rhetorical analysis of obama's farewell speech

• Analysis of a Speech

Barack Obama's Farewell Speech

Mannerofspeaking.

• January 11, 2017

Yesterday, 10 January 2017, President Barack Obama gave his farewell speech in Chicago. It is the end of an era.  Obama brought intelligence, dignity and character to the White House.

As the first black President, Obama broke a barrier that seemed impenetrable not so long ago. In so doing, he not only faced a significant amount of racial hostility, he also had to contend with several spurious accusations, including those about his place of birth and religion. It is less than encouraging that one of the biggest promoters of those lies will be the next President of the United States.

Obama assumed office at a time when America was embroiled in two wars and the world was in the depths of a devastating recession. Throughout his mandate, he faced relentless opposition from the Republicans on most of his initiatives. There is nothing wrong with healthy opposition to ideas, but on many occasions, that opposition seemed more personal than substantive; more vindictive than constructive.  To be sure, Obama was not a perfect President, but neither were his 43 predecessors. And his successor won’t be either.

Obama delivered his farewell speech to a partisan crowd in his adopted city, so there was little doubt that he would receive a warm response. T here were the expected references to the highlights of his Presidency and hopeful words about the US, but the overall tone was a cautionary one about the fragility of American. Whether Obama’s concerns for the future are founded or not, we will all find out soon enough.

The video of Obama’s speech is immediately below. Rather than analyze the speech as I often do by picking different parts for discussion, I have decided to give you the entire text. It follows the video. At various places, I have added my thoughts in [red] . Those comments refer to the text that comes immediately before.

Barack Obama – 10 January 2017

Hello Skybrook!

It’s good to be home!

Thank you, everybody!

Thank you so much, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

It’s good to be home.

We’re on live TV here, I’ve got to move.  [Humour.]

You can tell that I’m a lame duck, because nobody is following instructions.  [Self-deprecating humour.]

Everybody have a seat.

My fellow Americans, Michelle and I have been so touched by all the well-wishes that we’ve received over the past few weeks. But tonight it’s my turn to say thanks.

Whether we have seen eye-to-eye or rarely agreed at all, my conversations with you, the American people — in living rooms and in schools; at farms and on factory floors; at diners and on distant military outposts — those conversations are what have kept me honest and kept me inspired and kept me going. [Three rhetorical devices in one shot: anaphora ; polysyndeton ; and tricolon .]  And every day, I have learned from you. You made me a better president, and you made me a better man.  [Anaphora.]

So I first came to Chicago when I was in my early twenties, and I was still trying to figure out who I was; still searching for a purpose to my life. And it was a neighborhood not far from here where I began working with church groups in the shadows of closed steel mills.  [Builds ethos by mentioning early work and also shares a personal challenge (albeit briefly) of trying to decide what to do with his life. This creates empathy with the audience.]

It was on these streets where I witnessed the power of faith, and the quiet dignity of working people in the face of struggle and loss.

I can’t do that.  [Humour, in response to chants of “Four more years!” from the audience.]

Now this is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved, and they get engaged, and they come together to demand it.  [Polysyndeton and tricolon.]

After eight years as your president, I still believe that. And it’s not just my belief. It’s the beating heart of our American idea — our bold experiment in self-government.  [Two metaphors. Notice also the repetition of the “b” adjectives, “beating” and “bold”.]

It’s the conviction that we are all created equal, endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  [Consonance: “conviction” / “created”. Alliteration: “equal” / “endowed”.]

It’s the insistence that these rights, while self-evident, 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, the great gift that our Founders gave to us. The freedom to chase our individual dreams through our sweat and toil and imagination — and the imperative to strive together as well, to achieve a common good, a greater good.  [ Epistrophe .]

For 240 years, our nation’s call to citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation. It’s what led patriots to choose republic over tyranny, pioneers to trek west, slaves to brave that makeshift railroad to freedom.  [Tricolon.]

I t’s what pulled immigrants and refugees across oceans and the Rio Grande. [Nice parallel between two waves of immigration, one in the past, one in the present.]  It’s what pushed women to reach for the ballot. It’s what powered workers to organize. It’s why GIs gave their lives at Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima; Iraq and Afghanistan [Again, a nice parallel between history and the present.]  — and why men and women from Selma to Stonewall were prepared to give theirs as well.

So that’s what we mean when we say America is exceptional. Not that our nation has been flawless from the start, but that we have shown the capacity to change, and make life better for those who follow.

Yes, our progress has been uneven. The work of democracy has always been hard. It has been contentious. Sometimes it has been bloody. For every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back. [Acknowledgement that he did not achieve all that he had hoped to. I think it would have been more effective had he been concrete about his shortcomings, especially given that he lists his achievements in the next paragraph below.]  But the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all, and not just some.

If I had told you eight years ago that America would reverse a great recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history — if I had told you that we would open up a new chapter with the Cuban people, shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons program without firing a shot, take out the mastermind of 9-11 — if I had told you that we would win marriage equality and secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million of our fellow citizens — if I had told you all that, you might have said our sights were set a little too high.  [Attempts to build ethos by listing achievements.]

But that’s what we did. That’s what you did. You were the change. [Gives credit to the American people.]  The answer to people’s hopes and, because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started.

In 10 days the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy. No, no, no, no, no. The peaceful transfer of power from one freely-elected President to the next. I committed to President-Elect Trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as President Bush did for me.  [Good that he cut off the audience’s boos about Trump by focusing on the importance of the peaceful transfer of power. It would have been good to hear him be a bit more conciliatory to / hopeful about Trump by —hard as that might be.]

Because it’s up to all of us to make sure our government can help us meet the many challenges we still face. We have what we need to do so. We have everything we need to meet those challenges. After all, we remain the wealthiest, most powerful, and most respected nation on earth.  [Tricolon.]

Our youth, our drive, our diversity and openness, our boundless capacity for risk and reinvention means that the future should be ours. But that potential will only be realized if our democracy works. Only if our politics better reflects the decency of our people. Only if all of us, regardless of party affiliation or particular interests help restore the sense of common purpose that we so badly need right now.  [Probably one of the most important parts of his speech. The United States is deeply divided and every day, Americans seem to be tearing each other apart a little more. This kind of rancour bodes ill for any nation.]

And that’s what I want to focus on tonight, the state of our democracy. Understand democracy does not require uniformity. [Good sound bite.]  Our founders argued, they quarreled, and eventually they compromised. They expected us to do the same. But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity. The idea that, for all our outward differences, we’re all in this together, that we rise or fall as one.  [Again, the call to a common purpose.]

There have been moments throughout our history that threatened that solidarity. And 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 our prosperity, but are testing 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.

In other words, it will determine our future. To begin with, our democracy won’t work without a sense that everyone has economic opportunity.  And the good news is that today the economy is growing again. Wages, incomes, home values and retirement accounts are all rising again. Poverty is falling again.

The wealthy are paying a fair share of taxes. Even as the stock market shatters records, the unemployment rate is near a 10-year low. The uninsured rate has never, ever been lower.

Health care costs are rising at the slowest rate in 50 years. [Perhaps, but they are still rising and it would have been nice to acknowledge this and stress the importance of brining them down.]  And I’ve said, and I mean it, 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.  [A nice challenge to those who are threatening to dismantle the  Affordable Care Act .]

Because that, after all, is why we serve. Not to score points or take credit. But to make people’s lives better.

But, for all the real progress that we’ve made, we know it’s not enough. Our economy doesn’t work as well or grow as fast when a few prosper at the expense of a growing middle class, and ladders for folks who want to get into the middle class.

That’s the economic argument. But stark inequality is also corrosive to our democratic idea. While the top 1 percent has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many of our families in inner cities and in rural counties have been left behind.  [I cannot disagree with anything in this statement, but again, it would have good to acknowledge his administration’s specific shortcomings.]

The laid off factory worker, the waitress or health care worker who’s just barely getting by and struggling to pay the bills. Convinced that the game is fixed against them. That their government only serves the interest of the powerful. That’s a recipe for more cynicism and polarization in our politics. 

Now there’re no quick fixes to this long-term trend. I agree, our trade should be fair and not just free. But the next wave of economic dislocations won’t come from overseas. It will come from the relentless pace of automation that makes a lot of good middle class jobs obsolete.  [I was glad to see him mention automation. The technological revolution is going to create a lot of jobs, but it will also eliminate a lot of jobs. I recently read an article in the Los Angeles Times that discussed a distribution warehouse in California that, two years ago, had 1,100 employees but that, because of automation, today only has 500 employees.]

And so we’re going to have to forge a new social compact to guarantee all our kids the education they need.  [Yes, but we are also going to have to retrain people whose jobs disappear because of automation.]

To give workers the power  to unionize for better wages.  To update the social safety net to reflect the way we live now.  And make more reforms to the tax code so corporations and the individuals who reap the most from this new economy don’t avoid their obligations to the country that’s made their very success possible.  [Good that he gave some examples of what it will mean to “forge a new social compact” because that phrase alone is vague.]

We can argue about how to best achieve these goals. But we can’t be complacent about the goals themselves. For if we don’t create opportunity for all people, the disaffection and division that has stalled our progress will only sharpen in years to come.

There’s a second threat to our democracy. And this one is as old as our nation itself.

After my election there was talk of a post-racial America. And such a vision, however well intended, was never realistic. Race remains a potent  and often divisive force in our society.  [A sad reality but important to admit it.]

Now I’ve lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were 10 or 20 or 30 years ago, no matter what some folks say.

You can see it not just in statistics. You see it in the attitudes of young Americans across the political spectrum. But we’re not where we need to be. And all of us have more work to do.

If every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and an undeserving minority, then workers of all shades are going to be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves.  [Great line.]

If we’re unwilling to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don’t look like us, we will diminish the prospects of our own children — because those brown kids will represent a larger and larger share of America’s workforce.

And we have shown that our economy doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game. Last year, incomes rose for all races, all age groups, for men and for women.

So if we’re going to be serious about race going forward, we need to uphold laws against discrimination — in hiring and in housing and in education and in the criminal justice system.  [Polysydeton.]

That is what our Constitution and highest ideals require.

But laws alone won’t be enough. Hearts must change. It won’t change overnight. Social attitudes oftentimes take generations to change. But if our democracy is to work the way it should in this increasingly diverse nation, then each one of us need to try to heed the advice of a great character in American fiction, Atticus Finch, 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.”  [I found it a bit odd to quote Atticus Finch, as much as I love  To Kill a Mockingbird . Obama should have quoted the Cherokee tribe of Native Americans: “Don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.” He could have substituted “person” for “man”.]

For blacks and other minority groups, that means tying our own very real struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face. Not only the refugee or the immigrant or the rural poor or the transgender American, but also the middle-aged white guy who from the outside may seem like he’s got all the advantages, but has seen his world upended by economic, and cultural, and technological change.

We have to pay attention and listen.  [Important because many “middle-aged white guys” felt that Washington has ignored them and that is a big factor in the Democrats’ election loss.]

For white Americans, it means acknowledging that the effects of slavery and Jim Crow didn’t suddenly vanish in the ’60s; that when minority groups voice discontent, they’re not just engaging in reverse racism or practicing political correctness; when they wage peaceful protest, they’re not demanding special treatment, but the equal treatment that our founders promised.

For native-born Americans, it means reminding ourselves that the stereotypes about immigrants today were said, almost word for word, about the Irish, and Italians, and Poles, who it was said were going to destroy the fundamental character of America. And as it turned out, America wasn’t weakened by the presence of these newcomers; these newcomers embraced this nation’s creed, and this nation was strengthened.  [Very good to draw a parallel with the Irish, Italians and Poles who are now considered mainstream Americans.]

So regardless of the station we occupy; we all have to try harder; we all have to start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family just like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own.

And that’s not easy to do. For too many of us it’s become safer to retreat into our own bubbles, whether in our neighborhoods, or on college campuses, or places of worship, or especially our social media feeds, surrounded by people who look like us and share the same political outlook and never challenge our assumptions. In the rise of naked partisanship and increasing economic and regional stratification, the splintering of our media into a channel for every taste, all this makes this great sorting seem natural, even inevitable.

