state governments illegally purging people from their voter rolls--widespread enough to justify a law that would prevent thousands of qualified voters from being able to vote.
How about we make it easier to vote rather than harder. How about a law that automatically registers voters as soon as they are eligible? Seems to be working great in Oregon! After all, isn't voting a sacred foundation of our democracy? While we are at it, I propose a national holiday for election day. It would help lots of our fellow citizens vote. Also, how about expanded early voting rather than restrictive, shortened early voting as Republican-controlled state governments have enacted?
How about we make it easier to vote rather than harder. How about a law that automatically registers voters as soon as they are eligible? Seems to be working great in Oregon! After all, isn't voting a sacred foundation of our democracy? While we are at it, I propose a national holiday for election day. It would help lots of our fellow citizens vote. Also, how about expanded early voting rather than restrictive, shortened early voting as Republican-controlled state governments have enacted?
3
It's free.
2
No Americans are perhaps more disappointed with him than those of us who believed in him and supported him early in his run (2007)...there was such inspiration in his seemingly heartfelt rhetoric for 'hope and change' and his promise to transform American politics and to unite us all.
Voters trusted and believed in him...giving him not only the Presidency but majorities in both the Senate and House in order to give him a clear mandate.
By 2011, it became clear that he's a masterful orator and politician, but not an agent of the change we all longed for. Obama was and is incapable of shedding his identity as a politician, an ideologue and a partisan democrat. It's who he is and he cannot seem to get past it.
So much opportunity squandered as his promise of 'Yes we can' was never delivered. Deep down inside, what most Americans want is someone who is capable, once elected, to put aside politics and party and to try their best to represent ALL Americans. By the way, that's American citizens, not illegal immigrants.
Voters trusted and believed in him...giving him not only the Presidency but majorities in both the Senate and House in order to give him a clear mandate.
By 2011, it became clear that he's a masterful orator and politician, but not an agent of the change we all longed for. Obama was and is incapable of shedding his identity as a politician, an ideologue and a partisan democrat. It's who he is and he cannot seem to get past it.
So much opportunity squandered as his promise of 'Yes we can' was never delivered. Deep down inside, what most Americans want is someone who is capable, once elected, to put aside politics and party and to try their best to represent ALL Americans. By the way, that's American citizens, not illegal immigrants.
17
Obama tried to be exactly what you longed for. You're putting blame where it doesn't belong. The GOP has tried to bring our government to a grinding halt for decades, and we continue to reward them with control of it.
Perhaps Donald Trump and his contrarian cabinet appointments will finally open people's eyes to the destructive power of the right, but I doubt it. America remains blissfully ignorant for now.
Perhaps Donald Trump and his contrarian cabinet appointments will finally open people's eyes to the destructive power of the right, but I doubt it. America remains blissfully ignorant for now.
1
Beautifully put, Melinda...
Sorry Melinda. No one man can do it alone. Why did democratic voters stay home in 2012 and 2014? Perhaps if they voted, he would have been able to accomplish so much more. Obama was a great president leaving office with 60% approval rating.
Thank you, Mr. President. This is my 70th year of being. Of those I remember, I can say, with nary an asterisk nor footnote, that you have been the finest leader not merely of our nation, but of the entire Free World.
There are others -- Thomas Merton, Mahatma Gandhi, and those who found they were chosen to give there lives for our Freedoms and the freedoms of others, perhaps unwittingly, yet each did so because she or he chose to step forward and be counted.
That simple act, one foot, then another, whether in war or in the ghettos of our nation or in our dark hearts those corners where bigotry lingers like mist and whispered words of hate still are heard every bit as much as felt every day.
I count the good, and try to forgive the ignorance that has given us what some might say we deserve: our own struggle with the meaning of freedom and love and kindness and the ceaseless struggle to hold onto it, even when we look into the face of our new President. May God bless him and lead him to truth.
President Obama, I will not forget you. Nor will those in my family and those in hidden places all across our always and forever Great Nation. These rememberers will not step back from what must be done. I know it.
And, finally, I pray...I beg...The Lord Buddha and The Lord God and His Son...to open our eyes and the eyes of he who now leads us, for better or worse.
For we have made this nation what it is today, not he.
Now, let us get to work.
There are others -- Thomas Merton, Mahatma Gandhi, and those who found they were chosen to give there lives for our Freedoms and the freedoms of others, perhaps unwittingly, yet each did so because she or he chose to step forward and be counted.
That simple act, one foot, then another, whether in war or in the ghettos of our nation or in our dark hearts those corners where bigotry lingers like mist and whispered words of hate still are heard every bit as much as felt every day.
I count the good, and try to forgive the ignorance that has given us what some might say we deserve: our own struggle with the meaning of freedom and love and kindness and the ceaseless struggle to hold onto it, even when we look into the face of our new President. May God bless him and lead him to truth.
President Obama, I will not forget you. Nor will those in my family and those in hidden places all across our always and forever Great Nation. These rememberers will not step back from what must be done. I know it.
And, finally, I pray...I beg...The Lord Buddha and The Lord God and His Son...to open our eyes and the eyes of he who now leads us, for better or worse.
For we have made this nation what it is today, not he.
Now, let us get to work.
44
I'm 62 and as I look back President Obama was clearly the most intelligent, thoughtful, brave and inspirational president I've had. He had to work with a Republican party which lost it's morals groveling for the money and power which is all they care about. I'm reassured he's staying in Washington to be the moral compass this country needs.
2
Tuesday I had dinner with a Political Science major in a masters program in Paris at a school with many foreign influences. They were very appreciative and discussed how much Europe generally loves Obama. We will see how they feel about Trump. But Trump projects the "ugly American" attitude that is grating where we talk down to our neighbors in other countries. We shall see.
1
With you brother!
Aside from being a historical figure of the first order and obviously an upstanding person, Obama was not a particularly effective president. His middle four years, in particular, were listless and essentially wasted, as he attempted repeatedly to achieve a grand bargain with a malevolent outfit that could not be bargained with. Obama may be of more help to democracy in the years to come. I suspect he understands that he has not yet fully redeemed himself.
He lost me the moment he felt he was qualified and informed to weigh in on the arrest of that Harvard professor breaking into his own home at night, and later, taking the side of criminals (seemingly only the black ones) involved in altercations with citizens and police.
Good riddance.
Good riddance.
7
Tremendously opposed to Trump, in a way I hope he becomes a full-blown dictator as he has consistently indicated by his own actions. It could be that America needs to experience what it means to live in a dictatorship so that this mistake would not be repeated and good leaders like Obama would be appreciated.
