Thank you for sharing these excerpts, Truthiz1. I think the one NYT reader said it best with: "you don't know what you've got til it's gone".

– DJ

NYT Reader:
Thanks David, a great quote: the "pornography of pessimism". This has become a global epidemic if not worse. A catastrophe perhaps. Obama has inspired and will be sadly missed. The grand experiment may have created more division than harmony. That will only change with hindsight. Sadly, it seems that he could almost please all of the people some of the time, and perhaps please some of the people all of the time, but it is never, and never will be, possible to please all of the people all of the time. Unfortunately, our expectations overwhelm our reality and leave us disenchanted with our democracy. No one seems able to rekindle Kennedy's "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." […]

NYT Reader:
This column just makes me angry. David, you and your conservative counterparts have done EVERTHING you can to undermine Obama's presidency, and now you're going to miss him? Too bad you couldn't take all that effort tearing him down and try to encourage the Republicans in Congress to work together with him for the American people. Like Joni Mitchell sang "you don't know what you've got til it's gone".

Shame on you. […]

Excerpt:

No, Obama has not been temperamentally perfect. Too often he’s been disdainful, aloof, resentful and insular. But there is a tone of ugliness creeping across the world, as democracies retreat, as tribalism mounts, as suspiciousness and authoritarianism take center stage.

Obama radiates an ethos of integrity, humanity, good manners and elegance that I’m beginning to miss, and that I suspect we will all miss a bit, regardless of who replaces him. […] – David Brooks, Conservative writer, NYT, 2-9-16

NYTimes Reader:
Before writing this comment to applaud today’s column by David Brooks, I paused to reflect on whether or not the column impressed me only because I agree with nearly everything Mr. Brooks wrote today.

No, David Brooks has written the truth eloquently, making clear that he has not agreed with everything Pres. Obama has done. Brooks grasped the larger points of how a president should go about making decisions and how he should conduct himself in public and private and how he should interact with his political opponents with respect and civility.

Conservatives painted themselves into a corner at the outset of the Obama administration by vowing unwavering obstructionist tactics, some of which descended into mocking insolence along thinly veiled racial lines.

President Obama, resembling another pioneer, Jackie Robinson, gritted his teeth and smiled when he could, taking everything they dished out.

Now, as things have gotten even worse as far as vicious political attacks and unapologetic vulgarity – including by one Republican against another – we all should appreciate the morality and class of Barack Obama. […]