And increasingly we become so secure in our bubbles that we start accepting only information, whether it’s true or not, that fits our opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that is out there.  [Another important point. People are now living in their own echo chambers. The only time they come out is to rant on social media at people living in a different echo chamber. People need to be able to listen to, and think about, divergent points of view.]

And this trend represents a third threat to our democracy. Look, politics is a battle of ideas. That’s how our democracy was designed. In the course of a healthy debate, we prioritize different goals, and the different means of reaching them. But without some common baseline of facts, without a willingness to admit new information and concede that your opponent might be making a fair point, and that science and reason matter, then we’re going to keep talking past each other.  [Expanding the point above.]

And we’ll make common ground and compromise impossible. And isn’t that part of what so often makes politics dispiriting? [A sad reality.]  How can elected officials rage about deficits when we propose to spend money on pre-school for kids, but not when we’re cutting taxes for corporations?

How do we excuse ethical lapses in our own party, but pounce when the other party does the same thing? It’s not just dishonest, it’s selective sorting [Good alliteration.]  of the facts. It’s self-defeating because, as my mom used to tell me, reality has a way of catching up with you.  [Good quote from a personal source.]

Take the challenge of climate change. In just eight years we’ve halved our dependence on foreign oil, we’ve doubled our renewable energy, we’ve led the world to an agreement that (at) the promise to save this planet.

But without bolder action, our children won’t have time to debate the existence of climate change. They’ll be busy dealing with its effects. More environmental disasters, more economic disruptions, waves of climate refugees seeking sanctuary. [Tricolon.]  Now we can and should argue about the best approach to solve the problem. But to simply deny the problem not only betrays future generations, it betrays the essential spirit of this country, the essential spirit of innovation and practical problem-solving that guided our founders.  [Tricolon.]

It is that spirit — it is that spirit born of the enlightenment that made us an economic powerhouse. The spirit that took flight at Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral, the spirit that cures disease and put a computer in every pocket, it’s that spirit. A faith in reason and enterprise, and the primacy of right over might, that allowed us to resist the lure of fascism and tyranny during the Great Depression, that allowed us to build a post-World War II order with other democracies.

An order based not just on military power or national affiliations, but built on principles, the rule of law, human rights, freedom of religion and speech and assembly and an independent press.

That order is now being challenged. First by violent fanatics who claim to speak for Islam. More recently by autocrats in foreign capitals who see free markets in open democracies and civil society itself as a threat to their power.

The peril each poses to our democracy is more far reaching than a car bomb or a missile. They represent the fear of change. The fear of people who look or speak or pray differently. A contempt for the rule of law that holds leaders accountable. An intolerance of dissent [Consonance: “intolerance” / “dissent”.]  and free thought. A belief that the sword or the gun or the bomb or the propaganda machine is the ultimate arbiter of what’s true and what’s right.

Because of the extraordinary courage of our men and women in uniform. Because of our intelligence officers and law enforcement and diplomats who support our troops,  no foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland these past eight years.

And although  Boston and Orlando and San Bernardino and Fort Hood remind us of how dangerous radicalization can be, our law enforcement agencies are more effective and vigilant than ever. We have taken out tens of thousands of terrorists, including Bin Laden.

The global coalition we’re leading against ISIL has taken out their leaders and taken away about half their territory. ISIL will be destroyed. And no one who threatens America will ever be safe.

And all who serve or have served — it has been the honor of my lifetime to be your commander-in-chief.  And we all owe you a deep debt of gratitude.

But, protecting our way of life, that’s not just the job of our military. Democracy can buckle when it gives into fear. 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.  [Call to action and a thinly disguised plea to Americans to hold Donald Trump to account.]

And that’s why for the past eight years I’ve worked to put the fight against terrorism on a firmer legal footing. That’s why we’ve ended torture, worked to close Gitmo, reformed our laws governing surveillance to protect privacy and civil liberties.

That’s why I reject discrimination against Muslim Americans who are just as patriotic as we are. That’s why we cannot withdraw from big global fights to expand democracy and human rights and women’s rights and LGBT rights.

No matter how imperfect our efforts, no matter how expedient ignoring such values may seem, that’s part of defending America. For the fight against extremism and intolerance and sectarianism and chauvinism are of a piece with the fight against authoritarianism and nationalist aggression. If the scope of freedom and respect for the rule of law shrinks around the world, the likelihood of war within and between nations increases, and our own freedoms will eventually be threatened.

So let’s be vigilant, but not afraid. ISIL will try to kill innocent people. But they cannot defeat America unless we betray our Constitution and our principles in the fight.  [Call to action.]

Rivals like Russia or China cannot match our influence around the world — unless we give up what we stand for, and turn ourselves into just another big country that bullies smaller neighbors.

Which brings me to my final point — our democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted.  All of us, regardless of party, should be throwing ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic institutions.

When voting rates in America are some of the lowest among advanced democracies, we should be making it easier, not harder, to vote.

When trust in our institutions is low, we should reduce the corrosive influence of money in our politics, and insist on the principles of transparency and ethics in public service. When Congress is dysfunctional, we should draw our districts to encourage politicians to cater to common sense and not rigid extremes.  [Important, but politicians have been saying the same thing for years.]

But remember, none of this happens on its own. All of this depends on our participation; on each of us accepting the responsibility of citizenship, regardless of which way the pendulum of power happens to be swinging.

Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift. But it’s really just a piece of parchment. [Nice contrast: from a beautiful gift to a piece of parchment.]  It has no power on its own. We, the people, give it power. We, the people, give it meaning — with our participation, and with the choices that we make and the alliances that we forge.

Whether or not we stand up for our freedoms. Whether or not we respect and enforce the rule of law, that’s up to us. America is no fragile thing. But the gains of our long journey to freedom are not assured.

In his own farewell address, George Washington wrote that self-government is the underpinning of our safety, prosperity, and liberty, but “from different causes and from different quarters much pains will be taken … to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth.”

And so we have to preserve this truth with “jealous anxiety;” that we should reject “the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties” that make us one.  [Call to action.]

America, we weaken those ties when we allow our political dialogue to become so corrosive that people of good character aren’t even willing to enter into public service. [Sad but true.]  So course with rancor that Americans with whom we disagree are seen, not just as misguided, but as malevolent. We weaken those ties when we define some of us as more American than others.

When we write off the whole system as inevitably corrupt. And when we sit back and blame the leaders we elect without examining our own role in electing them.

It falls to each of us to be those anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy. Embrace the joyous task we have been given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours because, for all our outward differences, we in fact all share the same proud type, the most important office in a democracy, citizen.

Citizen. So, you see, that’s what our democracy demands. It needs you. Not just when there’s an election, not just when you own narrow interest is at stake, but over the full span of a lifetime. If you’re tired of arguing with strangers on the Internet, try talking with one of them in real life.  [Call to action.]

If something needs fixing, then lace up your shoes and do some organizing.  [Call to action.]

If you’re disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clip board, get some signatures, and run for office yourself.  [Call to action.]

Show up, dive in, stay at it. Sometimes you’ll win, sometimes you’ll lose. Presuming a reservoir in goodness, that can be a risk. And there will be times when the process will disappoint you. But for those of us fortunate enough to have been part of this one and to see it up close, let me tell you, it can energize and inspire. And more often than not, your faith in America and in Americans will be confirmed. Mine sure has been.

Over the course of these eight years, I’ve seen the hopeful faces of young graduates and our newest military officers. I have mourned with grieving families searching for answers, and found grace in a Charleston church. I’ve seen our scientists help a paralyzed man regain his sense of touch. I’ve seen Wounded Warriors who at points were given up for dead walk again.

I’ve seen our doctors and volunteers rebuild after earthquakes and stop pandemics in their tracks. I’ve seen the youngest of children remind us through their actions and through their generosity of our obligations to care for refugees or work for peace and, above all, to look out for each other. So that faith that I placed all those years ago, not far from here, in the power of ordinary Americans to bring about change, that faith has been rewarded in ways I could not have possibly imagined.

And I hope your faith has too. Some of you here tonight or watching at home, you were there with us in 2004 and 2008, 2012. Maybe you still can’t believe we pulled this whole thing off. Let me tell you, you’re not the only ones.

Michelle.  Michelle LaVaughn Robinson of the South Side. For  the past 25 years you have not only been my wife and mother of my children, you have been my best friend.

You took on a role you didn’t ask for. And you made it your own with grace and with grit and with style, and good humor.  You made the White House a place that belongs to everybody.  And a new generation sets its sights higher because it has you as a role model.

You have made me proud, and you have made the country proud.

Malia and Sasha,  under the strangest of circumstances you have become two amazing young women.  You are smart and you are beautiful. But more importantly, you are kind and you are thoughtful and you are full of passion.  And  you wore the burden of years in the spotlight so easily. Of all that I have done in my life, I am most proud to be your dad.

To Joe Biden,  the scrappy kid from Scranton  who became Delaware’s favorite son. You were the first decision I made as a nominee, and it was the best.

Not just because you have been a great vice president, but because in the bargain I gained a brother. And we love you and Jill like family. And your friendship has been one of the great joys of our lives.

To my remarkable staff, for eight years, and for some of you a whole lot more, I have drawn from your energy. And every day I try to reflect back what you displayed. Heart and character. And idealism. I’ve watched you grow up, get married, have kids, start incredible new journeys of your own.

Even when times got tough and frustrating, you never let Washington get the better of you. You guarded against cynicism. And the only thing that makes me prouder than all the good that we’ve done is the thought of all the amazing things that you are going to achieve from here.

And to all of you out there — every organizer who moved to an unfamiliar town, every kind family who welcomed them in, every volunteer who knocked on doors, every young person who cast a ballot for the first time, every American who lived and breathed the hard work of change — you are the best supporters and organizers anybody could ever hope for, and I will forever be grateful. Because you did change the world.  You did.

And that’s why I leave this stage tonight even more optimistic about this country than when we started. Because I know our work has not only helped so many Americans; it has inspired so many Americans — especially so many young people out there — to believe that you can make a difference; to hitch your wagon to something bigger than yourselves.

Let me tell you, this generation coming up — unselfish, altruistic, creative, patriotic — I’ve seen you in every corner of the country. You believe in a fair, and just, and inclusive America; you know that constant change has been America’s hallmark, that it’s not something to fear but something to embrace, you are willing to carry this hard work of democracy forward. You’ll soon outnumber any of us, and I believe as a result the future is in good hands.

My fellow Americans, it has been the honor of my life to serve you. I won’t stop; in fact, I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days. But for now, whether you are young or whether you’re young at heart, I do have one final ask of you as your president — the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago.

I am asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change — but in yours.

I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and those who marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefields to the surface of the moon; a creed at the core of every American whose story is not yet written:

Yes, we can.  [Callback to his famous election slogan.]

Yes, we did.  [Play on the slogan.]

Yes, we can.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God continue to bless the United States of America. Thank you.

Like this article?

Thanks John for posting the full speech here with your interesting comments. It was very useful for preparing my own rainbow review of the President’s speech.

Thank you for the comment, David. And thank you for sharing your rainbow review of the speech. Very interesting and I agree with you: there was little joy in the speech and much more focus on hope and vision, given Obama’s concern for what comes next.

Donald Trump’s inaugural address was the most ignorant and senseless group of words (if it can even be called that) I have heard in 70 years of my life! The man cannot speak properly at all; he can govern even less than he can speak! In the beginning I thought he would be a good president, but he turned to be what fish put of the freezer is after three days; a very undesirable piece of meat!

I don’t disagree.

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After a morning of team building activities using improvisation as the conduit, John came on stage to close the staff event which was organised in Chamonix, France. His energy and presence were immediately felt by all the members of staff. The work put into the preparation of his speech was evident and by sharing some his own stories, he was able to conduct a closing inspirational speech which was relevant, powerful and impactful for all at IRU. The whole team left feeling engaged and motivated to tackle the 2019 objectives ahead. Thank you, John.

