There were no democratic norms that guided what he should or could do. He was practically a god to those who had followed him into battle. After he led the colonies to victory as General Washington, there were no constraints on him, really. We have our first president, George Washington, to thank for setting that example. Truth was, I was also intent on following a wise American tradition of ex-presidents gracefully exiting the political stage and making room for new voices and new ideas. And I should add, by the way, now that I have a daughter in college, I can tell all the students here, your parents, they cry privately. I also wanted to spend some quality time with my daughters, who were suddenly young women on their way out the door. The truth is, after eight years in the white house, I needed to spend some time one on one with Michelle if I wanted to stay married. I did not take sides in that late-night food debate. Students made a spiffy video, and when I declined, I hear there was speculation that I was boycotting campus until Antonio’s pizza reopened. The student body president sent a very thoughtful invitation. I know people are still wondering why I didn’t speak at the 2017 commencement. Now, I want to start by addressing the elephant in the room. He is somebody who set the path for so much outstanding public service here in Illinois. I am deeply honored at the Paul Douglas award that is being given to me. I want to thank everybody at the U of I system for making it possible for me to be here today. I also noticed, by the way, former governor Edgar here, who I haven’t seen in a long time, and somehow he has not aged and it was great to see him. I have a bunch of good friends here today, including somebody who I served with who is one of the finest senators in the country, and we’re lucky to have your senator, Dick Durbin, is here. Please give it up for Amari, once again, for that outstanding introduction. They were very impressed at my agricultural knowledge. I was trying to explain to somebody as we were flying in, that’s corn. “Republicans who know better in Congress - and they’re there, they’re quoted saying, Yeah, we know this is kind of crazy - are still bending over backward to shield this behavior from scrutiny or accountability,” he said.Ī rush transcript of Obama’s remarks is below.īARACK OBAMA: Hello, Illinois! I.L.L.! I.L.L.! Okay, okay. “He is a symptom, not the cause.” But he went on to criticize Trump and Republicans in Congress at length, calling out coziness with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Trump’s tweets about the Justice Department investigating Republicans, the president’s reluctance to criticize Nazi sympathizers after the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, and more. “It did not start with Donald Trump,” Obama said. The former president unloaded on President Trump - by name - and Republicans in Congress during a blistering speech at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on Friday, urging students in the audience to vote in an election he called a turning point.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |