| Welcome to Conversations. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
| President Obama's Farewell Speech | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 11 2017, 12:04 AM (71 Views) | |
| Webster | Jan 11 2017, 12:04 AM Post #1 |
|
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
![]() (The Guardian) Eddie Vedder performs before President Barack Obama gives his presidential farewell address at McCormick Place. (The Guardian) Emotions are already running high at the McCormick Place convention centre in Chicago. The make up of the crowd – male and female, young and old, diverse in race and religion – is itself a statement about the outgoing president. Sheila Baldwin, a 64-year-old African American, who got her ticket on Saturday after queuing from 5am, said: “My ancestors would appreciate and insist I see this historic event. It was thrilling for us to see my mother, who is 91, witness the first black president; now to see it come full circle is a wonderful moment.” Reflecting on the divisive presidential election, Baldwin, a university associate professor in Chicago, added: “If anyone can heal the country and bring it together, I think President Obama can. The country is in for a huge shock with Donald Trump and hopefully he can do the right thing. It’s not going to be smooth sailing.” The vast arena already appears full with thousands of people seated and thousands more standing at the back – some have complained about the poor view they will have of Obama. There are multiple giant TV screens, a huge stars and stripes and a giant presidential seat set against a deep blue curtain. Musicians are currently performing. The audience includes veteran Obama campaign staffers. Daniel and Cathy Nored, both 62, have flown in from Dallas, Georgia. Daniel, a computer technician, said: “My emotions are a little sad but I know he’s tired and wants to become an ordinary citizen. It’s bittersweet.” Cathy, who works in human resources, added: “I think he will make another great speech but this is going to come from the heart.” Two Algerian-born Muslims, Meriem Sadoun and Hanane Bounar got tickets after queuing from 4am on Saturday. Bounar, 16, a student, said: “When I came to the US as an immigrant, he was the first president. For me to see him at the end is important.” But Sadoun, 22, a university graduate, added: “If this was Donald Trump speaking, we probably wouldn’t be welcome in the crowd. The atmosphere would be different and not as welcoming.” |
![]() |
|
| Webster | Jan 11 2017, 12:05 AM Post #2 |
|
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
(The Guardian) Just a few minutes to go until Obama takes to the stage, take a look at David Smith’s feature on how Chicago feels about the end of the presidency of its adopted son. One man certain to be in attendance is Zariff – who declined to give his full name or age – who works at the Hyde Park Hair Salon in Obama’s home neighbourhood. Although the shop changed premises a few years ago, it has its most famous patron’s regular chair on prominent display, autographed and behind protective glass, along with photos, newspaper cuttings and even a painting, almost like a shrine. Zariff said he can recall “very vividly” the first time the young lawyer and community organiser walked in. He never dreamed Obama could be president. But then came the convention in Boston in 2004. “That’s when I knew it was possible,” he reflected. “A very bright, very sharp, very focused individual outside the guy who told jokes all the time.” Zariff, who is African American, cut Obama’s hair again before his acceptance speech in Grant Park, Chicago, on the night in 2008 he became the first black president in US history. “He had to look his best. It was a very special feeling of watching something come to fruition from the beginning.” -Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/10/chicago-farewell-speech-obama |
![]() |
|
| Webster | Jan 11 2017, 12:06 AM Post #3 |
|
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
(The Guardian) One of the classic Obama tunes, Stevie Wonder’s Superstition plays as vice president Joe Biden, First Lady Michelle Obama and daughter Malia Obama take their seats (where’s Sasha?). BJ the Chicago Kid is belting out the national anthem. Barack Obama is now walking out onto the stage to give his presidential farewell speech. |
![]() |
|
| Webster | Jan 11 2017, 12:09 AM Post #4 |
|
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
(The Guardian) “Hello Chicago,” he begins. “It’s good to be home.” Standing ovation from the crowd delays the president from beginning. “We’re on live TV here,” says Obama. |
![]() |
|
| Webster | Jan 11 2017, 12:11 AM Post #5 |
|
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
(The Guardian) “You can tell that I’m a lame duck, because nobody is following instructions. Everybody have a seat,” quips Obama. |
![]() |
|
| Webster | Jan 11 2017, 12:11 AM Post #6 |
|
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
(The Guardian) “My fellow Americans, Michelle and I have been so touched by all the well-wishes that we’ve received over the last few weeks. Tonight it’s my turn to say thanks, whether we’ve seen eye to eye or rarely agreed at all,” says Obama. He speaks about the importance of conversations with every day Americans. “They’ve kept me honest, they’ve kept me inspired, they kept me going. Every day I’ve learn(ed) from you. You made a better president. You made a better man,” said Obama. |
![]() |
|
| Webster | Jan 11 2017, 12:12 AM Post #7 |
|
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
