Obama thanks wife in emotional speech
‘Yes we did,’ he says, capping 8 years of his presidency
Chicago, Jan. 11: An emotional Barack Obama on Wednesday used his farewell speech to thank his wife Michelle for the sacrifices she made for his political dreams, calling her his “best friend” and a “role model” for the new generation.
“Michelle for the past twenty-five years, you’ve been not only my wife and mother of my children, but my best friend,” Mr Obama said in front of thousands of his supporters with the First Lady sitting in the front row along with her eldest daughter Malia.
He also thanked his daughters Sasha and Malia. “You wore the burden of years in the spotlight so easily. Of all that I’ve done in my life, I’m most proud to be your dad,” he said.
Malia was seen frequently trying to stop tears flowing down her cheeks.
Capping eight years in the White House, Mr Obama returned to his adopted hometown of Chicago to recast his “yes we can” campaign credo as “yes we did.” Surveying the staging posts of his presidency — from the Iran nuclear deal to reforming healthcare — the speech sought to lift supporters shaken by Donald Trump’s shock election.
He asked his supporters to hold fast to their optimism and to look within for leadership. “I am asking you to believe not in my ability to bring about change, but in yours,” he said.
Mr Obama urged them to pick up the torch, fight for democracy and forge a new, fairer, “social compact.”
“For all our outward differences, we are all in this together,” he said, warning that naked partisanship, racism, and inequality all threaten democracy.
He also acknowledged that his historic presidency was not a panacea for the country’s racist past. “After my election, there was talk of a postracial America,” he said. “Such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic.” — Agencies
YOU TOOK on a role you didn’t ask for and made it your own with grace and grit and 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’ve made me proud. You’ve made the country proud — BARACK OBAMA, On wife Michelle