Umberto de Pretto

Secretary General, World Road Transport Organization

I was expecting a few speaking tips and tricks and a few fun exercises, but you went above and beyond – and sideways. You taught me to stand tall. You taught me to anchor myself. You taught me to breathe. You taught me to open up. You taught me to look people in the eye. You taught me to tell the truth. You taught me to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. I got more than I bargained for in the best possible way.

Thuy Khoc-Bilon

World Cancer Day Campaign Manager, Union for International Cancer Control

John gave a brilliant presentation on public speaking during the UN EMERGE programme in Geneva (a two days workshop on leadership development for a group of female staff members working in the UN organizations in Geneva). His talk was inspirational and practical, thanks to the many techniques and tips he shared with the audience. His teaching can dramatically change our public speaking performance and enable us as presenters to have a real and powerful impact. Thank you, John, for your great contribution!

HR Specialist, World Health Organization

John is a genuine communication innovator. His seminars on gamification of public speaking learning and his interactive Rhetoric game at our conference set the tone for change and improvement in our organisation. The quality of his input, the impact he made with his audience and his effortlessly engaging style made it easy to get on board with his core messages and won over some delegates who were extremely skeptical as to the efficacy of games for learning. I simply cannot recommend him highly enough.

Thomas Scott

National Education Director, Association of Speakers Clubs UK

John joined our Global Sales Meeting in Segovia, Spain and we all participated in his "Improv(e) your Work!" session. I say “all” because it really was all interactive, participatory, learning and enjoyable. The session surprised everybody and was a fresh-air activity that brought a lot of self-reflection and insights to improve trust and confidence in each other inside our team. It´s all about communication and a good manner of speaking!"

General Manager Europe, Hayward Industries

Thank you very much for the excellent presentation skills session. The feedback I received was very positive. Everyone enjoyed the good mix of listening to your speech, co-developing a concrete take-away and the personal learning experience. We all feel more devoted to the task ahead, more able to succeed and an elevated team spirit. Delivering this in a short time, both in session and in preparation, is outstanding!

Henning Dehler

CFO European Dairy Supply Chain & Operations, Danone

Thanks to John’s excellent workshop, I have learned many important tips and techniques to become an effective public speaker. John is a fantastic speaker and teacher, with extensive knowledge of the field. His workshop was a great experience and has proven extremely useful for me in my professional and personal life.

Eric Thuillard

Senior Sales Manager, Sunrise Communications

John’s presentation skills training was a terrific investment of my time. I increased my skills in this important area and feel more comfortable when speaking to an audience. John provided the right mix between theory and practice.

Diego Brait

Director of the Jura Region, BKW Energie AG

Be BOLD. Those two words got stuck in my head and in the heads of all those ADP leaders and associates that had the privilege to see John on stage. He was our keynote speaker at our annual convention in Barcelona, and his message still remains! John puts his heart in every word. Few speakers are so credible, humble and yet super strong with large audiences!

Guadalupe Garcia

Senior Director and Talent Partner, ADP International

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Transcript And Analysis: Obama Addresses The Nation In Farewell Speech

President Obama speaks during his farewell address in Chicago on Tuesday. NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

President Obama speaks during his farewell address in Chicago on Tuesday.

President Obama gave his farewell address to the nation on Tuesday night from his hometown of Chicago.

NPR's politics team, with help from reporters and editors across the newsroom, live-annotated the speech. Portions of the transcript with added analysis are underlined in yellow, followed by context and fact checks below.

Obama Defends His Legacy In Farewell: 'Democracy Can Buckle When We Give In To Fear'

Note: The transcript was updated throughout the speech. While we are working to correct errors, it may contain discrepancies and typographical errors.

Correction Jan. 11, 2017

In a previous version of this annotation, we referred to late 2008 as the high point of oil-barrel imports during President Obama's two terms. Obama did not take office until January 2009.

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Rhetorical analysis of Barack Obamas farewell

Related Papers

Ramona Bran , andreea pele

The article explores Barack Obama’s most notable speeches after becoming president. The authors intend to write a sequel to their 2009 paper Yes We Can: A New American Identity in the Speeches of Barack Obama, which looked at Obama’s campaign discourse, and investigate if his rhetoric has changed in the first half of his mandate.

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This essay offers an analysis of Barack Obama’s official announcement speech of 2007 and his definition of ‘‘change.’’ Contrary to critics who have separated ‘‘vernacular’’ and ‘‘elite’’ strands of republican philosophy, I argue that Obama’s ‘‘change’’ rhetorically combined these frameworks into a threefold appeal for political leadership: the expansion of collective freedom, the necessary participation of citizens in public affairs, and the centrality of speechifying to political leadership. Understanding this characterization of change allows better comprehension of Obama’s transition from politician to presidential candidate within his situational constraints, as well as the distinctive public memory attributed to Abraham Lincoln throughout the announcement speech.

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This article aims to analyse the use of the first person plural, second person and third person references in Obama’s and Bush’s victory speeches. The contrasting circumstances surrounding the election of both presidents were imprinted on discourse through different patterns of personal refe-rences (martin, 1992) and transitivity structures (Halliday, 2004 [1985]). By analysing them this paper will illustrate the social function of individuals in the speeches, as well as the way in which the systematic use of both linguistic devices contributed ultimately to define the role of the speak-ers as presidents of the United States. Whereas Obama’s victory speech centred on the audience and allowed them to feel protagonists, Bush’s anti-triumphant speech ignored them.

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This study is aimed to identify the kinds, functions, and meanings of rhetorical schemes applied in Obama’s speech. The data of this study were taken by documentation method and note-taking technique from the winning speech delivered by Barack Obama on November, 4th 2008 at Grant Park in Chicago. The video is uploaded by Marc Schulz on October, 19th 2012 in YouTube and its transcript is available on ABC news (internet). In addition, the data were analyzed descriptive qualitatively using Holman’s theory about rhetorical devices (1960). This study revealed that there are three schemes in rhetorical devices namely phonological, morphological, and syntactical applied by Barack Obama. Furthermore, two functions applied are to give vivid example and to emphasize points. The meanings from applied rhetorical schemes are constructed based on the reference Obama does in his speech towards socio-historical events in America.

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The rhetorical tools used in Obama’s powerful Charleston address

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Even by his high standards, President Barack Obama’s eulogy in Charleston for Clementa Pinckney — the pastor and state senator killed with eight of his flock by a white supremacist during a church service — was a fine speech. Some have rated it among the great speeches of his career (you can find the full transcript here and a full video here).

That it was a moving speech did not mean that it was spontaneous or unpremeditated. You did not so much need to count the rhetorical tricks (see glossary below) as weigh them.

Systrophe , antithesis , anaphora , epistrophe , symploce , zeugma , alliteration , syntheton , apostrophe  . . . In a speech lasting a little over half an hour I counted 25 or so instances of tricolon — arranging things in groups of three. Sincere, as I say, does not necessarily mean not-artful. Likewise, artful does not necessarily mean not-sincere.

Mr Obama is known to be a divisive figure. Here his task was to use an instance of racial violence to call for unity — and, trickier, to build political capital for gun control. Black America and white America, as well as red America and blue America, have religion in common. So here was an address somewhere between a presidential speech and a sermon. He began with a Bible verse, and he explored an orthodox theological point — that divine grace is not earned but unconditional — and made that the spine of his oration.

Marrying the language of politics with that of the folk pulpit is a trick he learnt from Martin Luther King . It is central to the history of the civil rights movement; and in an early parallelism Mr Obama pointedly identified Pinckney as from a family of “preachers” and “protesters”.

As in King’s speeches, the oral performance was everything. It behaved antiphonally: as Mr Obama delivered the speech he was effectively in dialogue with his audience. Murmurs of approval, exclamations, even little organ trills, are heard from the crowd.

Here is a speaker working with his audience: to create an idea of unity within the congregation and sell that as a model for something wider. His register was often intimate (he talked of “brothers and sisters”, described his personal acquaintance with Pinckney, and introduced the relatable tactile detail of a “husband who will never feel his wife’s warm touch”) but it reached out in the hopes of corralling the “big, raucous place America is” away from its habit of viewing “those who disagree with us [as] not merely wrong but bad”.

Then — a brave as well as an effective stroke; to sing in public is very exposing — he started to sing. The theme of grace, worked through the speech as an idea and in phrases from the hymn, was suddenly emotionally animated in performance. He stopped being a theologian and became a congregant — and, of course, fellow members of the congregation joined in: speaker and audience were, almost literally, singing from the same hymn-sheet.

Then came an incantatory naming of names: “Clementa Pinckney found that grace. Cynthia Hurd found that grace. Susie Jackson found that grace . . .” In classic funeral oration style, Mr Obama celebrated the dead by suggesting that carrying their legacy forward is the duty of the living.

Having opened with the Bible, he closed his eulogy with the words that end many of his national addresses: “United States of America.” He hit the stress hard on the first of those words: “Un- it -ed.” Which was, at least, the hope.

The writer is the author of ‘You Talkin’ to Me?’ Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama

[email protected]

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Eight of the Biggest Takeaways From President Obama's Farewell Address

In an expansive and emotional farewell address in Chicago on Tuesday, President Barack Obama revisited the achievements and challenges of his eight years in office , outlined what he sees as the greatest threats to our democracy and both paid tribute to his supporters and colleagues, while urging them to keep fighting for what they believe in.

Related: Obama at Farewell Address: You Made Me a Better President

The speech arrived at a surreal moment, 10 days away from his final day in the White House, Obama is enjoying his highest approval ratings in over six years ( according to a new Quinnipiac poll ) while his polarizing successor, President-elect Donald Trump has been besieged with unflattering headlines and ever more discouraging poll numbers.

Amid all the speculation and apprehension, Obama gave one of the most memorable final major addresses from a president in recent history. Here are eight of the biggest takeaways from the speech people will be talking about for a long time:

1) Obama plans to defend his accomplishments

Some of the president's biggest applause lines came when he doubled down his legislative and diplomatic victories (from his stewardship of the economy during the Great Recession to his outreach to Cuba and Iran), almost daring his successors to undermine them at their own risk.

For instance, he continued to champion his imperiled Affordable Care Act (which has by most calculations brought the U.S. uninsured rate to a historic low) and argued that if his anyone ever crafted a plan that was more cost effective and provided health care to more people he himself would endorse it.

2) Obama is committed to taking down Trump-ism, if not Trump himself

The president's few words specifically mentioning his successor were gracious (even amid boos from the crowd in Chicago), but the bulk of his oratory read as a defiant rebuke of the controversial political ideology that the president-elect espoused both during and since the general election.

Obama made it clear that he will not tolerate discrimination against Muslims or undocumented immigrants, that he will stand in opposition to any efforts to divide Americans along the lines of race, gender, sexuality or economic class, and he defended those who have made their dissent known through peaceful protest, arguing "they’re not demanding special treatment, but equal treatment."

3) Obama sees economic inequality, racial antagonism and willful ignorance as major threats to democracy

Although the thrust of Obama's oratory was largely optimistic, he did take great pains to outline what he sees as the most imminent threats to our country's ability to unify. In some cases, when it came to addressing the gap between the rich and poor and racial unrest, he argued the solutions go hand in hand.

Related: Obama Legacy on Race is About Representation, Respect

"After all, if every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hard-working 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," he said. The president went on to say that Americans on both sides of aisle are doing the country a disservice by subscribing to only the facts they choose to believe.

4) Obama warned that we only embolden our enemies by turning on each other

While Obama paid homage to the nation's military, diplomats, and law enforcement for helping to prevent any foreign attacks on U.S. soil during his tenure, he admitted that there is a lot more work to do, particularly within the country where he said "democracy can buckle when it gives into fear."

Without mentioning Trump by name, the president took several not-very-veiled swipes at some of his most controversial rhetoric about international policy, and said "we cannot withdraw from global fights — to expand democracy, and human rights, women’s rights, and LGBT rights — no matter how imperfect our efforts, no matter how expedient ignoring such values may seem."