2
"Mr. Obama continued: “I put in that category if I saw systematic discrimination being ratified in some fashion. I put in that category explicit or functional obstacles to people being able to vote, to exercise their franchise. I’d put in that category institutional efforts to silence dissent or the press. And for me at least, I would put in that category efforts to round up kids who have grown up here and for all practical purposes are American kids, and send them someplace else, when they love this country.”
All good points. none of which President-elect Trump is willing to do. Obama just made the strongest racist statement ever.
All good points. none of which President-elect Trump is willing to do. Obama just made the strongest racist statement ever.
1
All of these things are talking points Trump has eluded to - blatantly or subtly - at one point or another during his campaign. Wake up.
2
Obama has been the most overrated and oversold president the US ever had.
A messiah who received so many advance honours like the Nobel Peace Price but then failed entirely to deliver.
The only positive thing that is left of him was that he really tried to deliver on the health insurance issue.
Apart from that he holds a number of records for having run the most wars for the longest duration of any US president, having destabilized entire regions, having lost every credibility abroad and having broken the US social fabric into pieces in just 8 years.
At the same time Obama also has done something no other president has ever archived:
Being one of the most hated presidents of the US only to be succeeded by someone who is hated even more.
Sorry, but Obama was a total failure and many lost years with just one silver lining to his self view:
Trump will be even worse so even Obama will be viewed somewhat favourably in a few years when compared to Trump.
Thank you Obama but no thanks.
If Obama still has some decency in him, he will deliver himself to The Hague for what he did in the Middle East region and for the extra judicial killings by drones all over the world.
A messiah who received so many advance honours like the Nobel Peace Price but then failed entirely to deliver.
The only positive thing that is left of him was that he really tried to deliver on the health insurance issue.
Apart from that he holds a number of records for having run the most wars for the longest duration of any US president, having destabilized entire regions, having lost every credibility abroad and having broken the US social fabric into pieces in just 8 years.
At the same time Obama also has done something no other president has ever archived:
Being one of the most hated presidents of the US only to be succeeded by someone who is hated even more.
Sorry, but Obama was a total failure and many lost years with just one silver lining to his self view:
Trump will be even worse so even Obama will be viewed somewhat favourably in a few years when compared to Trump.
Thank you Obama but no thanks.
If Obama still has some decency in him, he will deliver himself to The Hague for what he did in the Middle East region and for the extra judicial killings by drones all over the world.
5
As many of these comments show, even standing still is taking a position, and one that will always be open to criticism. That has been the collar that has dogged Obama. His critics blame the man, never hearing his challenge to them to step up and do something additive. In this role he has been a true leader, both in this country and abroad.
He will have the same problem going forward. He will be called a sycophant or a nay-sayer, all depending on the point of view of the commentator. Every true leader is a lightning rod; Obama will be no different in that regard. It remains to be seen how many of his followers themselves will become the leaders he challenges them to become. We need them more than ever.
He will have the same problem going forward. He will be called a sycophant or a nay-sayer, all depending on the point of view of the commentator. Every true leader is a lightning rod; Obama will be no different in that regard. It remains to be seen how many of his followers themselves will become the leaders he challenges them to become. We need them more than ever.
4
Thank you Mr President for a great 8 years. For the first time in modern history, we didn't have one major scandal and we had a president we could look it up to. A few of your accomplishments include:
He pulled the nation out of a great recession
His signature domestic achievement -- Obamacare -- may be in grave danger, but what it's replaced with will still contain many elements of his vision for health care
He stood up for the rights of the LGBT community
He sounded the alarm on climate change
He offered a different perspective in the nation's long-running conversation on race.
He pulled the nation out of a great recession
His signature domestic achievement -- Obamacare -- may be in grave danger, but what it's replaced with will still contain many elements of his vision for health care
He stood up for the rights of the LGBT community
He sounded the alarm on climate change
He offered a different perspective in the nation's long-running conversation on race.
2
History will prove Barack Obama to have been one of our greatest presidents. A contemplative person, a problem solver, a great orator, an inspirational leader, who never stopped believing in the fairness of the people of this country. Of this, despite the current Trump aberration, we must not disappoint President Obama (even his name is inspirational !).
4
President elect Donald J Trump has created history by destroying the 'Hegemony of the world media'.
This is the first time a President has been elected without
Media support,first time Press is not in Tandem with People.
President Obama's future intervention into the affairs of the incoming President's Policies will wear thin over a period of time & will be likened to nuisance value .
D. J. Trump's election to Presidency is in itself a statement of the widespread disillusionment specially amongst the White population.
Unfortunately President B H Obama has missed the significance of the electoral debacle
This is the first time a President has been elected without
Media support,first time Press is not in Tandem with People.
President Obama's future intervention into the affairs of the incoming President's Policies will wear thin over a period of time & will be likened to nuisance value .
D. J. Trump's election to Presidency is in itself a statement of the widespread disillusionment specially amongst the White population.
Unfortunately President B H Obama has missed the significance of the electoral debacle
3
The significance of this election lies in the awakening of America to its own ignorance, nothing more. If we continue to ignore the issues and react emotionally we will only continue on this downward spiral.
Listening to the cabinet nomination hearings and the Democrats posing questions to the nominees, I am left to wonder why they did not address these issues during the eight years that Obama was the president. One example, during the Devoss hearing she was asked whether she would change the process that allows Charter Schools to exclude Special Needs children who apply to attend a Charter School. Eight years and the Dems. did not address this. Obama never took on the difficult issues, always the cool guy. Just a very smart community organizer who got lucky and is looking forward to the many millions of dollars awaiting him.
4
Trump will have to be removed from office by impeachment within the year to save the nation and the Republican Removed by the Republican Party, with which he will go to war beginning Friday. Democrats have no role to take in this but to oppose reactionary legislation, insist on ethical conduct by unethical appointees, but in no way take the lead on the necessary, inevitable consequences of Trump's gross negligence and ignorance. Republicans in congress either will or will not have the sense and gumption to do what has to be done or face massive losses in two years and the virtual destruction of their party.
As a friend said to me last night, come Friday afternoon, we will have "an empty government" because so far Trump has appointed, he said, but 28 of the people who require Senate confirmation, a number variously placed between 750 and 1,500. By now any other transition would have identified and had at least two thirds of those people on the way to review and approval by the Senate.
And then we there are the FBI and other agency investigation of the Russian connection, what the Russians may have and release including sordid video and the looming congressional investigation. Add all that to a completely chaotic agenda without form or substance, complete and utter ignorance of fact, history, tradition, and national and world events and affairs, and there is only one direction all this can take.
