Posted on 01/13/2017 6:16:57 AM PST by Kaslin
Barack Obama formally ended his presidency the way he came in, talking to adoring fans about how lucky we are to have him in our lives.
Indeed, given the hand-wringing over how Obama's successor is all about entertainment and theatrics, it was somewhere between ironic and absurd to watch the outgoing president hold a campaign rally for his "farewell address."
And yet, we've become so inured to this kind of self-serving pomp and circumstance that no one seems to care. From what I can tell, no liberal commentators minded at all, and most conservative reviewers went straight to the substance -- or lack thereof -- of Obama's remarks.
I'll get to that. But it's worth pointing out the gaudy grotesquerie of the spectacle, because it highlights not only how low we have sunk, but the depths to which we may yet plunge given how Obama helped further transform the presidency into a totem in the culture wars.
The first presidential farewell address, and the standard for all to follow, was given by George Washington. It was "given," not delivered, in that it was written out and published as a letter to the American people in the American Daily Advertiser under the title "The Address of General Washington to the People of the United States on his declining the Presidency of the United States."
James Madison helped write the first draft toward the end of Washington's first term. When Washington decided to run for a second term, it was put aside. When he opted not to run for a third term, he gave it to Alexander Hamilton to revise.
With a bullpen of writers like that, it's no wonder that Washington's farewell ranks among the great works of literary statecraft, but the most remarkable thing about it was that it was given at all. To voluntarily relinquish power -- power Washington never wanted in the first place -- for the benefit of democracy was one of the most radical acts of political humility in history.
During the Revolutionary War, King George III asked the American painter Benjamin West what Washington would do if he won independence for the colonies. West replied, "They say he will return to his farm."
George was stunned: "If he does that," the king replied, "he will be the greatest man in the world."
Few presidents dared to invite comparisons to Washington until the populist egotist Andrew Jackson opted to write his own letter to the American people. It was the longest presidential farewell ever, coming in at more than 8,000 words.
Of course, the era of radio and television necessitated -- or created the perception of necessity -- that presidents address the people directly. Whether that amounted to progress is for others to decide. But until Obama, it never occurred to a president to deliver a televised address from anywhere but the Oval Office.
Obama, who has said he'd love to run for a third term if he weren't barred from doing so (thanks to FDR flouting the Washingtonian tradition of serving only two terms, forcing Congress to amend the Constitution), went a different way. He did the next best thing and held a campaign rally as if he were running again. Obama is never more comfortable than when he's in front of an audience that already agrees with him and shares his stunning self-regard, which helps explain why his was the longest televised presidential farewell ever.
The whole speech seemed written to be the final chapter of the "Collected Speeches of Barack Obama," which is why he concluded by referencing his 2008 "Yes We Can" speech.
No wonder the substance of Obama's farewell was a high-flown rehash of his greatest hits. He spoke again of Congress being "dysfunctional" in the abstract, but what he surely meant is that Congress isn't working properly when it declines to do what he wants it to do. Hence the insinuation that disagreement with his views on climate change is contrary to the "spirit" of America and the Enlightenment. He called for a "new social compact" that was indistinguishable from his legislative agenda and insisted that the essence of democracy is the commitment "that we rise or fall as one."
That is not the spirit of democracy at all; it's the spirit of the "tribalism" and "nationalism" he's come to disparage. But that has always been the spirit of Obamaism. When people agree with him, that's democracy working. When democracy rejects his counsel, that's the bitter Bible-clingers rejecting the better angel of his nature.
Fits for our soon-to-be FORMER POTUS.
Daily or weekly FReeps of Oboomba’s (walled) D.C. McMansion?
His last week in office will damage America as sure as his first.
Usama bin Ladin's house had also a wall
Obama, the petulant, insufferable, little man will not go quietly into the night.
He knows his presidency was a colossal failure, but he thinks if he keeps kicking the dead horse he will somehow get it
to rise back up.
” rehash of his greatest hits”. Lol. Maybe he can add it to the speeches on the queens Ipod.
Folks the Obama Farewell Speech had zero impact...it did not even last as a worthy news item for 24 hours!!! End of story!!! Too bad most African-Americans do not realize how bad Obama screwed them, their families, their futures, their education, their oppotunities!!! Sad!!! Trump will fix that rather quickly!!! Under DJT...”ALL” Americans are equal!!!
