Obama delivers message of hope
Former president optimistic fight against climate change will go on
Barack Obama had never been to Montreal before Tuesday, but he gave this city a 375th birthday present it will not soon forget.
The former U.S. president made Montreal the first Canadian city he has visited since leaving office in January — and indeed one of the first stops anywhere since joining the international speaking circuit in political retirement.
“Bon anniversaire,” he said in rudimentary French as he took to the stage in a cavernous room the size of an airplane hangar at the Palais des congrès. And the sellout crowd of 6,000 melted.
Obama used his speaking engagement, organized by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, to deliver a message that will surely be heard around the world. He addressed his own disappointment and that of political, business and environmental leaders alike that the United States last week pulled out of the landmark Paris Accord, aligning itself with Syria and Nicaragua when it comes to the fight against climate change.
It’s a setback for one of his signature achievements, he agreed, but he pointed out that so many others are now rushing to pick up the torch, redouble their efforts and lead the way. He added that all the groundwork laid in forging the historic deal has made making environmentally sustainable choices a no-brainer. It’s now more economical to choose clean energy like solar or wind, he noted, than to stick with coal.
“We’re just going to have to ask with more urgency,” said the ever optimistic Obama of the battle against climate change. “I’m looking forward to the United States being a leader and not on the sidelines going forward.”
Ever diplomatic, Obama didn’t mention his successor by name. But it’s clear his speech was intended as a rebuttal to U.S. President Donald Trump’s antics and decisions since taking power.
“We are in an environment where we are only accepting information based on what our opinions are rather than basing our opinions on the facts we receive, and reason and logic,” the man dubbed ‘No drama Obama’ said, a clear reference to the rabbit hole of fake news and alternative facts we have fallen down in the last six months.
It is extraordinary for an expolitician to criticize a replacement. But these are extraordinary times, and Obama warned us he would weigh in, if he felt he had something important to say.
“I thought things would be a little more quiet for me over the first year,” he quipped.
With the fate of the planet and the future of democracy at stake, Obama felt compelled to speak out for his convictions.
In Montreal, though, he was preaching to the converted. His rapt audience was attended by dignitaries from the realms of Quebec politics, business, arts and sports. Tickets sold out in minutes. Every time Obama mentioned the effort to stave off climate change, the room broke into applause.
Getting Obama here was a coup for the Board of Trade. It was an effort that began before the 44th president left office last year, said the business group’s president, Michel Leblanc. A team starting putting their case together to convince Obama to come last summer, he said. Their pitch included Montreal’s 375th birthday, Canada’s 150th and Obama’s close relationship with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
When the answer finally came a month ago, Leblanc said he was overjoyed. But in the meantime, world events also conspired to give the event a profile and an importance beyond what organizers ever could have hoped.
Terror attacks in Britain, Trump yanking the U.S. out of the Paris Accord and allies saying they can no longer depend on American leadership, shone an international spotlight on what Obama would say.
He didn’t disappoint. Perhaps the most poignant moment of the evening came when Sophie Brochu, the CEO of Gaz Métro, who was moderating a question-and-answer session, asked if any of the women in his family would try to succeed where Hillary Clinton failed, in becoming the first female U.S. president.
“If you took a survey of Michelle, Malia and Sasha, it will not be them,” Obama said of his wife and two daughters. “The girls may change their minds, but Michelle won’t.”
Obama went on to talk of what he learned being raised by a single mother and his grandmother, of seeing his daughters grow up knowing they can do or be anything they want, of the need for more women in leadership roles.
“If you put women in charge of every country for just two years, the world would make a huge leap forward and just be a better place,” Obama said, adding: “In my lifetime, I think we’ll see a woman president of the United States.”
Obama remains a beacon of hope in an uncertain world. He is among the greatest orators of his time. His message of optimism is the kick in the pants we all need when the gloom of recent global events gets us down, a reminder that if we just work together, anything as possible.
Yes, we can, is the mantra that got Obama elected president. But it is also his legacy, which he has now shared with Montreal.