Direction impeachment.
As a friend said to me last night, come Friday afternoon, we will have "an empty government" because so far Trump has appointed, he said, but 28 of the people who require Senate confirmation, a number variously placed between 750 and 1,500. By now any other transition would have identified and had at least two thirds of those people on the way to review and approval by the Senate.
And then we there are the FBI and other agency investigation of the Russian connection, what the Russians may have and release including sordid video and the looming congressional investigation. Add all that to a completely chaotic agenda without form or substance, complete and utter ignorance of fact, history, tradition, and national and world events and affairs, and there is only one direction all this can take.
Direction impeachment.
3
So we can look forward to more do nothing professorial lectures and "red lines". How exciting, but exactly what Americans are tired of after 8 years. Mr. Obamas has always been an inspiring lofty speaker, but unfortunately he never learned the first lesson of politics, sometimes you have to listen to your opposition and make compromise to get things done. The President failed miserably in that respect. The result despite his personal popularity was over 1000 elected positions taken over by Republicans. Americans are tired of identity politics, a chronically weak economy, high taxes and regulations, and a foreign policy of projected weakness and apologies with dashes of extremely poor judgement ..(Libya, ISIS, Iran). Too bad Mr Obama couldn't finish his term with some class by suggesting that maybe Democrats should try to work with this President and find some common ground. They might be surprised. If not they will have no influence or power and that is unlikely to change in 2 years with the races they have to defend in Congress. If they are looking for Chuck Schumer and Obama to lead them out of the desert with his own and phone it's going to be a long 4 years.
4
Wise men should not be forced to compromise with imbeciles, especially when the health and well-being of 400 million people is at stake. Perhaps it's time that people stopped voting obstructionist lunatics into office.
Incredible that Liberals think that it is the responsibility of an elected Republican congress to pass far left Progressive policies that the President wants and they disagree with. Maybe civics 101 should be mandatory again. Congress is the voice of the people, if anything the founding father's intent was for the President to be beholden to congress not the other way around. Now lots of major bills are going to get passed, and they won't be progressive. Do we think Democrats are going to praise Congress for "getting stuff done"? Of course not, they are planning their own stiff obstructionist agenda. Unfortunately they have little to no power now, the fault of 8 years of very unpopular policies by the President. Disgraceful that 68 of them are refusing to attend the inauguration. They will have no say in what happens for at least 2 and hopefully 8 years.
1
The stark contrast between this thoughtful, intelligent, well-read, mature man and his successor makes me vulnerable to despair. I feel like a child watching my loving father walk sorrowfully and regretfully away, while I hold the hand of a demented caretaker who is looking down at me with a terrible, terrible smile.
But on January 21, women and the men who love and value them will make their voices heard in our capitol, supported by over 600 sister marches here and around the world. And President Obama's voice will be with us in the ongoing fight against everything Trump stands for.
But on January 21, women and the men who love and value them will make their voices heard in our capitol, supported by over 600 sister marches here and around the world. And President Obama's voice will be with us in the ongoing fight against everything Trump stands for.
3
It occurred to me that this will, for the foreseeable future, be the last time our President holds a press conference in which the bulk of the Presidential answers and commentary will consist of words with more than one syllable.
6
W. Bush handed Obama a country that was in an economic mess. Obama against all odds made it better. Trump will undo any good that Obama worked so hard for. Out of spite, racism, anger, ignorance, vengeance, ego, whatever, Trump will try to dismantle Obama's legacy. Destruction, division, obstruction and greed will be the legacy of Trump and his party. The con man and his billionaire buddies are in the building. Hold on to your wallets.
6
Thank God for President Obama. He has been disgracefully mistreated by GOP "leaders" since his first day in office, when they declared their primary goal was to be depriving him of a second term. They have shouted at him, lied about him, obstructed him at every turn, robbed him of his Constitutional right to replace a Supreme Court justice who died a year ago. I still see him as my leader, though now as the leader of the "loyal opposition." And let's be clear: "loyal" refers to the U.S. Constitution, not to one individual. I am so grateful for his ongoing dedication to that and to us. Thank you, President Obama.
117
Mr Obama controlled both Houses of Congress for his first two years........he did nothing.........he has lied (you can keep your doctor, you can keep your insurance)
His time is over.........move on
His time is over.........move on
1
Obama didn't say he was going to interfere with Trump's presidency. He just said there are some hypothetical situations in which all people of conscience should speak out. When discrimination is institutionalized, when voters are disenfranchised, when freedom of the press and the right to dissent are threatened, and when good people are forcefully deported.
Other than the issue of immigration, I don't see how any of these things could be up for debate. If Trump was a decent human being who was up to meeting the standards of the presidency, we wouldn't be having this conversation. That's on Trump and the people who voted for him.
Other than the issue of immigration, I don't see how any of these things could be up for debate. If Trump was a decent human being who was up to meeting the standards of the presidency, we wouldn't be having this conversation. That's on Trump and the people who voted for him.
82
I think we Americans tend to blame the president for everything the government does or doesn't do. Almost as if he had the power of a dictator to call all the shots all the time....which is exactly what we don't want and exactly what the Constitution protects us from. I think the president becomes the scapegoat for our disappointment, anxiety, frustration and fear. It will happen with Trump because with each new president our expectations are unrealistically high.
We think we know who is responsible for what is happening in our government all the time. But we are victims of the news we read, or hear, or watch...real or fake. We don't get classified briefings and we aren't privy to what goes on behind the scene. I think it is so much more complicated than we as private citizens often grasp. No president is responsible alone for half the anger or credit that is leveled at him from the public. Yes, the buck stops there, because he is the president, but so often I believe he is only part of the whole story.
I did not vote for Trump. I do not agree with almost all of his stated plans to date and I am appalled by some of his character traits. But I hope he and his congress can deliver what they have promised to the out of work and hurting people in our country. I am hoping that, if he can do this, it will lead to prosperity for them and a lessening of the hate and vitriol which is polluting us on the eve of his inauguration.
We think we know who is responsible for what is happening in our government all the time. But we are victims of the news we read, or hear, or watch...real or fake. We don't get classified briefings and we aren't privy to what goes on behind the scene. I think it is so much more complicated than we as private citizens often grasp. No president is responsible alone for half the anger or credit that is leveled at him from the public. Yes, the buck stops there, because he is the president, but so often I believe he is only part of the whole story.