5) Obama will push for a renewed commitment to public service and lawmakers that reflect the country

The president got granular about the harm that redistricting and the suppression of voting rights has done to the American people's faith in their political process and ability to effect change. Obama hinted at him taking a personal role (already reported on last fall ) in reversing that trend but also eagerly encouraged his supporters to seek office themselves (echoing a call Sen. Bernie Sanders made to his dispirited followers last fall) and made the argument that the process of serving had enriched him.

"Show up. Dive in. Persevere. Sometimes you’ll win. Sometimes you’ll lose," said Obama. "Presuming a reservoir of goodness in others can be a risk, and there will be times when the process disappoints you. But for those of us fortunate enough to have been a part of this work, to see it up close, let me tell you, it can energize and inspire. And more often than not, your faith in America — and in Americans — will be confirmed. Mine sure has been."

6) Obama thinks we all need to put our phones down and talk to one another

In one of the few and biggest laugh lines of the night, President Obama suggested, "If you’re tired of arguing with strangers on the Internet, try to talk with one in real life." It was part of a larger case he made throughout the speech, which touched on themes he has returned to again and again as both a candidate and president, about the things that unite Americans more than divides them.

Related: Full Text of President Barack Obama's Prepared Farewell Address

The president lamented the way in which Americans now self-segregate even in terms of the news they consume and don't spend enough time heeding the Atticus Finch character's advice from "To Kill a Mockingbird": "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."

7) Obama believes that the millennial generation will preserve and protect his values

Still, Obama sees a lot to be optimistic about in one of his most devoted bloc of supporters — the youth. "This generation coming up — unselfish, altruistic, creative, patriotic — I’ve seen you in every corner of the country," the president said. "You believe in a fair, just, inclusive America; you know that constant change has been America’s hallmark, something not to fear but to embrace, and you are willing to carry this hard work of democracy forward. You’ll soon outnumber any of us, and I believe as a result that the future is in good hands.

8) Obama's a softie, when all is said and done

A tearful President Obama brought the house down with his heartfelt tributes to his staff, Vice President Joe Biden (who he called a "brother), wife first lady Michelle Obama (whose first name alone brought along a standing ovation) and his now teenage daughter Malia and Sasha. Despite clearly taking great pride in his formidable record as president, Obama calling being their father the "proudest" achievement of his life. And with a playful callback to his 2008 campaign slogan "Yes We Can," Obama then descended into the crowd personally greeting and thanking the throngs in attendance. Although he has no more campaigns to run he pledged to be "right there with you" as a private citizen.

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Transcript And Analysis: President Obama Addresses The Nation In Farewell Speech

• WBUR Newsroom

President Obama gave his farewell address to the nation Tuesday night from Chicago.

NPR's politics team, with help from reporters and editors across the newsroom, live-annotated the speech. Portions of the transcript below with added analysis are underlined in yellow, followed by context and fact checks below.

This article was originally published on January 10, 2017.

• Forceful And Tearful, Obama Says Goodbye In Emotional Speech
• Watch: President Obama's Farewell Address
• Scorecard For A Departing President: Assessing Obama's Successes And Shortcomings
• Obama's Farewell Address: How Presidents Use This Moment Of Reflection

More from WBUR

Farewell Address

January 10, 2017, president obama delivered his farewell address in chicago on january 10, 2017. watch it here:, farewell - transcript.

“I’m asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change — but in yours.” — President Obama

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Chicago! (Applause.) It's good to be home! (Applause.) Thank you, everybody. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you so much. Thank you. (Applause.) All right, everybody sit down. (Applause.) We're on live TV here. I've got to move. (Applause.) You can tell that I'm a lame duck because nobody is following instructions. (Laughter.) Everybody have a seat. (Applause.)

My fellow Americans — (applause) — Michelle and I have been so touched by all the well wishes that we've received over the past few weeks. But tonight, it's my turn to say thanks. (Applause.) Whether we have seen eye-to-eye or rarely agreed at all, my conversations with you, the American people, in living rooms and in schools, at farms, on factory floors, at diners and on distant military outposts — those conversations are what have kept me honest, and kept me inspired, and kept me going. And every day, I have learned from you. You made me a better President, and you made me a better man. (Applause.)

“This is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved and they get engaged, and they come together to demand it.”

So I first came to Chicago when I was in my early 20s. And I was still trying to figure out who I was, still searching for a purpose in my life. And it was a neighborhood not far from here where I began working with church groups in the shadows of closed steel mills. It was on these streets where I witnessed the power of faith, and the quiet dignity of working people in the face of struggle and loss.

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT: I can't do that.

THE PRESIDENT: This is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved and they get engaged, and they come together to demand it.

After eight years as your President, I still believe that. And it's not just my belief. It's the beating heart of our American idea — our bold experiment in self-government. It's the conviction that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It's the insistence that these rights, while self-evident, 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. A great gift that our Founders gave to us: The freedom to chase our individual dreams through our sweat and toil and imagination, and the imperative to strive together, as well, to achieve a common good, a greater good.

For 240 years, our nation's call to citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation. It's what led patriots to choose republic over tyranny, pioneers to trek west, slaves to brave that makeshift railroad to freedom. It's what pulled immigrants and refugees across oceans and the Rio Grande. (Applause.) It's what pushed women to reach for the ballot. It's what powered workers to organize. It's why GIs gave their lives at Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima, Iraq and Afghanistan. And why men and women from Selma to Stonewall were prepared to give theirs, as well. (Applause.)

So that's what we mean when we say America is exceptional — not that our nation has been flawless from the start, but that we have shown the capacity to change and make life better for those who follow. Yes, our progress has been uneven. The work of democracy has always been hard. It's always been contentious. Sometimes it's been bloody. For every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back. But the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all and not just some. (Applause.)

If I had told you eight years ago that America would reverse a great recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history — (applause) — if I had told you that we would open up a new chapter with the Cuban people, shut down Iran's nuclear weapons program without firing a shot, take out the mastermind of 9/11 — (applause) — if I had told you that we would win marriage equality, and secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million of our fellow citizens — (applause) — if I had told you all that, you might have said our sights were set a little too high. But that's what we did. (Applause.) That's what you did.

You were the change. You answered people's hopes, and because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started. (Applause.)

In 10 days, the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy.

AUDIENCE: Nooo —

THE PRESIDENT: No, no, no, no, no — the peaceful transfer of power from one freely elected President to the next. (Applause.) I committed to President-elect Trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as President Bush did for me. (Applause.) Because it's up to all of us to make sure our government can help us meet the many challenges we still face.

We have what we need to do so. We have everything we need to meet those challenges. After all, we remain the wealthiest, most powerful, and most respected nation on Earth. Our youth, our drive, our diversity and openness, our boundless capacity for risk and reinvention means that the future should be ours. But that potential will only be realized if our democracy works. Only if our politics better reflects the decency of our people. (Applause.) Only if all of us, regardless of party affiliation or particular interests, help restore the sense of common purpose that we so badly need right now.

“... democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity — the idea that for all our outward differences, we're all in this together; that we rise or fall as one.”

That's what I want to focus on tonight: The state of our democracy. Understand, democracy does not require uniformity. Our founders argued. They quarreled. Eventually they compromised. They expected us to do the same. But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity — the idea that for all our outward differences, we're all in this together; that we rise or fall as one. (Applause.)

There have been moments throughout our history that threatens that solidarity. And 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 our prosperity, but are testing 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. In other words, it will determine our future.

To begin with, our democracy won't work without a sense that everyone has economic opportunity. And the good news is that today the economy is growing again. Wages, incomes, home values, and retirement accounts are all rising again. Poverty is falling again. (Applause.) The wealthy are paying a fairer share of taxes even as the stock market shatters records. The unemployment rate is near a 10-year low. The uninsured rate has never, ever been lower. (Applause.) Health care costs are rising at the slowest rate in 50 years. And I've said and I mean it — if anyone can put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements we've made to our health care system and that covers as many people at less cost, I will publicly support it. (Applause.)

Because that, after all, is why we serve. Not to score points or take credit, but to make people's lives better. (Applause.)

But for all the real progress that we've made, we know it's not enough. Our economy doesn't work as well or grow as fast when a few prosper at the expense of a growing middle class and ladders for folks who want to get into the middle class. (Applause.) That's the economic argument. But stark inequality is also corrosive to our democratic ideal. While the top one percent has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many families, in inner cities and in rural counties, have been left behind — the laid-off factory worker; the waitress or health care worker who's just barely getting by and struggling to pay the bills — convinced that the game is fixed against them, that their government only serves the interests of the powerful — that's a recipe for more cynicism and polarization in our politics.

But there are no quick fixes to this long-term trend. I agree, our trade should be fair and not just free. But the next wave of economic dislocations won't come from overseas. It will come from the relentless pace of automation that makes a lot of good, middle-class jobs obsolete.

And so we're going to have to forge a new social compact to guarantee all our kids the education they need — (applause) — to give workers the power to unionize for better wages; to update the social safety net to reflect the way we live now, and make more reforms to the tax code so corporations and individuals who reap the most from this new economy don't avoid their obligations to the country that's made their very success possible. (Applause.)

We can argue about how to best achieve these goals. But we can't be complacent about the goals themselves. For if we don't create opportunity for all people, the disaffection and division that has stalled our progress will only sharpen in years to come.

There's a second threat to our democracy — and this one is as old as our nation itself. After my election, there was talk of a post-racial America. And such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic. Race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society. Now, I've lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were 10, or 20, or 30 years ago, no matter what some folks say. (Applause.) You can see it not just in statistics, you see it in the attitudes of young Americans across the political spectrum.

But we're not where we need to be. And all of us have more work to do. (Applause.) If every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and an undeserving minority, then workers of all shades are going to be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves. (Applause.) If we're unwilling to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don't look like us, we will diminish the prospects of our own children — because those brown kids will represent a larger and larger share of America's workforce. (Applause.) And we have shown that our economy doesn't have to be a zero-sum game. Last year, incomes rose for all races, all age groups, for men and for women.

So if we're going to be serious about race going forward, we need to uphold laws against discrimination — in hiring, and in housing, and in education, and in the criminal justice system. (Applause.) That is what our Constitution and our highest ideals require. (Applause.)

But laws alone won't be enough. Hearts must change. It won't change overnight. Social attitudes oftentimes take generations to change. But if our democracy is to work in this increasingly diverse nation, then each one of us need to try to heed the advice of a great character in American fiction — Atticus Finch — (applause) — 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.”

For blacks and other minority groups, it means tying our own very real struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face — not only the refugee, or the immigrant, or the rural poor, or the transgender American, but also the middle-aged white guy who, from the outside, may seem like he's got advantages, but has seen his world upended by economic and cultural and technological change. We have to pay attention, and listen. (Applause.)

For white Americans, it means acknowledging that the effects of slavery and Jim Crow didn't suddenly vanish in the '60s — (applause) — that when minority groups voice discontent, they're not just engaging in reverse racism or practicing political correctness. When they wage peaceful protest, they're not demanding special treatment but the equal treatment that our Founders promised. (Applause.)

For native-born Americans, it means reminding ourselves that the stereotypes about immigrants today were said, almost word for word, about the Irish, and Italians, and Poles — who it was said we're going to destroy the fundamental character of America. And as it turned out, America wasn't weakened by the presence of these newcomers; these newcomers embraced this nation's creed, and this nation was strengthened. (Applause.)

So regardless of the station that we occupy, we all have to try harder. We all have to start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family just like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own. (Applause.)

“We all have to start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family just like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own.”

And that's not easy to do. For too many of us, it's become safer to retreat into our own bubbles, whether in our neighborhoods or on college campuses, or places of worship, or especially our social media feeds, surrounded by people who look like us and share the same political outlook and never challenge our assumptions. The rise of naked partisanship, and increasing economic and regional stratification, the splintering of our media into a channel for every taste — all this makes this great sorting seem natural, even inevitable. And increasingly, we become so secure in our bubbles that we start accepting only information, whether it's true or not, that fits our opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that is out there. (Applause.)

And this trend represents a third threat to our democracy. But politics is a battle of ideas. That's how our democracy was designed. In the course of a healthy debate, we prioritize different goals, and the different means of reaching them. But without some common baseline of facts, without a willingness to admit new information, and concede that your opponent might be making a fair point, and that science and reason matter — (applause) — then we're going to keep talking past each other, and we'll make common ground and compromise impossible. (Applause.)