(The Guardian) The crowd stops the speech with chants of “four more years”. “I can’t do that!” says Obama. |
![]() |
|
| Webster | Jan 11 2017, 12:13 AM Post #8 |
|
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
(The Guardian) Obama talks abut moving to Chicago as a young man, then about the beauty of the republic and consitution. “It’s the insistence that these rights, while so elegant have never been self-executing... that we the people through the instrument of our democracy can form a more perfect union. What a radical idea,” says Obama. “For 240 years our nation’s call for citizenship has given work and purpose to each generation,” he says. |
![]() |
|
| Webster | Jan 11 2017, 12:14 AM Post #9 |
|
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
(The Guardian) Obama pays tribute to civil rights and social justice activists, “men and women from Selma to Stonewall” “That’s what we mean when we say America is exceptional. Not that we’ve been flawless from the start but that we show the capacity for change,” says Obama. He speaks about “embracing all, not just some” to cheers. |
![]() |
|
| Webster | Jan 11 2017, 12:17 AM Post #10 |
|
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
(The Guardian) “America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started,” says Obama, listing the achievements of his administration, including same-sex marriage, the Iran deal and killing Osama bin Laden. |
![]() |
|
| Webster | Jan 11 2017, 12:18 AM Post #11 |
|
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
(The Guardian) The crowd starts booing when Obama refers to next week’s inauguration of president Trump. He tells the crowd to stop and notes the importance of “the peaceful transfer of power from one freely elected president to the next,” says Obama. “I committed to president-elect Trump that my team would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as president Bush did to me. Because it’s up to all of us to make sure our government can meet the many challenges we still face,” he says. |
![]() |
|
| Webster | Jan 11 2017, 12:18 AM Post #12 |
|
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
(The Guardian) Obama calls on the country for unity, speaking about the power of democracy and unity. There have been moments throughout our history that threatened to rupture that solidarity. The beginning of this century has been one of those times. A shrinking world, growing inequality; demographic change and the specter of terrorism – these forces haven’t just tested our security and prosperity, but our democracy as well. And how we meet these challenges to our democracy will determine our ability to educate our kids, and create good jobs, and protect our homeland. |
![]() |
|
| Webster | Jan 11 2017, 12:19 AM Post #13 |
|
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
(The Guardian) Obama on Obamacare --In a week where the GOP is actively trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act - and president-elect Trump calls on it to happen as quickly as possible - Obama talks about healthcare. He notes that the uninsured rate is lower and health care costs rising tat the slowest rate in 50 years. “If anyone can put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements we’ve made to our health care system – that covers as many people at less cost – I will publicly support it,” he says |
![]() |
|
| Webster | Jan 11 2017, 12:20 AM Post #14 |
|
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
(The Guardian) Obama: post-racial America was 'never realistic' --Obama, the country’s first black president and son of a Kenyan immigrant, discusses race and immigration. “After my election, there was talk of a post-racial America. Such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic. For race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society. I’ve lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were ten, or twenty, or thirty years ago – you can see it not just in statistics, you see it in the attitudes of young Americans across the political spectrum,” he says. “But we’re not where we need to be. “All of us have more work to do. After all, if every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and undeserving minorities, then workers of all shades will be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves. If we decline to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don’t look like us, we diminish the prospects of our own children – because those brown kids will represent a larger share of America’s workforce.” He spoke about hiring practices and discrimination in housing . |
![]() |
|
| Webster | Jan 11 2017, 12:22 AM Post #15 |
|
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
(The Guardian) Obama continues to talk about race and the divisions in American, getting huge cheers from the thousands in the audience. He quotes Attitcus Finch from Harper Lee’s classic To Kill a Mockingbird, who said “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Obama continues, specifically identifying groups that were often topics of political discussions during the 2016 election: For blacks and other minorities, it means tying our own struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face – the refugee, the immigrant, the rural poor, the transgender American, and also the middle-aged white man who from the outside may seem like he’s got all the advantages, but who’s seen his world upended by economic, cultural, and technological change. |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Politics · Next Topic » |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2





![]](http://b3.ifrm.com/30308/113/0/p3001190/pip_r.png)