I did not vote for Trump. I do not agree with almost all of his stated plans to date and I am appalled by some of his character traits. But I hope he and his congress can deliver what they have promised to the out of work and hurting people in our country. I am hoping that, if he can do this, it will lead to prosperity for them and a lessening of the hate and vitriol which is polluting us on the eve of his inauguration.
40
I wish I could be as optimistic, but I see nothing, not one thing in Trump's past to suggest that he might actually help American workers. Throw them a bone here and there, e.g. his tax plan which helps them a little and the uber-wealthy a lot. And he will hype it, of course, as he did with 'saving' the Carrier jobs.
I distrust my fellow Americans whose hardships make them feel entitled to do dangerous things like elect a completely unqualified con man. I especially don't trust them for not seeing that their mythological thinking has caused them to back the very people who sold them down the river. Trump supporters aren't the only ones to suffer from the sell-out; they're just the only ones who refuse to see the real causes and who do everything in their power to make it worse.
I distrust my fellow Americans whose hardships make them feel entitled to do dangerous things like elect a completely unqualified con man. I especially don't trust them for not seeing that their mythological thinking has caused them to back the very people who sold them down the river. Trump supporters aren't the only ones to suffer from the sell-out; they're just the only ones who refuse to see the real causes and who do everything in their power to make it worse.
32
I wish I had your optimism. I don't
1
Exactly right! And you will be sooooooo happy that Hillary did not win. She'd have continued the 8 years of misery that the Obama Administration rained upon us.
1
Still the only adult in town. Too bad America is in a constant state of infantile regression. The next four years will be a spectacle to watch if only one can extract oneself from the mess.
Perhaps being an adult is President Obama's greatest disadvantage. Had he been less of an adult, he would have been more manipulative by rising the race card in his past dealings and perhaps that would have crushed all the obstructionists' resistance. Sadly, he is getting no help. Instead, grown people ran to him like children, remember the Harvard professor and the local policeman at the "beer summit?"
By being an adult, opposite sides are disappointed in Mr Obama. Moe hills become mountains. That is rather sad. Perhaps he is far too mature for America. And this levels not just against the Republican obstructionists and also the Democrat extremists. Both sides have problems seeing other people's point of view. The my-way-or-highway crowd! Well, congratulation, maybe they do deserve the incoming manipulative administration - because they refuse to lesson to an adult telling them everyone would win if everyone is willing to give a little
Perhaps being an adult is President Obama's greatest disadvantage. Had he been less of an adult, he would have been more manipulative by rising the race card in his past dealings and perhaps that would have crushed all the obstructionists' resistance. Sadly, he is getting no help. Instead, grown people ran to him like children, remember the Harvard professor and the local policeman at the "beer summit?"
By being an adult, opposite sides are disappointed in Mr Obama. Moe hills become mountains. That is rather sad. Perhaps he is far too mature for America. And this levels not just against the Republican obstructionists and also the Democrat extremists. Both sides have problems seeing other people's point of view. The my-way-or-highway crowd! Well, congratulation, maybe they do deserve the incoming manipulative administration - because they refuse to lesson to an adult telling them everyone would win if everyone is willing to give a little
72
Obama had to host the "beer summit" because he wasn't acting like an adult. With almost no information after the incident, he insulted the police officer. When it quickly came out that the police officer was an exemplary police officer, Obama sheepishly hosted the "beer summit."
3
President Obama is not just mature but too smart for the average American to understand. If people believed all the fake news stories, including the recent uncovering of the 23 year old liar who concocted the Hillary ballot box lies, we are in real trouble. We are spending too much on entertainment instead of education! We elected a clown!
3
Raising the race card, which Democrats do whenever they are losing an argument, has been pretty fully discredited amongst all but the Left and the Media. Anyone who is capable of independent thought has long realized that being called a racist by a Lefty is a badge of honor, signifying that you have won whatever issue is being debated.
1
I will miss him. I hope he is judicious in choosing when and if to speak out. These are very different times when the stated intentions of the incoming president and his followers is isolationist, protectionist, bigoted and short sighted. As the top Democrat and most recent president, but also as a black man, there certainly may be times when not speaking out would be too much for Mr. Obama. I know that he will do so calmly and wisely.
63
Obama presided over the most divided government and populace in decades, mostly because of his own doing. By trying to stay in the game after the inauguration is just going to further drive a wedge in this country. There is a reason ex-presidents go away; it's to save the country from itself. It will be easier for all of us to move on if he does.
31
@Cato in CA - really? The "divided government" was Mr. Obama's fault? Where have you been? The only way it was his "fault" is that he is a black man, which some people could not (regardless of their "I'm not a racist" protestations) tolerate. For reasons for the divisions and hostility the last 8 years, try looking at the GOP, especially the congress whose publicly proclaimed goal was not to work with Mr. Obama, but rather to do all that they could to make him fail.
217
"mostly because of his own doing"
Ridiculous. The negativism from the republicans was unprecedented. For example, they rejected ACA, that had previously been implemented by Romney in a similar form, and was initiated by the Heritage Foundation as the alternative to Clintons healthcare plan. They had plenty of opportunities to contribute and influence policy. Instead they chose to promote the birther campaign.
Ridiculous. The negativism from the republicans was unprecedented. For example, they rejected ACA, that had previously been implemented by Romney in a similar form, and was initiated by the Heritage Foundation as the alternative to Clintons healthcare plan. They had plenty of opportunities to contribute and influence policy. Instead they chose to promote the birther campaign.
8
Re: "Obama presided over the most divided government and populace in decades, mostly because of his own doing."
Cato, that is absolute nonsense. President Obama was the most conciliatory, gracious, and accommodating president in over a century. He bent over backward to compromise with his enemies over and over and over again. His Republican opponents were--and remain--extremist, strident, unrelenting, and frequently unconstitutional, and they were aided by a shrill chorus of Fox "News" and talk-radio screaming, no-nothing, blatantly lying bullies.
Cato, that is absolute nonsense. President Obama was the most conciliatory, gracious, and accommodating president in over a century. He bent over backward to compromise with his enemies over and over and over again. His Republican opponents were--and remain--extremist, strident, unrelenting, and frequently unconstitutional, and they were aided by a shrill chorus of Fox "News" and talk-radio screaming, no-nothing, blatantly lying bullies.
14
Well of course he deserved Bushs silence. For the obvious reason that Bush was covered with shame over the economy and the Iraq war, a war that Obama was outspokenly against.
107
Seriously? First, if you know anything about the US economy and Billy Clinton, you would realize that Bush walked into a hornet's nest - Clinton's surplus was utter nonsense. Second, while the intel may have been wrong, Hussein was removed from Iraq for all of the right reasons. Had Obama done his job, there would not have been a vacuum in Iraq. You stiff necked Brits are all alike, pomp and circumstance and nothing to back it up. Remember this, had it not been for the brash nature of American's during WWII, you folks would be dining on sauerkraut and sushi soup right about now! You folks still haven't learned that you cannot mollify your enemy - you tried that with Hitler and it almost cost you your island!
2
Obama can't stand not being the center of attention. Hopefully he will speak out loud and often as a reminder to Americans why Trump was elected as his predecessor.
21
If President Obama could not stand not being the center of attention as you claim, then I'm certain that a narcissist such as Trump will prove not much different with his "Wrong" and other expletives.
Trump is a manifestation of the idiocy of American conservatives. When the next Civil War comes, the far right will be extirpated from our land with fire and sword.
Trump was elected as his "predecessor?" How very interesting!
Also interesting is any note of Trump in which *he* isn't angling to be the center of attention and someone else is - Trump, the raging narcissist who can't even answer a basic question about his heroes without devoting the answer to himself.
But sure, Obama is the only who can't stand not being the center of attention...
Also interesting is any note of Trump in which *he* isn't angling to be the center of attention and someone else is - Trump, the raging narcissist who can't even answer a basic question about his heroes without devoting the answer to himself.
But sure, Obama is the only who can't stand not being the center of attention...
1
If honest criticism is allowed?
He looks weak, physically.
Maybe that's just the winter showing?
He looks weak, physically.
Maybe that's just the winter showing?
3
No stamina, low-energy.
1
Or he could be afflicted with the same virus that seems to be targeting HRC and the DNC. And I don't believe it has anything to do with winter.
1
Obama will be remembered for failing to defend the core values of the Democratic party.
He will be remembered for not defending the core values of America's representative democratic values.
He succumbed to the obstruction of McConnell, Boehner, and Ryan.
He watched as Syria threw the Middle East and Europe into turmoil.
This has established a sharp move to right and a rise racism in Europe and America.
He created the Heritage Foundation health plan.
And he blew judicial appointments.
We don't need more scoldings or lectures. Thank you.
He will be remembered for not defending the core values of America's representative democratic values.
He succumbed to the obstruction of McConnell, Boehner, and Ryan.
He watched as Syria threw the Middle East and Europe into turmoil.
This has established a sharp move to right and a rise racism in Europe and America.
He created the Heritage Foundation health plan.
And he blew judicial appointments.
We don't need more scoldings or lectures. Thank you.
25
The move to the right has been going on since Reagan and culminated in the obstruction of Obama's presidency. Blaming the victim has been popular lately. The recent sharp move to the right, both here and in Europe, was the inevitable result of globalization and the recession, and probably isn't finished yet.
And if you don't want scoldings you should probably move to Canada - there's going to be a lot of them over the next four years.
And if you don't want scoldings you should probably move to Canada - there's going to be a lot of them over the next four years.
1
You forget that there are many traitors in this country, and their circus tent is the Neo-Republican Party. There was nothing that Obama could legally do when dealing with filthy traitors like McConnell and Ryan.
To be honest, he didn't create turmoil in the M-E, Europe's near-sighted immigration policies, or Merkel's open borders disaster. The Middle East was already a half-cracked hornet's nest waiting for a nudge.
I never trusted much less loved a president before Mr. Obama. How he changesd my frame, my way of thinking.
My word, he's quite a man, the greatest one alive.
Thank you, Mr. President, for caring about us so much.
Rushmore is too small a place to honor what you achieved. Your legacy will be manifested by the universal reverence future generations of Americans will have for you.
My word, he's quite a man, the greatest one alive.
Thank you, Mr. President, for caring about us so much.
Rushmore is too small a place to honor what you achieved. Your legacy will be manifested by the universal reverence future generations of Americans will have for you.
199
That these adulatory worshippers are the ones who are afraid Trump supporters have elected a new Mussolini would be amusing if it were not so tragic.
1
He doesn't care about people abroad, that's for sure. Mr. Nobel Peace Prize winner has dropped a bomb every 20 minutes for the past 8 years in 7 countries that we know of.
4
The North Koreans manifest almost the same level of adulation for Kim as you seem to for Obama. Scary!
1
Seems like Mr. Obama's a day late and a dollar short. If he had any core values to share, he had 8 years to do it. While he was still President. His unwillingness to advocate for the 99% while still POTUS -- plus the DNC espousing an unlikable and mealy-mouth candidate choice for 2016 -- are the main reasons why the GOP now controls all three major political power sources of the federal gov't. Remember 8 years ago when the Democrats controlled all three? That loss for the Democrats is the Obama legacy.
37
The purchasing of state legislatures, courts and governorships by individuals and their front organizations has resulted in gerrymandering, voter suppression and a general acceptance of government corruption and ineptitude. Add to that the efforts of Russia, elements of the FBI and those who see disruption and fear as business opportunities and one can see why only an iconoclast with delusions of dictatorial powers appealed to almost half of our voters.
George,
The reason you did not notice that Obama increased taxes on the richest of the rich in order to provide health insurance to millions of the poor is because it worked so well. The catastrophes of depression, job loss, etc., that the GOP always predicts when tax hikes are considered did not happen.
How you can say Obama lacks core values when his successor has a track record of cheating business partners, lying daily, and assaulting women is beyond me.
The reason you did not notice that Obama increased taxes on the richest of the rich in order to provide health insurance to millions of the poor is because it worked so well. The catastrophes of depression, job loss, etc., that the GOP always predicts when tax hikes are considered did not happen.
How you can say Obama lacks core values when his successor has a track record of cheating business partners, lying daily, and assaulting women is beyond me.
The problem here is the Satanic treason of the Republican Party. This may well end in a second civil war.
Well, we know what a "red line" means in Obama-world: he'll frown seriously and spend some more time mulling whether or not to do anything.
He's been a good President and I'll definitely miss him, but yet again I wish he were "in" or "out" and clearly willing to act on the courage of his convictions.
He's been a good President and I'll definitely miss him, but yet again I wish he were "in" or "out" and clearly willing to act on the courage of his convictions.
16
It was the press more than Obama who used the term red line with regard to Syria. It was a Congress who would not support him no matter what he said that resulted in the Syria we have now.
Yesterday, again it was the press who used the term red line when Obama answred the question of what it would take to make him speak out.
The comparison to Bush's silence is an oxymoron. Bush left the country in economic and foreign policy shambles, Obama leaves a country vastly recovered in economic terms and less of a shambles foreign policy wise.