And isn't that part of what so often makes politics dispiriting? How can elected officials rage about deficits when we propose to spend money on preschool for kids, but not when we're cutting taxes for corporations? (Applause.) How do we excuse ethical lapses in our own party, but pounce when the other party does the same thing? It's not just dishonest, this selective sorting of the facts; it's self-defeating. Because, as my mother used to tell me, reality has a way of catching up with you. (Applause.)

Take the challenge of climate change. In just eight years, we've halved our dependence on foreign oil; we've doubled our renewable energy; we've led the world to an agreement that has the promise to save this planet. (Applause.) But without bolder action, our children won't have time to debate the existence of climate change. They'll be busy dealing with its effects: more environmental disasters, more economic disruptions, waves of climate refugees seeking sanctuary.

Now, we can and should argue about the best approach to solve the problem. But to simply deny the problem not only betrays future generations, it betrays the essential spirit of this country — the essential spirit of innovation and practical problem-solving that guided our Founders. (Applause.)

It is that spirit, born of the Enlightenment, that made us an economic powerhouse — the spirit that took flight at Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral; the spirit that cures disease and put a computer in every pocket.

It's that spirit — a faith in reason, and enterprise, and the primacy of right over might — that allowed us to resist the lure of fascism and tyranny during the Great Depression; that allowed us to build a post-World War II order with other democracies, an order based not just on military power or national affiliations but built on principles — the rule of law, human rights, freedom of religion, and speech, and assembly, and an independent press. (Applause.)

That order is now being challenged — first by violent fanatics who claim to speak for Islam; more recently by autocrats in foreign capitals who see free markets and open democracies and and civil society itself as a threat to their power. The peril each poses to our democracy is more far-reaching than a car bomb or a missile. It represents the fear of change; the fear of people who look or speak or pray differently; a contempt for the rule of law that holds leaders accountable; an intolerance of dissent and free thought; a belief that the sword or the gun or the bomb or the propaganda machine is the ultimate arbiter of what's true and what's right.

Because of the extraordinary courage of our men and women in uniform, because of our intelligence officers, and law enforcement, and diplomats who support our troops — (applause) — no foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland these past eight years. (Applause.) And although Boston and Orlando and San Bernardino and Fort Hood remind us of how dangerous radicalization can be, our law enforcement agencies are more effective and vigilant than ever. We have taken out tens of thousands of terrorists — including bin Laden. (Applause.) The global coalition we're leading against ISIL has taken out their leaders, and taken away about half their territory. ISIL will be destroyed, and no one who threatens America will ever be safe. (Applause.)

And to all who serve or have served, it has been the honor of my lifetime to be your Commander-in-Chief. And we all owe you a deep debt of gratitude. (Applause.)

“... we must guard against a weakening of the values that make us who we are.”

But protecting our way of life, that's not just the job of our military. Democracy can buckle when we give in to fear. 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. (Applause.)

And that's why, for the past eight years, I've worked to put the fight against terrorism on a firmer legal footing. That's why we've ended torture, worked to close Gitmo, reformed our laws governing surveillance to protect privacy and civil liberties. (Applause.) That's why I reject discrimination against Muslim Americans, who are just as patriotic as we are. (Applause.)

That's why we cannot withdraw from big global fights — to expand democracy, and human rights, and women's rights, and LGBT rights. No matter how imperfect our efforts, no matter how expedient ignoring such values may seem, that's part of defending America. For the fight against extremism and intolerance and sectarianism and chauvinism are of a piece with the fight against authoritarianism and nationalist aggression. If the scope of freedom and respect for the rule of law shrinks around the world, the likelihood of war within and between nations increases, and our own freedoms will eventually be threatened.

So let's be vigilant, but not afraid. (Applause.) ISIL will try to kill innocent people. But they cannot defeat America unless we betray our Constitution and our principles in the fight. (Applause.) Rivals like Russia or China cannot match our influence around the world — unless we give up what we stand for — (applause) — and turn ourselves into just another big country that bullies smaller neighbors.

Which brings me to my final point: Our democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted. (Applause.) All of us, regardless of party, should be throwing ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic institutions. (Applause.) When voting rates in America are some of the lowest among advanced democracies, we should be making it easier, not harder, to vote. (Applause.) When trust in our institutions is low, we should reduce the corrosive influence of money in our politics, and insist on the principles of transparency and ethics in public service. (Applause.) When Congress is dysfunctional, we should draw our congressional districts to encourage politicians to cater to common sense and not rigid extremes. (Applause.)

But remember, none of this happens on its own. All of this depends on our participation; on each of us accepting the responsibility of citizenship, regardless of which way the pendulum of power happens to be swinging.

Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift. But it's really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on its own. We, the people, give it power. (Applause.) We, the people, give it meaning. With our participation, and with the choices that we make, and the alliances that we forge. (Applause.) Whether or not we stand up for our freedoms. Whether or not we respect and enforce the rule of law. That's up to us. America is no fragile thing. But the gains of our long journey to freedom are not assured.

“Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift. But it's really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on its own. We, the people, give it power.”

In his own farewell address, George Washington wrote that self-government is the underpinning of our safety, prosperity, and liberty, but “from different causes and from different quarters much pains will be taken…to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth.” And so we have to preserve this truth with “jealous anxiety;” that we should reject “the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties” that make us one. (Applause.)

America, we weaken those ties when we allow our political dialogue to become so corrosive that people of good character aren't even willing to enter into public service; so coarse with rancor that Americans with whom we disagree are seen not just as misguided but as malevolent. We weaken those ties when we define some of us as more American than others; when we write off the whole system as inevitably corrupt, and when we sit back and blame the leaders we elect without examining our own role in electing them. (Applause.)

It falls to each of us to be those those anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy; to embrace the joyous task we've been given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours. Because for all our outward differences, we, in fact, all share the same proud title, the most important office in a democracy: Citizen. (Applause.) Citizen.

So, you see, that's what our democracy demands. It needs you. Not just when there's an election, not just when your own narrow interest is at stake, but over the full span of a lifetime. If you're tired of arguing with strangers on the Internet, try talking with one of them in real life. (Applause.) If something needs fixing, then lace up your shoes and do some organizing. (Applause.) If you're disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures, and run for office yourself. (Applause.) Show up. Dive in. Stay at it.

“... you see, that's what our democracy demands. It needs you.”

Sometimes you'll win. Sometimes you'll lose. Presuming a reservoir of goodness in other people, that can be a risk, and there will be times when the process will disappoint you. But for those of us fortunate enough to have been a part of this work, and to see it up close, let me tell you, it can energize and inspire. And more often than not, your faith in America — and in Americans — will be confirmed. (Applause.)

Mine sure has been. Over the course of these eight years, I've seen the hopeful faces of young graduates and our newest military officers. I have mourned with grieving families searching for answers, and found grace in a Charleston church. I've seen our scientists help a paralyzed man regain his sense of touch. I've seen wounded warriors who at points were given up for dead walk again. I've seen our doctors and volunteers rebuild after earthquakes and stop pandemics in their tracks. I've seen the youngest of children remind us through their actions and through their generosity of our obligations to care for refugees, or work for peace, and, above all, to look out for each other. (Applause.)

So that faith that I placed all those years ago, not far from here, in the power of ordinary Americans to bring about change — that faith has been rewarded in ways I could not have possibly imagined. And I hope your faith has, too. Some of you here tonight or watching at home, you were there with us in 2004, in 2008, 2012 — (applause) — maybe you still can't believe we pulled this whole thing off. Let me tell you, you're not the only ones. (Laughter.)

Michelle — (applause) — Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, girl of the South Side — (applause) — for the past 25 years, you have not only been my wife and mother of my children, you have been my best friend. (Applause.) You took on a role you didn't ask for and you made it your own, with grace and with grit and with style and good humor. (Applause.) You made the White House a place that belongs to everybody. (Applause.) And the new generation sets its sights higher because it has you as a role model. (Applause.) So you have made me proud. And you have made the country proud. (Applause.)

Malia and Sasha, under the strangest of circumstances, you have become two amazing young women. You are smart and you are beautiful, but more importantly, you are kind and you are thoughtful and you are full of passion. (Applause.) You wore the burden of years in the spotlight so easily. Of all that I've done in my life, I am most proud to be your dad. (Applause.)

To Joe Biden — (applause) — the scrappy kid from Scranton who became Delaware's favorite son — you were the first decision I made as a nominee, and it was the best. (Applause.) Not just because you have been a great Vice President, but because in the bargain, I gained a brother. And we love you and Jill like family, and your friendship has been one of the great joys of our lives. (Applause.)

To my remarkable staff: For eight years — and for some of you, a whole lot more — I have drawn from your energy, and every day I tried to reflect back what you displayed — heart, and character, and idealism. I've watched you grow up, get married, have kids, start incredible new journeys of your own. Even when times got tough and frustrating, you never let Washington get the better of you. You guarded against cynicism. And the only thing that makes me prouder than all the good that we've done is the thought of all the amazing things that you're going to achieve from here. (Applause.)

And to all of you out there — every organizer who moved to an unfamiliar town, every kind family who welcomed them in, every volunteer who knocked on doors, every young person who cast a ballot for the first time, every American who lived and breathed the hard work of change — you are the best supporters and organizers anybody could ever hope for, and I will be forever grateful. (Applause.) Because you did change the world. (Applause.) You did.

And that's why I leave this stage tonight even more optimistic about this country than when we started. Because I know our work has not only helped so many Americans, it has inspired so many Americans — especially so many young people out there — to believe that you can make a difference — (applause) — to hitch your wagon to something bigger than yourselves.

Let me tell you, this generation coming up — unselfish, altruistic, creative, patriotic — I've seen you in every corner of the country. You believe in a fair, and just, and inclusive America. (Applause.) You know that constant change has been America's hallmark; that it's not something to fear but something to embrace. You are willing to carry this hard work of democracy forward. You'll soon outnumber all of us, and I believe as a result the future is in good hands. (Applause.)

My fellow Americans, it has been the honor of my life to serve you. (Applause.) I won't stop. In fact, I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days. But for now, whether you are young or whether you're young at heart, I do have one final ask of you as your President — the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago. I'm asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change — but in yours.

“I'm asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change — but in yours.”

I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and those who marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefields to the surface of the moon; a creed at the core of every American whose story is not yet written: Yes, we can. (Applause.)

Yes, we did. Yes, we can. (Applause.)

Thank you. God bless you. May God continue to bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

Farewell - Styles

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Why it worked: A rhetorical analysis of Obama’s speech on race

The National Conference of Teachers of English (NCTE) has declared today a National Day on Writing.  I celebrate such a day.  The introduction of my book "Writing Tools" imagines what America might look like and sound like if we declared ourselves a “nation of writers.” After all, what good is freedom of expression if we lack the means to express ourselves?

To mark this day – and to honor language arts teachers everywhere – Poynter is republishing an essay I wrote almost a decade ago.  Remember? It was the spring of 2008 and Barack Obama was running for president. Many of us wondered if America was ready to elect an African-American president (a man with the middle name Hussein).

To dispel the fears of some white Americans and to advance his chances for election, Obama delivered a major address on race in America, a speech that was praised even by some of his adversaries. Obama had/has a gift for language. He is a skilled orator. To neutralize that advantage, his opponents – including Hillary Clinton at one point – would characterize Obama’s words as empty “rhetoric” – an elaborate trick of language.

The Spring of 2008 seems like such a long time ago.  A time just before the Great Recession.  A time just before the ascendancy of social networks and the trolls who try to poison them.  A time before black lives were said to matter in a more assertive way. A time before fake news was anything more dangerous that a piece of satire in the Onion. A time before Colin Kaepernick took a knee — except when he was tired.  A time before torch-bearing white supremacists marched through the night in Charlottesville, Virginia.   

