Obama urges standing up for US values in his final address
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WITH a final call of his campaign mantra “Yes We Can,” President Barack Obama urged Americans to stand up for US values and reject discrimination as the nation transitions to the presidency of Republican Donald Trump.
In an emotional speech on Tuesday in which he thanked his family and declared his time as president the honor of his life, Obama gently prodded the public to embrace his vision of progress while repudiating policies Trump promoted during his White House campaign.
“So just as we, as citizens, must remain vigilant against external aggression, we must guard against a weakening of the values that make us who we are,” Obama told a crowd of 18,000 in his hometown of Chicago, where he celebrated his election in 2008 as the first black president of the United States.
Trump, who takes office on January 20, proposed temporarily banning Muslims from entering the country, building a wall on the border with Mexico, upending a global deal to fight climate change and dismantling Obama’s health care reform law.
Obama made clear his opposition to those positions during fiery campaign speeches for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
In his farewell speech, he made clear his positions had not changed and he said his efforts to end the use of torture and close the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were part of a broader move to uphold US values. “That’s why I reject discrimination against Muslim Americans,” he said in a clear reference to Trump.
He said bold action was needed to fight global warming and said “science and reason” mattered.
“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 said in another prodding challenge to his successor.
Trump has urged the Republican-controlled Congress to repeal the law right away.
Obama, who came to office amid high expectations his election would heal racial divides, acknowledged that was an impossible goal. “After my election, there was talk of a post-racial America,” he said. “Such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic. Race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society.”
However, Obama said he remained hopeful about the work a younger generation would do. “Yes we can,” he said. “Yes we did.”
In an indirect reference to work the Democratic Party needs to do to recover after Clinton’s loss, Obama urged racial minorities to seek justice not just for themselves but also for “the middle-aged white man who from the outside may seem like he’s got advantages, but who’s seen his world upended by economic, cultural, and technological change.”
First lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and many current and former White House staff and campaign workers attended the speech.
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