What Trump does with it will be interesting, to say the least and what he does will be of great influence on what Obama's legacy finally turns out to be.
Yesterday, again it was the press who used the term red line when Obama answred the question of what it would take to make him speak out.
The comparison to Bush's silence is an oxymoron. Bush left the country in economic and foreign policy shambles, Obama leaves a country vastly recovered in economic terms and less of a shambles foreign policy wise.
What Trump does with it will be interesting, to say the least and what he does will be of great influence on what Obama's legacy finally turns out to be.
President Obama drew a red line in Syria when the government of Syria used chemical weapons. This was the reason for the threat to punish Syria. President Putin's response was that the use of chemical weapons was unlikely, but if proven true, Russia would view it as a serious matter. Clearly, Russia confirmed that chemical weapons had been used by the regime. Russia is a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Treaty. Within days Syria acceded to the Chemical Weapons Treaty and agreed to the removal of its chemical weapons capability. Given that this was done there was no rational reason for the U.S. to attack.
One red line in Syria that took guts not to get our troops stuck in that quagmire and you have labeled him forever? No wonder we have Trump as our new president. He can do no wrong and when he does he just denies or blames it on someone else. Nice.
The fact that President Obama had 'core values' might come as a shock. 'more of the same' President Obama abandoned his values shortly after goting elected. He appointed Wall Street insiders (Clinton/Rubin wrecking crew), deregulation experts who created the 2008 economic calamity, to be run the economy once again.
President Obama continued Bush's big banks bailouts, no string attached, no prosecutions, no court days. He provided no help to homeowners who were defrauded, no help to students crushed under debt with little job opportunities, seen no rise in minimum wage, no maternal leave, no grand infrastructure projects, no end to wars. He made no attempt to create good jobs but ushered the 'gig economy', where 90% of recovery went to the top 1%. No gun control measures passed, 'money in politics' never challenged.
White working class left to rot in despair, drugs and unemployment, Black communities were left in poverty with constant police brutality. Policies that hollowed out the Middle Class were preserved. and Obama's healthcare law, written by big insurance companies, crumbled under soaring premiums.
He gave green light to oil fracking, and signed a non-binding climate deal. The most transparent administration ever, prosecuted, intimidated, threatened more whistle-blowers and journalists than ever.
Unfortunately, Obama's failures opened the door to President Trump.
President Obama continued Bush's big banks bailouts, no string attached, no prosecutions, no court days. He provided no help to homeowners who were defrauded, no help to students crushed under debt with little job opportunities, seen no rise in minimum wage, no maternal leave, no grand infrastructure projects, no end to wars. He made no attempt to create good jobs but ushered the 'gig economy', where 90% of recovery went to the top 1%. No gun control measures passed, 'money in politics' never challenged.
White working class left to rot in despair, drugs and unemployment, Black communities were left in poverty with constant police brutality. Policies that hollowed out the Middle Class were preserved. and Obama's healthcare law, written by big insurance companies, crumbled under soaring premiums.
He gave green light to oil fracking, and signed a non-binding climate deal. The most transparent administration ever, prosecuted, intimidated, threatened more whistle-blowers and journalists than ever.
Unfortunately, Obama's failures opened the door to President Trump.
22
Yes, Obama did rescue Wall St. with those who knew where the skeletons were. If he had used more unconventional renovators, who then failed, we'd still be in an even worse state than in '08. You raise many valid points, but again the remedies weren't radical and if they were, would they have been better accepted than the obstruction his moderate proposals received?
Inverness,
You forgot to mention how hard The Republicans worked to ensure the Obama "failures" you mentioned became their successes as they delivered all those important needs,requirements and supports to the American People when he could not...!
Imagine how much worse things would have been if Republicans had not taken up those many balls that Obama failed to get through as they got them through to the touch line for the American people?
At least America had them to pick up the ball and run with it , showing Obama how to get things done and provide the people with the help and support that he failed to deliver.
Imagine how much worse things would have been if they were not there to pick up the ball and run with it?
Without the Republicans , one could even envisage a scenario where the Federal government might have shut down completely due to Obama's many failures .
Luckily the Republicans were there to ensure against this and that they could get things done at a time when it was so important to make sure Americans got the support and benefits that Obama failed to provide but for them...
BUT FOR THEM....
You forgot to mention how hard The Republicans worked to ensure the Obama "failures" you mentioned became their successes as they delivered all those important needs,requirements and supports to the American People when he could not...!
Imagine how much worse things would have been if Republicans had not taken up those many balls that Obama failed to get through as they got them through to the touch line for the American people?
At least America had them to pick up the ball and run with it , showing Obama how to get things done and provide the people with the help and support that he failed to deliver.
Imagine how much worse things would have been if they were not there to pick up the ball and run with it?
Without the Republicans , one could even envisage a scenario where the Federal government might have shut down completely due to Obama's many failures .
Luckily the Republicans were there to ensure against this and that they could get things done at a time when it was so important to make sure Americans got the support and benefits that Obama failed to provide but for them...
BUT FOR THEM....
I hope you do understand that Obama needed Congressional approval to do most of the things that you criticize him for not doing. You are right about not doing enough to help out underwater homeowners. Also, why are you blaming Obama for police brutality? He is President, not local police-chief in-chief. His Justice Department was forceful in trying to rein in local police departments that were out of line. Many other misleading claims in your post, don't have time to tackle them all.
1
Obama: The Audacity of Hope.
Trump: The Mendacity of a Mope.
Trump: The Mendacity of a Mope.
82
Hope is the only universal liar who never loses his reputation for veracity.
- Robert Green Ingersoll
Something Obama and his toadies never seemed to get, even after eight years of nothing, is that hope is a stand in for action and quite worthless. Camus among others is well worth reading on the uselessness and allure of hope.
The slogan "The Audacity of Hope" is quite accurate if one thinks about it because to run on nothing but the promise of hope, no strategy, no real policy but a vague notion that means many things to many people and ultimately provides for none takes audacity.
- Robert Green Ingersoll
Something Obama and his toadies never seemed to get, even after eight years of nothing, is that hope is a stand in for action and quite worthless. Camus among others is well worth reading on the uselessness and allure of hope.
The slogan "The Audacity of Hope" is quite accurate if one thinks about it because to run on nothing but the promise of hope, no strategy, no real policy but a vague notion that means many things to many people and ultimately provides for none takes audacity.
1
I submit the following addition:
The American People: The mentality of sheep.
The GOP: The destructivness of Rogue Elephants.
The Democratic Party: The inflexibility of Donkees.