It feels like the perfect time for a restart on a conversation about race. To prepare us, let’s take another look at the words of Barack Obama before he was president. Let’s review what he said, and, more important, how and why he said it. My X-ray analysis of that speech is meant not as a final word on that historical moment, but as an invitation, a doorway to a room where we can all reflect on American history and the American language.

Have a great National Day on Writing.  

More than a century ago, scholar and journalist W.E.B. DuBois wrote a single paragraph about how race is experienced in America. I have learned more from those 112 words than from most book-length studies of the subject:

After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world, a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness, — an American, a Negro;  two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder."

Much has been said about the power and brilliance of Barack Obama's March 18 speech on race, even by some of his detractors. The focus has been on the orator's willingness to say things in public about race that are rarely spoken at all, even in private, and his expressed desire to move the country to a new and better place. There has also been attention to the immediate purpose of the speech, which was to reassure white voters that they had nothing to fear from the congregant of a fiery African-American pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. 

Amid all the commentary, I have yet to see an X-Ray reading of the text that would make visible the rhetorical strategies that the orator and authors used so effectively. When received in the ear, these effects breeze through us like a harmonious song. When inspected with the eye, these moves become more apparent, like reading a piece of sheet music for a difficult song and finally recognizing the chord changes.

Such analysis, while interesting in itself, might be little more than a scholarly curiosity if we were not so concerned with the language issues of political discourse. The popular opinion is that our current president, though plain spoken, is clumsy with language. Fair or not, this perception has produced a hope that our next president will be a more powerful communicator, a Kennedy or Reagan, perhaps, who can use language less as a way to signal ideology and more as a means to bring the disparate parts of the nation together. Journalists need to pay closer attention to political language than ever before.

Like most memorable pieces of oratory, Obama's speech sounds better than it reads. We have no way of knowing if that was true of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, but it is certainly true of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech. If you doubt this assertion, test it out. Read the speech and then experience it in its original setting recited by his soulful voice.

The effectiveness of Obama's speech rests upon four related rhetorical strategies:

1.  The power of allusion and its patriotic associations. 2.  The oratorical resonance of parallel constructions. 3.  The "two-ness" of the texture, to use DuBois's useful term. 4.  His ability to include himself as a character in a narrative about race.

Allusion Part of what made Dr. King's speech resonate, not just for black people, but for some whites, was its framing of racial equality in familiar patriotic terms: "This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning, 'My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty of thee I sing.  Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.'"  What follows, of course, is King's great litany of iconic topography that carries listeners across the American landscape: "Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!…"

In this tradition, Obama begins with "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union," a quote from the Constitution that becomes a recurring refrain linking the parts of the speech. What comes next is "Two hundred and twenty one years ago," an opening that places him in the tradition of Lincoln at Gettysburg and Dr. King at the Lincoln Memorial: "Five score years ago."

On the first page, Obama mentions the words democracy, Declaration of Independence, Philadelphia convention, 1787, the colonies, the founders, the Constitution, liberty, justice, citizenship under the law, parchment, equal, free, prosperous, and the presidency. It is not as well known as it should be that many black leaders, including Dr. King, use two different modes of discourse when addressing white vs. black audiences, an ignorance that has led to some of the hysteria over some of Rev. Wright's comments.

Obama's patriotic lexicon is meant to comfort white ears and soothe white fears. What keeps the speech from falling into a pandering sea of slogans is language that reveals, not the ideals, but the failures of the American experiment: "It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations." And "what would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part … to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time."

Lest a dark vision of America disillusion potential voters, Obama returns to familiar evocations of national history, ideals, and language:

— "Out of many, we are truly one." — "survived a Depression." — "a man who served his country" — "on a path of a more perfect union" — "a full measure of justice" — "the immigrant trying to feed his family" — "where our union grows stronger" — "a band of patriots signed that document."

Parallelism At the risk of calling to mind the worst memories of grammar class, I invoke the wisdom that parallel constructions help authors and orators make meaning memorable. To remember how parallelism works, think of equal terms to express equal ideas. So Dr. King dreamed that one day his four children "will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." ( By the content of their character is parallel to by the color of their skin .)

Back to Obama: "This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign — to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America." If you are counting, that's five parallel phrases among 43 words. 

And there are many more:

Two-ness I could argue that Obama's speech is a meditation upon DuBois' theory of a dual experience of race in America. There is no mention of DuBois or two-ness, but it is all there in the texture. In fact, once you begin the search, it is remarkable how many examples of two-ness shine through:

— "through protests and struggles" — "on the streets and in the courts" — "through civil war and civil disobedience" — "I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas." — "white and black" — "black and brown" — "best schools … poorest nations" — "too black or not black enough" — "the doctor and the welfare mom" — "the model student and the former gang-banger …" — "raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor" — "political correctness or reverse racism" — "your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams"

Such language manages to create both tension and balance and, without being excessively messianic, permits Obama to present himself as the bridge builder, the reconciler of America's racial divide.

Autobiography There is an obnoxious tendency among political candidates to frame their life story as a struggle against poverty or hard circumstances. As satirist Stephen Colbert once noted of presidential candidates, it is not enough to be an average millionaire. To appeal to populist instincts it becomes de rigueur to be descended from "goat turd farmers" in France.

Without dwelling on it, Obama reminds us that his father was black and his mother white, that he came from Kenya, but she came from Kansas: "I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slave and slave owners — an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles, and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible."

The word "story" is revealing one, for it is always the candidate's job (as both responsibility and ploy) to describe himself or herself as a character in a story of his or her own making. In speeches, as in homilies, stories almost always carry the weight of parable, with moral lessons to be drawn.

Most memorable, of course, is the story at the end of the speech — which is why it appears at the end. It is the story of Ashley Baia, a young, white, Obama volunteer from South Carolina, whose family was so poor she convinced her mother that her favorite meal was a mustard and relish sandwich. 

"Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue.  And finally they come to this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. … He simply says to everyone in the room, 'I am here because of Ashley.'"

During most of the 20th century, demagogues, especially in the South, gained political traction by pitting working class whites and blacks against each other. How fitting, then, that Obama's story points in the opposite direction through an old black man who feels a young white woman's pain.  

CORRECTION : An earlier version of this post incorrectly attributed the phrase, "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union" to the Declaration of Independence.

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White House makes nine brutal corrections to Biden’s NAACP Detroit speech

They went the whole nine yards with this one.

White House officials went into cleanup mode after President Biden delivered a gaffe-riddled speech to the NAACP in Detroit Sunday — making a whopping nine corrections to the formal transcript.

The changes fixed both trips of Biden’s tongue — such as calling Capitol rioters “irrectionists” — and flagrant retellings of history, like claiming he was still vice president during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The official transcript, released Monday, made no bones about the errors, with strikethroughs of Biden’s mistakes and the corrected comments included in brackets.

The 81-year-old’s address to the 69th annual Fight for  Freedom Fund  Dinner was part of an outreach effort to black Americans as polls show support for him softening in the demographic.

Here are the nine adjustments that were made in the official transcript :

During his opening, Biden conveyed his “love” for Detroit, before slipping up and suggesting he was the vice president during the outbreak of COVID-19.

“And when I was vice president, things were kind of bad during the pandemic [recession], and what happened was Barack said to me, ‘Go to Detroit and help fix it,'” the transcript said.

Part of the impetus for Biden’s speech was to accept a lifetime achievement award from the Detroit branch of the NAACP, but he mangled that part during his acceptance.

“Folks, I’m humbled to receive this organization [award], which defines the character and consequence of what we do,” Biden said.

Biden’s swing through Detroit came on the heels of his commencement address at Atlanta’s Morehouse College, an all-male historically black institution that bestowed an honorary degree on him.

“It was truly inspiresing [inspiring]: over 400 young Black men who will do extraordinary things,” the transcript said.

Back when Democrats had control of Congress, Biden was able to push through an expansion of subsidies in the Affordable Care Act. The administration estimates that can save families up to $800 annually, but Biden mangled it and said $800,000.

“I protected and expanded the Affordable Care Act, saving millions of families $800,000 in prem- — $8,000 [$800] in — a year in premiums,” the president said.

While touting efforts to lower the cost of living, the president inadvertently claimed to be fighting unscrupulous landlords who are trying to keep rents down.

“We’re cracking down on corporate landlords who [to] keep rents down,” Biden said.

In another verbal flub, Biden swapped in the word “have” when he meant to say “are.”

“He [Trump] not only denies reproductive freedom but worsens the mortality rate for Black moms, who have [are] nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than a white woman,” the president declared.

Some politicians have mangled the word “insurrection ” (which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer once called an “erection”), but Biden had a unique fumble on that front.

“He [Trump] calls the irrectionists [insurrectionists] who stormed Capitol Hill ‘patriots.’ He says, if re-elected, he wants, quote, ‘every’ one of them pardoned,” the transcript noted.

Back in March, former President Donald Trump warned there would be a “bloodbath” in the auto industry if he loses the 2024 election. Biden misquoted him as saying “bloodshed.”

“But that’s not Donald Trump. Donald Trump has said, if he loses again in November, there will be, quote, ‘bloodshed‘ [‘bloodbath’]. What in God’s name are we talking about here?” Biden said, according to the transcript.

And to cap things off, Biden butchered the very name of the organization to which he was speaking.

“Earlier this month, I posthumously awarded Medgar Evers the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our nation’s highest civilian honor. His spirit endures. The NAAC [NAACP] spirit endures,” the transcript said.

The commander-in-chief, who has been open about growing up with a stutter, has been no stranger to rhetorical doozies during some of his public outings.

Between the start of the year and late last month, the White House made at least 148 adjustments to transcripts of his remarks, according to an analysis by the Daily Caller.

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Trump pledges to turn ‘love it or leave it’ into policy

Speaking to donors, Trump promised to deport protesters opposing Israel’s war in Gaza. Dozens of citizens may have been deported during his presidency.

Americans tend to approve of the right to protest more in the abstract than when manifested. For decades, public protest often triggered an exaggerated reaction: If you don’t like how things are in the United States, get out. Particularly since the Vietnam War, this response has often been partisan, with members of the political right encouraging the frustrated left to simply leave.

Donald Trump’s tendency to reflect and amplify rhetorical extremes has led him to propose a formal instantiation of this idea, should he be reelected president. If he returns to the White House, he promised to donors at a recent event, he would “set [the anti-Israel] movement back 25 or 30 years.”

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How? In part by deporting those who participate in protests on college campuses.

“One thing I do is, any student that protests, I throw them out of the country,” he said, according to reporting from The Washington Post’s Josh Dawsey, Karen DeYoung and Marianne LeVine. “You know, there are a lot of foreign students. As soon as they hear that, they’re going to behave.”

There are foreign students in American universities. About 5 percent of students were from foreign countries at the beginning of 2022, though only about a quarter of a percent were from the Middle East and North Africa, the region that’s long been a focus of Trump’s fearmongering . But those are students in total, not students at recent campus protests. While some of those involved in the protests have been noncitizens, there’s no reason to think that most or even a significant portion of them were. But there’s also no reason to think Trump is particularly concerned about that technicality.

In October, the Trump campaign unveiled its “plan to keep jihadists and their sympathizers out of America” — an early formulation of Trump’s eager effort to demonstrate his hostility to critics of Israel’s response to the terrorist attack that month. Among its elements:

• “Aggressively deport resident aliens with jihadist sympathies.”
• “Revoke the student visas of radical anti-American and anti-semitic foreigners at colleges and universities.”
• “Proactively send [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to pro-jihadist demonstrations to enforce our immigration laws and remove the violators from our country.”

There are several important considerations here. One is that, legally, resident noncitizens have the same freedoms of speech and protest as citizens. That includes students on valid visas.

Another is that the term “jihadist sympathies” not only describes a lot of protected speech, it is entirely subjective.

“If you hate America, if you want to abolish Israel, if you sympathize with jihadists,” Trump said during a December speech in Nevada, “then we don’t want you in our country. We don’t want you.”

Those are three very different categories, but the blurring is intentional. The promise Trump is offering is one that’s been tantalizing the right for decades: Love it or leave it as federal policy.

