Politics –
Barack Obama Returns
To Public Spotlight
Barack Obama — oh, how we have missed you!
After taking an extended vacation following his last day as President of the United States, Barack H. Obama has finally reemerged in the public eye.
Politics
In a nearly 90-minute forum at The University of Chicago, Mr. Obama led a “conversation on community organizing and civic engagement.” Private Citizen ‘Barack’ used his first public appearance in nearly 3 months to discuss powerful lessons he learned as a young community organizer in Chicago decades prior to becoming president. After coming to Chicago more than 30 years ago as a 25-year-old, Mr. Obama said he was “filled with idealism and absolute certainty that somehow I was going to change the world.”
“But I had no idea how,” he added. “I am the first to acknowledge that I did not set the world on fire. Nor did I transform these communities in any significant way.”
He then vowed to help bring up a new generation of leaders.
“I’m spending a lot of time thinking about what is the most important thing I can do for my next job?” Barack Obama said. “The single most important thing I can do is to help in any way I can prepare the next generation of leadership, to take up the baton, and to take their own crack at changing the word.”
Mr. Obama was meticulously careful not to mention “The Donald” even once during his remarks. The closest he came was in his opening words when he joked, “What’s been going on while I’ve been gone?”
He did, however, seize the opportunity to discuss several issues of importance to him, including a mention of how many undocumented workers are simply “families who are looking for a better life for their children.”
“It’s not like everybody on Ellis Island had all their papers straight,” Mr. Obama said. “The truth is, the history of our immigration system has always been a little bit haphazard, a little bit loose.”
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Politics
‘Barack’ the man, also warned millennials to be mindful of what they post on social media.
“If you had pictures of everything I’d done in high school, I probably wouldn’t have been President of the United States,” he said. “I would advise all of you to be a little more circumspect about your selfies and what you take pictures of.”
Sadly, Mr. Obama also made it clear that he has no intention or desire to return to public office or to be a spokesman for the Democratic Party.
“He’s going to be more of an adviser behind the scenes and not necessarily be in the forefront right now,” an adviser said. “At a given time, when it’s appropriate and necessary, he’ll be out there. But not right now.”
Take a look at video snippets of his remarks below and be reminded of what a REAL President of the United States should look/act like!
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Obama:
I am the first to acknowledge that I did not set the world on fire. Nor did I transform these communities in any significant way. […]
An important. and very true, acknowledgment.
Obama:
The single most important thing I can do is to help in any way I can prepare the next generation of leadership, to take up the baton, and to take their own crack at changing the word. […]
I could not AGREE more with him.
DJ:
Mr. Obama also made it clear that he has no intention or desire to return to public office or to be a spokesman for the Democratic Party. […]
An absolutely right decision. And he looks and sounds incredibly rejuvenated.