The American People: The mentality of sheep.
The GOP: The destructivness of Rogue Elephants.
The Democratic Party: The inflexibility of Donkees.
Truer words were never spoken.
The America in which I was conceived and born, came of age, served as an enlisted man in Southeast Asia, paid my taxes to and expected to endure well beyond my lifetime will, instead, in less than 48 hours, become an instant artifact. I will not be disappointed, for myself, if I die in that brief interim. It that happens, all I can say to my loved ones is: May god, or whatever you believe in, protect you. Your "president" will not.
118
Silent when relevant now threatening more stern lectures -maybe--instead of policies. Yeah. Didn't work on congressional republicans, racist clowns, Assad, Xi, oh well not on anyone. But threaten awaywithmore lectures.
14
oh we are so over Obama's "red lines" and his willingness to "speak out" about "core values.
Let's just for example analyze a red line issue.
Chemical weapons use in Syria.
Red Line.
Core value.....
He came, He spoke, He did nothing.
The Democratic Party has been decimated in the Obama years.
Red line?
Nope.
Core value
Yup
Speak out?
Nope.
Excuse me if I'm not encouraged that Obama will do politics or core values.
He's still HOPING for a successful Trump "Precedency"
Let's just for example analyze a red line issue.
Chemical weapons use in Syria.
Red Line.
Core value.....
He came, He spoke, He did nothing.
The Democratic Party has been decimated in the Obama years.
Red line?
Nope.
Core value
Yup
Speak out?
Nope.
Excuse me if I'm not encouraged that Obama will do politics or core values.
He's still HOPING for a successful Trump "Precedency"
19
His worst mistake, history will show of his administration, was taking out the sovereign leader in Libya, and replacing him with .... nothing.
Barack H. Obama was elected by the American people primarily to end the Big Mistake that was invading Iraq.
In the end, he and his people learned nothing. The destabilization of Libya, the disintegration into warring tribes and ISIS, led to the refugee crisis currently being felt in Europe.
Until political analysts, fellow politicians, and the historians can admit this major mistake was the undoing of Barack Obama's legacy, then feature pieces like the one we just read will remain just that: fluff stories. We have to learn to connect America's overseas adventures (how many countries are we "air striking" now?) to the destruction of peoples and places taking place across the globe. This too is Obama's, and Bush's, and the American taxpayer's legacy. Gd help us all: we know not what we do... or we're not ready to admit it yet.
Barack H. Obama was elected by the American people primarily to end the Big Mistake that was invading Iraq.
In the end, he and his people learned nothing. The destabilization of Libya, the disintegration into warring tribes and ISIS, led to the refugee crisis currently being felt in Europe.
Until political analysts, fellow politicians, and the historians can admit this major mistake was the undoing of Barack Obama's legacy, then feature pieces like the one we just read will remain just that: fluff stories. We have to learn to connect America's overseas adventures (how many countries are we "air striking" now?) to the destruction of peoples and places taking place across the globe. This too is Obama's, and Bush's, and the American taxpayer's legacy. Gd help us all: we know not what we do... or we're not ready to admit it yet.
24
Just because Obama didn't send in the Marines didn't mean nothing was done in Syria. The opposition groups there defy counting - and allegiance. As it is, conservative critics are having it both ways, complaining that arms were funneled through Libya.
1
The overwhelming numbers of migrants to Europe are from Syria via the Greek islands, within sight of Turkey. Syria's woe is due to "W" not Obama. Libya devolved the way it did, a separate situation, bad, but the migrants have really fled through there from further south in Africa, where they is more misery from former mischief and Cold War proxy struggles.
1
Tomorrow is the last day of Obama's second term. I stand in awe of what he achieved, despite what the Republicans and Dark Money tried to do. He always acted with intelligence, dignity, class and warmth and never stopped believing in us.
I've said it before, but I'll repeat it tonight. I believe WE failed HIM. He's right - we should've laced up our shoes and worked harder on his behalf.
I have never, not when any other Republican or Democratic president was entering office, feared for our country's future as I do tonight.
I've always believed we're strong enough to withstand anything.
But every bone in my body tells me it's different this time.
I don't think we'll recognize this beautiful country after trump's term, no matter how short it may be. He's a nasty, divisive, self-serving tyrant and traitor, and the sooner Congress wakes up and unites to prevent his idiocy from destroying our country, the better.
So maybe, just maybe, like 9-11, Congress will truly work together to get this creep out of office, or at the least, prevent his destructive ideas from ever seeing the light of day.
One can only hope.
I've said it before, but I'll repeat it tonight. I believe WE failed HIM. He's right - we should've laced up our shoes and worked harder on his behalf.
I have never, not when any other Republican or Democratic president was entering office, feared for our country's future as I do tonight.
I've always believed we're strong enough to withstand anything.
But every bone in my body tells me it's different this time.
I don't think we'll recognize this beautiful country after trump's term, no matter how short it may be. He's a nasty, divisive, self-serving tyrant and traitor, and the sooner Congress wakes up and unites to prevent his idiocy from destroying our country, the better.
So maybe, just maybe, like 9-11, Congress will truly work together to get this creep out of office, or at the least, prevent his destructive ideas from ever seeing the light of day.
One can only hope.
279
Exactly, he made it clear from the start it was Yes WE can.
Americans seemed to think he was a super hero who would wave his magic wand, either that or demon seed.
Americans seemed to think he was a super hero who would wave his magic wand, either that or demon seed.
42
I wouldn't count on anything decent coming out of this Republican Congress--they are nearly all catamites of Mammon, Moloch and Belial.
3
Thank you, Barbara !
1
Obama has left the Democratic Party in shambles. He talks a good game, that's about it. The Democratic Party has a great shot at replacing Trump, who is slightly wildly more unpopular that Hillary Clinton. Hopefully, the Democratic Party, going forward, won't follow the thoughts and advice of most of the sanctimonious blindly liberal left wing commentators on this site. Hopefully the Democratic Party will actually run a democratic process when it chooses its next nominee.
19
Would love to see him go "home" to Chicago, and begin a second chapter there. Concentrating on the work itself, not the stepping stones in front of him. He'll realize soon: that way of life is done, completed. He will welcome a whole new mindset, not looking down the road at what his achievements will get him.
Then we will see Barack Obama's true character: in what he does, what he is capable of accomplishing, when no one is looking. Place your bets...
Then we will see Barack Obama's true character: in what he does, what he is capable of accomplishing, when no one is looking. Place your bets...
