Free Republic

President Obama used his final weekly address in 2016 to assure Americans that he will remain committed to defending the "progress" made by his administration after handing over the White House to Donald Trump on Jan. 20. ... While the president initially indicated that he looked forward to a quiet retirement, at a time when many polls showed Democrat Hillary Clinton marching to victory in the presidential election, Obama has said his plans have changed since Trump ran away with the win. "I promise you that next year Michelle and I are going to be right there with you, and...

President Obama has taken a number of unilateral actions in the waning days of his tenure that appear designed to box in President-elect Donald Trump Obama's decision Thursday to sanction Russian entities for election-related hacking is just the latest obstacle he has placed in Trump's way. Days before the sanctions were unveiled, the Obama administration allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlement activity — something that could have an indelible impact on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Obama has also permanently banned oil and gas drilling across large swaths of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, closed off 1.6 million acres...

Transfer of Power: President Obama's "exit interview" on CNN with former advisor David Axelrod generated plenty of attention when Obama bragged that he could have beaten Donald Trump. Missed in the hullabaloo, however, was a pledge by Obama that he would abide by tradition and retire with dignity as ex-president. According to Axelrod, Obama admired the way George Bush had honored that tradition after he stepped down as president. "I know you feel strongly about that," Axelrod said. To which Obama said: "But the day-to-day scrum, that's not only — not only is it contrary to tradition for the ex-president...