Obama, the professor

His greatness was that he appeared above politics. In retrospect, that was also his weakness

BARACK OBAMA’S LAST address as president was,ashisspeechesoftenwere,amasterclass in democratic values and sheer decency: It pointed out the dangers to democracy posed by intolerance, racial division, inequality, aggressive political posturing and an obtuseness towards confronting the facts. It was curiously paradoxical. On the one hand, it affirmed great faith in democracy, reiterated a basic trust that democracy requires. On the other hand, Obama was pointed in his criticism of the electorate. “We sit back and blame the leaders we elect, without examining our role in electing them.” It says something about Obama’s legacy that a poignant call on behalf of democracy should have a touch of admonition about it.

Few politicians in history can match Obama’s sense of occasion, exemplary personal conduct, eloquence, moral delicacy and high-mindedness. The reassuring calm, the complete absence of rancour, scandal, bitterness and the extraordinary intelligence that characterised his presidency have few precedents. He may have made mistakes, but he never appeared small; he wielded power but with a keen sense of its moral paradoxes. In one word, Obama was a class act of the like we rarely see in politics.

While Obama still remains personally popular, it is difficult not to wonder and express regret at the deep paradoxes at the heart of his presidency. His achievements are considerable. It is often said of politicians that a true measure of their legacy emerges not in years, but in decades. Nevertheless, the sheer contrast between the man and the country he hands over to Donald Trump begs unpacking. How could a presidency so above partisanship leave such a bitterly divided country? How could the promise of a postracial America, always a tall order, unleash a deeper racist politics? How did the politics of hope convert so quickly into a politics of fear? And how did the politics of reason slip into atavism on his watch? How did the achievement of saving the American economy translate into despondency about its future? How could Obama prepare the ground for Trump? These are large questions that cannot be unpacked in a column.

They require a deep engagement with the economic and social forces shaping the world. But they also raise interesting questions about