The most alarming aspect of Trump’s proposal is the deployment of federal immigration officers to protests to police speech. It should not be a consolation that the target of that ICE supervision is immigrants, even setting aside free speech issues. Such a policy would almost certainly mean detentions of U.S. citizens and eventual deportations.

This is not hyperbolic. An analysis conducted by the Government Accountability Office determined that hundreds of likely U.S. citizens were detained by immigration officials during Trump’s presidency and that dozens were deported. That number includes at least five children.

It is not unique to the Trump administration that citizens should be swept up in the immigration process. The GAO’s analysis found that more than 260 likely citizens were arrested in fiscal 2015 and 2016, under President Barack Obama. Only four citizens were removed from the country in that period, however. From fiscal 2017 (which overlapped with Obama’s administration) to the first two quarters of fiscal 2020, 50 men and 15 women were removed from the United States despite being identified as citizens of or having been born in the United States.

There are checks in place to protect citizens from being deported, but those can occur after the person is already in custody. If there is evidence of citizenship or uncertainty about status, the person is supposed to be released or (if not yet in custody) not arrested. Yet it’s likely that dozens of Americans were deported by the Trump administration anyway. In a scenario where immigration officers are more empowered to seek out targets, a small rate of failure could mean far more improper deportations.

It’s certainly possible that a newly reelected Trump would not implement this proposal; his track record of effecting his most extreme promises is spotty. He was speaking to donors hostile to the campus protests in the comments reported by The Post, meaning that he was, in a way, making a sales pitch for his candidacy. Trump has at times not followed through for his customers .

It’s also possible that courts would block immigration actions centered on speech or impose guardrails meant to protect U.S. citizens. Trump’s 2015 campaign trail pledge to block immigrants from Muslim countries, though, ended up being upheld by the Supreme Court. Reintroducing such a ban was the first item on the Trump campaign’s list of promises for keeping “jihadists” out of America.

This exploration of possible worst-case scenarios should not distract from Trump’s comments in the moment. He pledged to supporters that he would hobble a protest movement with which he disagrees, in part, by leveraging federal law enforcement against the protesters. Should he be reelected and force the Supreme Court to consider whether his implementation of this idea is valid, he’s already largely achieved his intended goal.

Election 2024

Get the latest news on the 2024 election from our reporters on the campaign trail and in Washington.

Who is running?: President Biden and Donald Trump secured their parties’ nominations for the presidency . Here’s how we ended up with a Trump-Biden rematch .

Presidential debates: Biden and Trump agreed to a June 27 debate on CNN and a Sept. 10 debate broadcast by ABC News.

Key dates and events: From January to June, voters in all states and U.S. territories will pick their party’s nominee for president ahead of the summer conventions. Here are key dates and events on the 2024 election calendar .

Abortion and the election: Voters in about a dozen states could decide the fate of abortion rights with constitutional amendments on the ballot in a pivotal election year. Biden supports legal access to abortion , and he has encouraged Congress to pass a law that would codify abortion rights nationwide. After months of mixed signals about his position, Trump said the issue should be left to states . Here’s how Biden’s and Trump’s abortion stances have shifted over the years.

Read the Full Transcript of President Barack Obama’s Farewell Speech

J ust over eight years ago, on November 4, 2008, Barack Obama took the stage in his hometown of Chicago on the occasion of a triumph: he had been elected by the American people as the 44th president of the United States, and the first African-American to take the nation’s highest office.

On Tuesday night, he returned to the stage in his hometown, this time to say goodbye. In ten days, he will leave the White House; Donald Trump will take his spot. But despite the cynicism from some about this prospect, Obama’s remarks on Tuesday — his final address to the nation — was, once again, one of hope . He spoke of the myriad accomplishments of his two-term presidency: the achievement of marriage equality, consistent job growth, the expansion of healthcare, and the normalization of relations with Cuba, to name a few. He also urged his fellow citizens to uphold American values. “Our democracy is threatened when any of us take it for granted,” he said.

The full transcript of his speech is below.

[*] OBAMA: Hello Skybrook! (APPLAUSE) It’s good to be home! (APPLAUSE) Thank you, everybody! (APPLAUSE) Thank you. (APPLAUSE) Thank you. (APPLAUSE) Thank you so much, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. (APPLAUSE) It’s good to be home. Thank you. (APPLAUSE) We’re on live TV here, I’ve got to move. (APPLAUSE) You can tell that I’m a lame duck, because nobody is following instructions. (LAUGHTER) Everybody have a seat. My fellow Americans, Michelle and I have been so touched by all the well-wishes that we’ve received over the past few weeks. But tonight it’s my turn to say thanks. Whether we have seen eye-to-eye or rarely agreed at all, my conversations with you, the American people — in living rooms and in schools; at farms and on factory floors; at diners and on distant military outposts — those conversations are what have kept me honest, and kept me inspired, and kept me going. And every day, I have learned from you. You made me a better president, and you made me a better man. So I first came to Chicago when I was in my early twenties, and I was still trying to figure out who I was; still searching for a purpose to my life. And it was a neighborhood not far from here where I began working with church groups in the shadows of closed steel mills. It was on these streets where I witnessed the power of faith, and the quiet dignity of working people in the face of struggle and loss. (CROWD CHANTING “FOUR MORE YEARS”) I can’t do that. Now this is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved, and they get engaged, and they come together to demand it. After eight years as your president, I still believe that. And it’s not just my belief. It’s the beating heart of our American idea — our bold experiment in self-government. It’s the conviction that we are all created equal, endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s the insistence that these rights, while self-evident, 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, the great gift that our Founders gave to us. The freedom to chase our individual dreams through our sweat, and toil, and imagination — and the imperative to strive together as well, to achieve a common good, a greater good. For 240 years, our nation’s call to citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation. It’s what led patriots to choose republic over tyranny, pioneers to trek west, slaves to brave that makeshift railroad to freedom. It’s what pulled immigrants and refugees across oceans and the Rio Grande. It’s what pushed women to reach for the ballot. It’s what powered workers to organize. It’s why GIs gave their lives at Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima; Iraq and Afghanistan — and why men and women from Selma to Stonewall were prepared to give theirs as well. (APPLAUSE) So that’s what we mean when we say America is exceptional. Not that our nation has been flawless from the start, but that we have shown the capacity to change, and make life better for those who follow. Yes, our progress has been uneven. The work of democracy has always been hard. It has been contentious. Sometimes it has been bloody. For every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back. But the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all, and not just some. (APPLAUSE) If I had told you eight years ago that America would reverse a great recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history — if I had told you that we would open up a new chapter with the Cuban people, shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons program without firing a shot, take out the mastermind of 9-11 — if I had told you that we would win marriage equality and secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million of our fellow citizens — if I had told you all that, you might have said our sights were set a little too high. But that’s what we did. That’s what you did. You were the change. The answer to people’s hopes and, because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started. In 10 days the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy. No, no, no, no, no. The peaceful transfer of power from one freely-elected President to the next. I committed to President-Elect Trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as President Bush did for me. Because it’s up to all of us to make sure our government can help us meet the many challenges we still face. We have what we need to do so. We have everything we need to meet those challenges. After all, we remain the wealthiest, most powerful, and most respected nation on earth. Our youth, our drive, our diversity and openness, our boundless capacity for risk and reinvention means that the future should be ours. But that potential will only be realized if our democracy works. Only if our politics better reflects the decency of our people. Only if all of us, regardless of party affiliation or particular interests help restore the sense of common purpose that we so badly need right now. And that’s what I want to focus on tonight, the state of our democracy. Understand democracy does not require uniformity. Our founders argued, they quarreled, and eventually they compromised. They expected us to do the same. But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity. The idea that, for all our outward differences, we’re all in this together, that we rise or fall as one. There have been moments throughout our history that threatened that solidarity. And 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 our prosperity, but are testing 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. In other words, it will determine our future. To begin with, our democracy won’t work without a sense that everyone has economic opportunity. (APPLAUSE) And the good news is that today the economy is growing again. Wages, incomes, home values and retirement accounts are all rising again. Poverty is falling again. (APPLAUSE) The wealthy are paying a fair share of taxes. Even as the stock market shatters records, the unemployment rate is near a 10-year low. The uninsured rate has never, ever been lower. (APPLAUSE) Health care costs are rising at the slowest rate in 50 years. And I’ve said, and I mean it, 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. (APPLAUSE) Because that, after all, is why we serve. Not to score points or take credit. But to make people’s lives better. (APPLAUSE) But, for all the real progress that we’ve made, we know it’s not enough. Our economy doesn’t work as well or grow as fast when a few prosper at the expense of a growing middle class, and ladders for folks who want to get into the middle class. (APPLAUSE) That’s the economic argument. But stark inequality is also corrosive to our democratic idea. While the top 1 percent has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many of our families in inner cities and in rural counties have been left behind. The laid off factory worker, the waitress or health care worker who’s just barely getting by and struggling to pay the bills. Convinced that the game is fixed against them. That their government only serves the interest of the powerful. That’s a recipe for more cynicism and polarization in our politics. Now there’re no quick fixes to this long-term trend. I agree, our trade should be fair and not just free. But the next wave of economic dislocations won’t come from overseas. It will come from the relentless pace of automation that makes a lot of good middle class jobs obsolete. And so we’re going to have to forge a new social compact to guarantee all our kids the education they need. (APPLAUSE) To give workers the power… (APPLAUSE) … to unionize for better wages. (CHEERS) To update the social safety net to reflect the way we live now. (APPLAUSE) And make more reforms to the tax code so corporations and the individuals who reap the most from this new economy don’t avoid their obligations to the country that’s made their very success possible. (CHEERS) (APPLAUSE) We can argue about how to best achieve these goals. But we can’t be complacent about the goals themselves. For if we don’t create opportunity for all people, the disaffection and division that has stalled our progress will only sharpen in years to come. There’s a second threat to our democracy. And this one is as old as our nation itself. After my election there was talk of a post-racial America. And such a vision, however well intended, was never realistic. Race remains a potent… (APPLAUSE) … and often divisive force in our society. Now I’ve lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were 10 or 20 or 30 years ago, no matter what some folks say. (APPLAUSE) You can see it not just in statistics. You see it in the attitudes of young Americans across the political spectrum. But we’re not where we need to be. And all of us have more work to do. (APPLAUSE) If every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and an undeserving minority, then workers of all shades are going to be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves. (APPLAUSE) If we’re unwilling to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don’t look like us, we will diminish the prospects of our own children — because those brown kids will represent a larger and larger share of America’s workforce. (APPLAUSE) And we have shown that our economy doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game. Last year, incomes rose for all races, all age groups, for men and for women. So if we’re going to be serious about race going forward, we need to uphold laws against discrimination — in hiring, and in housing, and in education, and in the criminal justice system. (APPLAUSE) That is what our Constitution and highest ideals require. But laws alone won’t be enough. Hearts must change. It won’t change overnight. Social attitudes oftentimes take generations to change. But if our democracy is to work the way it should in this increasingly diverse nation, then each one of us need to try to heed the advice of a great character in American fiction, Atticus Finch, 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.” For blacks and other minority groups, that means tying our own very real struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face. Not only the refugee or the immigrant or the rural poor or the transgender American, but also the middle-aged white guy who from the outside may seem like he’s got all the advantages, but has seen his world upended by economic, and cultural, and technological change. We have to pay attention and listen. (APPLAUSE)

Read More: President Barack Obama Says Goodbye in a Forceful and Tearful Farewell Speech