Of course.
But-If they don't GET how Democrats have been diddling them for a couple of centuries... how can they comprehend that “O” was doing the SAME exact thing!!
yeah, Like the magic negro campaigning for anyone in the last 8 years has helped any democrat?
I don’t think so.
Can’t believe every dem doesn’t run like hell away from this punk.
Yes, the “Dark Shadows” castle, populated by parasitic blood-suckers and replete with Barry Choom Room, ValJar Bedroom, and Michelle Flying Broom.
But "diversity" forced Americans to put up w/ this Royal Idiot's half-baked ideas about governance.....or be labeled racist.
He has now offered us up as fodder to brownish trouble-makers invading our country for the purpose of killing us.
The literal ‘bully’ president... We now have millions trained in the art of bullying. Kids through out public education are now well versed in the technique.
Children are being forced into being ideologues (through Common Core and Psy-Ops “curricula” which forces irrational emotions to be tied to concepts (like Slavery is Freedom and Boys are Girls).
In other words, our children are in a captive, artificial brainwashing environment- (unconstitutional, BTW)—away from Reality (the Natural family/loving parents/mother/father(Chrsitian) paradigm) so they can be warped and manipulated by Malthusian, Marxist pederasts (like the Spartan/Afghanistan “cultures” (Postmodernists “God is Dead” bunch, so Good and Evil is flipped).
Children in artificial environments which warp perceptions and Natural Law will be made irrational for life, with no concepts of “Natural” Law—our Constitution and the Christian worldview. No other “faith” is tied to Natural Law and Reason/Logic and Common Sense. All curricula—removed from the Classical Christian curricula—removes Logic and Reason (Common Sense) and understanding of Lockean philosophy (Natural Law Theory) which created the Age of Reason and Western Civilization—Christian concepts only of Free Will and Individualism.
Vice creates slaves, so the Leftists are normalizing all perversions of Truth (God) and Realty making Caligula and Nero (trannies and “boy-lovers/castrators”) into “normal”-—flipping 2000 years of Ethics back to the Boy/Man sexist “love” Greek and Roman (and today’s Afghanistan sexist cultures where true diversity is vilified and women are breeders only)——so masses of irrational serfs/slaves will exist again (that worldview of ignorance in the masses).
The satanic, atheists need to destroy the Chrsitian worldview—that which created the Age of Reason (and Modern Science) for their irrational “utopian” dependent on a few elites—serf worldview-—so they will be “happy slaves”, incapable of “Free Will” and understanding that “Snow is not Black”.
This “system” America is using was designed in 1810 in Germany (by the homosexual Marxist (atheists) “Man/Boy Love people” to destroy Western Civilization (Christianity) by the Bloodline of the Illuminati (godless)——so they can create masses of brain-dead, ignorant drones-——people who are programmed and controlled from cradle to grave. (Godless animals who can be killed when they are useless eaters).
Public Schools are designed to emasculate little boys and embed dependency and irrationality and puerility
(so they “think” homosexual “marriage” (narcissism/sexism) is not evil and irrational and a dehumanizing use of the body which destroys the Natural Rights of babies and the Natural Duty of adults (destroys our very Constitution and worldview which created this Nation).
Our “Justice” System was removed in 1913 and replaced with a Slave System of theft, vice and evil-programming by the communist John Dewey’s publik skool system of indoctrination and warping emotions so children’s emotions are unnatural and warped for life.
We need to replace our Justice system-—remove all the treasonous satanic “justices” who promote satanism and removal of Reason from Just Law (for irrational man-made up ‘evil” laws).
We need to have Rule of Law (Higher Laws/God’s Laws) which are the ONLY constitutional “laws” allowed by our Constitution which was NEVER “legally” thrown out. We have to declare all these evil unconstitutional “laws” and regulations “null and void” as Justice John Marshall stated that judges were required to do-—otherwise we need to remove all Satanists and Atheists, Muslims-—all antithetical belief systems to the Constitution (Free Will and Individual Natural Rights from God only-worldview)
I do not disagree... we are living what Jesus warned would be in Matthew 23 to those that sit in the seat of Moses... Moses was the ‘lawgiver’ There are only 10 Commandments...
http://biblehub.com/kjv/matthew/23.htm
All four points of a civil society, politics, economy, education and religion have been corrupted...
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