12
Corporate Capitalism is an idea whose time has come and gone. It no longer generates innovation and competition, with commensurate job growth. It merely generates consolidation of wealth. Time to put Corporate Capitalism into the history books and return to the social model preached by the later prophets, including Christ--socialism and economic equality.
2
How on earth do you hold him responsible for the state of the Democratic party? He has always been the reasonable, decent pragmatist. If both polarized factions of the party followed his lead it would be unstoppable, and reactionaries would be marginal rather than in control. He can't control how the party eats itself alive.
5
President Obama & Michelle,
Thank You!
Thank You!
155
This was a very nicely written report that presents the facts without including the authors' opinions and biases. Well done, Michael Shear and Peter Baker.
30
Isnt that what news is supposed to be? Agree, one wouldnt expect that from NYT. They missed the irony though of red lines being drawn.....
IMO, President Obama is the greatest American Statesman since Roosevelt and he is beyond an inspiration to all who think and care about human relationships and cultural progress. His answer to the last question at his press conference today should be pinned on every school and community bulletin board in the country.
151
President Obama is handing the keys to the pickup truck to a 12-year old boy who has never driven before. We are in for uncertain and dangerous days ahead.
121
...and Obama had SO much driving experience when he took the keys. He was easily the least prepared president in my voting lifetime. Good health but good riddance to the Lecturer In Chief.
3
Well at some point or another, every kid has to learn how to drive, unless you live in NYC.
Richard,
It's OK ,the Republicans made sure the roads decayed and are now in such a state of disrepair, the 12 year old can't drive the pickup anywhere useful even if his hands were big enough to grip the Steering Wheel strongly enough to control the pickup.
It's OK ,the Republicans made sure the roads decayed and are now in such a state of disrepair, the 12 year old can't drive the pickup anywhere useful even if his hands were big enough to grip the Steering Wheel strongly enough to control the pickup.
"kids who have grown up here and for all practical purposes are American kids". For all practical purposes other than the laws that define American citizenship. Perhaps respect for rule of law and respect for others' political views can return to normality in this country.
20
"Respect for rule of law" is circular logic. We, as a society, set forth laws because of their intended effect. When they lead to beneficial effect we will respect them, when they do not, then we will change them.
"We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.”
-Thomas Jefferson
"We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.”
-Thomas Jefferson
63
My guess is that the rule of law as experienced by white people is considerably different from the "rule of law" as experienced by minorities. So when you say return to normality, do you mean white dominance and supremacy that goes unquestioned and unchallenged?
92
Joe, you can respect the law and also the children who were brought to this country through no choice of their own.
Those children did not break any laws in coming to America. They had no choice. And our system of justice and laws, our judges and our juries, our courts are capable of understanding that distinction.
You won't be convicted of stealing a loaf or bread if someone is holding a gun to your head to force you to do that.
And in our courts you most likely would not be convicted if you stole that loaf of bread to feed a hungry family. At most you'd get a slap on your hand or warning.
Our position on the dreamers in not at odds with the law and it's capacity for mercy.
Those children did not break any laws in coming to America. They had no choice. And our system of justice and laws, our judges and our juries, our courts are capable of understanding that distinction.
You won't be convicted of stealing a loaf or bread if someone is holding a gun to your head to force you to do that.
And in our courts you most likely would not be convicted if you stole that loaf of bread to feed a hungry family. At most you'd get a slap on your hand or warning.
Our position on the dreamers in not at odds with the law and it's capacity for mercy.
33
Mr. President, I'm so sad that you are leaving...thank you for leading us for the last eight years! We will truly miss you.
244
Dear God leave already. You've had your platform. You've had your way. Show a shred of the class of George W. Bush.
Americans may like you, or perhaps the idea of you. But they reject your solutions. Give someone else a shot. Or, heaven forfend, try to encourage Americans to come together and support our new president, as they did when you entered office.
Americans may like you, or perhaps the idea of you. But they reject your solutions. Give someone else a shot. Or, heaven forfend, try to encourage Americans to come together and support our new president, as they did when you entered office.
29
Things are different now. We have a president-elect who has no experience in government. We have had Mr. Comey's precedent-breaking treatment of Mrs. Clinton, first by holding a press conference and expressing his personal opinion and second by the damaging email discovery weeks before the election. No mention was made of investigating Mr. Trump or his staff's involvement with Russia. Mr. Trump's statements about Russia and Putin border on treason. Mr. Trump has not released his tax returns. We've had leaks of the DNC but not the RNC. The president elect threatened his opponent and ran a campaign based on lies. The list goes on.
Mr. is "showing class" as you say. He is transitioning to being a concerned citizen. The president-elect has not a shred of class.
Mr. is "showing class" as you say. He is transitioning to being a concerned citizen. The president-elect has not a shred of class.
119
More Americans voted for his preferred successor than voted for Trump. You may have rejected Obama's solutions, but the people didn't.
130
Again with this mindless trope about Clinton "winning" the popular vote. It is meaningless. It is like the losing World Series team saying they hit more have me runs. If that was the objective, both sides would have implemented a different strategy.
Besides, without 4 of the 5 Boros of NY, and LA county, Clinton loses the popular vote too. And those areas are not exactly reflective of the rest of the United States, only more densely populated.
Besides, without 4 of the 5 Boros of NY, and LA county, Clinton loses the popular vote too. And those areas are not exactly reflective of the rest of the United States, only more densely populated.
13
Define "core values". His?
9
He'll be quiet unless he thinks "values" (as understood by him) are threatened: which means he'll reserve the right to talk as often as he wants about anything he wants. Forgot about Presidents that went quietly into the night: he'll be as reserved about imperilled "values" as he was bipartisan (while bashing his opponents).
7
He gives examples in the third paragraph. Do you take issue with any of that?
33
Yes, because I have listened to this administration talk about "illiberal democracy" when its equation seems to be democracy = Liberal with a big L. Like in leftist Democrat. And that, I submit, has nothing necessarily to do with democracy. Which is also why "populism" is not necessarily a dirty word.
11
And we begin a gracious farewell to a good man. God save us all!
169
Good people will save us if they participate in our Democracy. Power to the people, not corporations or politicians.
Obama is that President for me. He did so much good for our country and th world in spite of tremendous road blocks that Republicans set before him. I am grateful that he will continue to accept the mantle of public service after he so selflessly served our nation for th past 8 years.
That said, every day a lunatic with a gun hasn't shot at our president has been a gift to the American people and th world. I dearly hope his security detail is on no way diminished. Our political environment is toxic. Our country is awash in 300 million guns and people everywhere need president Obama's kindness and brilliance for generations to come.