For white Americans, it means acknowledging that the effects of slavery and Jim Crow didn’t suddenly vanish in the ’60s; that when minority groups voice discontent, they’re not just engaging in reverse racism or practicing political correctness; when they wage peaceful protest, they’re not demanding special treatment, but the equal treatment that our founders promised. (APPLAUSE) For native-born Americans, it means reminding ourselves that the stereotypes about immigrants today were said, almost word for word, about the Irish, and Italians, and Poles, who it was said were going to destroy the fundamental character of America. And as it turned out, America wasn’t weakened by the presence of these newcomers; these newcomers embraced this nation’s creed, and this nation was strengthened. (APPLAUSE) So regardless of the station we occupy; we all have to try harder; we all have to start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family just like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own. (APPLAUSE) (CHEERING) And that’s not easy to do. For too many of us it’s become safer to retreat into our own bubbles, whether in our neighborhoods, or on college campuses, or places of worship, or especially our social media feeds, surrounded by people who look like us and share the same political outlook and never challenge our assumptions. In the rise of naked partisanship and increasing economic and regional stratification, the splintering of our media into a channel for every taste, all this makes this great sorting seem natural, even inevitable. And increasingly we become so secure in our bubbles that we start accepting only information, whether it’s true or not, that fits our opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that is out there. (APPLAUSE) And this trend represents a third threat to our democracy. Look, politics is a battle of ideas. That’s how our democracy was designed. In the course of a healthy debate, we prioritize different goals, and the different means of reaching them. But without some common baseline of facts, without a willingness to admit new information and concede that your opponent might be making a fair point, and that science and reason matter, then we’re going to keep talking past each other. (CROWD CHEERS) And we’ll make common ground and compromise impossible. And isn’t that part of what so often makes politics dispiriting? How can elected officials rage about deficits when we propose to spend money on pre-school for kids, but not when we’re cutting taxes for corporations? How do we excuse ethical lapses in our own party, but pounce when the other party does the same thing? It’s not just dishonest, it’s selective sorting of the facts. It’s self-defeating because, as my mom used to tell me, reality has a way of catching up with you. Take the challenge of climate change. In just eight years we’ve halved our dependence on foreign oil, we’ve doubled our renewable energy, we’ve led the world to an agreement that (at) the promise to save this planet. (APPLAUSE) But without bolder action, our children won’t have time to debate the existence of climate change. They’ll be busy dealing with its effects. More environmental disasters, more economic disruptions, waves of climate refugees seeking sanctuary. Now we can and should argue about the best approach to solve the problem. But to simply deny the problem not only betrays future generations, it betrays the essential spirit of this country, the essential spirit of innovation and practical problem-solving that guided our founders. (CROWD CHEERS) It is that spirit — it is that spirit born of the enlightenment that made us an economic powerhouse. The spirit that took flight at Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral, the spirit that cures disease and put a computer in every pocket, it’s that spirit. A faith in reason and enterprise, and the primacy of right over might, that allowed us to resist the lure of fascism and tyranny during the Great Depression, that allowed us to build a post-World War II order with other democracies. An order based not just on military power or national affiliations, but built on principles, the rule of law, human rights, freedom of religion and speech and assembly and an independent press. (APPLAUSE) That order is now being challenged. First by violent fanatics who claim to speak for Islam. More recently by autocrats in foreign capitals who seek free markets in open democracies and civil society itself as a threat to their power. The peril each poses to our democracy is more far reaching than a car bomb or a missile. They represent the fear of change. The fear of people who look or speak or pray differently. A contempt for the rule of law that holds leaders accountable. An intolerance of dissent and free thought. A belief that the sword or the gun or the bomb or the propaganda machine is the ultimate arbiter of what’s true and what’s right. Because of the extraordinary courage of our men and women in uniform. Because of our intelligence officers and law enforcement and diplomats who support our troops… (APPLAUSE) … no foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland these past eight years. (CHEERS) (APPLAUSE) And although… (APPLAUSE) … Boston and Orlando and San Bernardino and Fort Hood remind us of how dangerous radicalization can be, our law enforcement agencies are more effective and vigilant than ever. We have taken out tens of thousands of terrorists, including Bin Laden. (CHEERS) (APPLAUSE) The global coalition we’re leading against ISIL has taken out their leaders and taken away about half their territory. ISIL will be destroyed. And no one who threatens America will ever be safe. (CHEERS) (APPLAUSE) And all who serve or have served — it has been the honor of my lifetime to be your commander-in-chief. (CHEERS) And we all owe you a deep debt of gratitude. (CHEERS) (APPLAUSE) But, protecting our way of life, that’s not just the job of our military. Democracy can buckle when it gives into fear. 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. (APPLAUSE) And that’s why for the past eight years I’ve worked to put the fight against terrorism on a firmer legal footing. That’s why we’ve ended torture, worked to close Gitmo, reformed our laws governing surveillance to protect privacy and civil liberties. (APPLAUSE) That’s why I reject discrimination against Muslim Americans… (CHEERS) … who are just as patriotic as we are. (CHEERS) (APPLAUSE) That’s why… (APPLAUSE) That’s why we cannot withdraw… (APPLAUSE) That’s why we cannot withdraw from big global fights to expand democracy and human rights and women’s rights and LGBT rights. (APPLAUSE) No matter how imperfect our efforts, no matter how expedient ignoring such values may seem, that’s part of defending America. For the fight against extremism and intolerance and sectarianism and chauvinism are of a piece with the fight against authoritarianism and nationalist aggression. If the scope of freedom and respect for the rule of law shrinks around the world, the likelihood of war within and between nations increases, and our own freedoms will eventually be threatened. So let’s be vigilant, but not afraid. ISIL will try to kill innocent people. But they cannot defeat America unless we betray our Constitution and our principles in the fight. (APPLAUSE) Rivals like Russia or China cannot match our influence around the world — unless we give up what we stand for, and turn ourselves into just another big country that bullies smaller neighbors. Which brings me to my final point — our democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted. (APPLAUSE) All of us, regardless of party, should be throwing ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic institutions. (APPLAUSE) When voting rates in America are some of the lowest among advanced democracies, we should be making it easier, not harder, to vote. (APPLAUSE) When trust in our institutions is low, we should reduce the corrosive influence of money in our politics, and insist on the principles of transparency and ethics in public service. When Congress is dysfunctional, we should draw our districts to encourage politicians to cater to common sense and not rigid extremes. (APPLAUSE) But remember, none of this happens on its own. All of this depends on our participation; on each of us accepting the responsibility of citizenship, regardless of which way the pendulum of power happens to be swinging. Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift. But it’s really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on its own. We, the people, give it power. We, the people, give it meaning — with our participation, and with the choices that we make and the alliances that we forge. Whether or not we stand up for our freedoms. Whether or not we respect and enforce the rule of law, that’s up to us. America is no fragile thing. But the gains of our long journey to freedom are not assured. In his own farewell address, George Washington wrote that self-government is the underpinning of our safety, prosperity, and liberty, but “from different causes and from different quarters much pains will be taken… to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth.” And so we have to preserve this truth with “jealous anxiety;” that we should reject “the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties” that make us one. (APPLAUSE) America, we weaken those ties when we allow our political dialogue to become so corrosive that people of good character aren’t even willing to enter into public service. So course with rancor that Americans with whom we disagree are seen, not just as misguided, but as malevolent. We weaken those ties when we define some of us as more American than others. (APPLAUSE) When we write off the whole system as inevitably corrupt. And when we sit back and blame the leaders we elect without examining our own role in electing them. (CROWD CHEERS) It falls to each of us to be those anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy. Embrace the joyous task we have been given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours because, for all our outward differences, we in fact all share the same proud type, the most important office in a democracy, citizen. (APPLAUSE) Citizen. So, you see, that’s what our democracy demands. It needs you. Not just when there’s an election, not just when you own narrow interest is at stake, but over the full span of a lifetime. If you’re tired of arguing with strangers on the Internet, try talking with one of them in real life. (APPLAUSE) If something needs fixing, then lace up your shoes and do some organizing. (CROWD CHEERS) If you’re disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clip board, get some signatures, and run for office yourself. (CROWD CHEERS) Show up, dive in, stay at it. Sometimes you’ll win, sometimes you’ll lose. Presuming a reservoir in goodness, that can be a risk. And there will be times when the process will disappoint you. But for those of us fortunate enough to have been part of this one and to see it up close, let me tell you, it can energize and inspire. And more often than not, your faith in America and in Americans will be confirmed. Mine sure has been. (APPLAUSE) Over the course of these eight years, I’ve seen the hopeful faces of young graduates and our newest military officers. I have mourned with grieving families searching for answers, and found grace in a Charleston church. I’ve seen our scientists help a paralyzed man regain his sense of touch. I’ve seen Wounded Warriors who at points were given up for dead walk again. I’ve seen our doctors and volunteers rebuild after earthquakes and stop pandemics in their tracks. I’ve seen the youngest of children remind us through their actions and through their generosity of our obligations to care for refugees or work for peace and, above all, to look out for each other. So that faith that I placed all those years ago, not far from here, in the power of ordinary Americans to bring about change, that faith has been rewarded in ways I could not have possibly imagined. And I hope your faith has too. Some of you here tonight or watching at home, you were there with us in 2004 and 2008, 2012. (CHEERS) (APPLAUSE) Maybe you still can’t believe we pulled this whole thing off. (CHEERS) Let me tell you, you’re not the only ones. (LAUGHTER) Michelle… (CHEERS) (APPLAUSE) Michelle LaVaughn Robinson of the South Side… (CHEERS) (APPLAUSE) … for the past 25 years you have not only been my wife and mother of my children, you have been my best friend. (CHEERS) (APPLAUSE) You took on a role you didn’t ask for. And you made it your own with grace and with grit and with style, and good humor. (CHEERS) (APPLAUSE) You made the White House a place that belongs to everybody. (CHEERS) And a new generation sets its sights higher because it has you as a role model. (CHEERS) (APPLAUSE) You have made me proud, and you have made the country proud. (CHEERS) (APPLAUSE) Malia and Sasha… (CHEERS) … under the strangest of circumstances you have become two amazing young women. (CHEERS) You are smart and you are beautiful. But more importantly, you are kind and you are thoughtful and you are full of passion. (CHEERS) (APPLAUSE) And… (APPLAUSE) … you wore the burden of years in the spotlight so easily. Of all that I have done in my life, I am most proud to be your dad. (APPLAUSE) To Joe Biden… (CHEERS) (APPLAUSE) … the scrappy kid from Scranton… (CHEERS) … who became Delaware’s favorite son. You were the first decision I made as a nominee, and it was the best. (CHEERS) (APPLAUSE) Not just because you have been a great vice president, but because in the bargain I gained a brother. And we love you and Jill like family. And your friendship has been one of the great joys of our lives. (APPLAUSE) To my remarkable staff, for eight years, and for some of you a whole lot more, I have drawn from your energy. And every day I try to reflect back what you displayed. Heart and character. And idealism. I’ve watched you grow up, get married, have kids, start incredible new journeys of your own. Even when times got tough and frustrating, you never let Washington get the better of you. You guarded against cynicism. And the only thing that makes me prouder than all the good that we’ve done is the thought of all the amazing things that you are going to achieve from here. (APPLAUSE) And to all of you out there — every organizer who moved to an unfamiliar town, every kind family who welcomed them in, every volunteer who knocked on doors, every young person who cast a ballot for the first time, every American who lived and breathed the hard work of change — you are the best supporters and organizers anybody could ever hope for, and I will forever be grateful. Because you did change the world. (APPLAUSE) You did. And that’s why I leave this stage tonight even more optimistic about this country than when we started. Because I know our work has not only helped so many Americans; it has inspired so many Americans — especially so many young people out there — to believe that you can make a difference; to hitch your wagon to something bigger than yourselves. Let me tell you, this generation coming up — unselfish, altruistic, creative, patriotic — I’ve seen you in every corner of the country. You believe in a fair, and just, and inclusive America; you know that constant change has been America’s hallmark, that it’s not something to fear but something to embrace, you are willing to carry this hard work of democracy forward. You’ll soon outnumber any of us, and I believe as a result the future is in good hands. (APPLAUSE) My fellow Americans, it has been the honor of my life to serve you. I won’t stop; in fact, I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days. But for now, whether you are young or whether you’re young at heart, I do have one final ask of you as your president — the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago. I am asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change — but in yours. I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and those who marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefields to the surface of the moon; a creed at the core of every American whose story is not yet written: Yes, we can. (APPLAUSE) Yes, we did. (APPLAUSE) Yes, we can. (APPLAUSE) Thank you. God bless you. And may God continue to bless the United States of America. Thank you. (APPLAUSE)

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