A president’s farewell

CHICAGO—President Barack Obama returned Tuesday to the city that launched his political career, giving a farewell address before thousands of supportive Chicagoans who ventured out on the gusty, drizzly evening to hear him speak.

In a cavernous convention hall inside Chicago’s McCormick Place, Obama listed what he considered to be the accomplishments of his presidency and pointed his supporters to the future, quoting from George Washington and Atticus Finch while warning of what he called threats to democracy.

Although most conservative Americans are glad that his eight years of liberal policies are coming to an end, Obama, the first African-American president of the United States, met an enthusiastic and supportive audience here in his adopted hometown. He moved to Chicago in his early 20s, worked there as a community organizer, and ultimately pursued political office. He won an Illinois state Senate seat in 1996, a U.S. Senate seat in 2004, and presidential elections in 2008 and 2012.

He took the opportunity Tuesday to acknowledge those who had supported him from his earlier years in politics.

“Some of you here tonight or watching at home were there with us in 2004, in 2008, in 2012—and maybe you still can’t believe we pulled this whole thing off,” he said to laughter. “Let me tell you, you’re not the only ones.”

In his speech Obama emphasized national unity, warned against social divisions, and urged the audience to continue fighting for liberal values such as higher taxes on the wealthy.

“Today, the economy is growing again,” he said. “Wages, incomes, home values, and retirement accounts are rising again. … The unemployment rate is near a 10-year low. The uninsured rate has never, ever been lower.”

But the president called “stark inequality” corrosive to democratic ideals: “While the top 1 percent has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many of our families, in inner cities and in rural counties, have been left behind.” He blamed automation for making “many good, middle-class jobs obsolete.”

Alongside income disparities, Obama named racial tension as a threat to democracy, and acknowledged his election did not end racial strife in America: “After my election, there was talk of a post-racial America. Such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic.” While race relations have improved from previous decades, he said, “race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society.”

Calling for antidiscrimination laws to be upheld, Obama employed a quote from Atticus Finch, a character from the American novel To Kill a Mockingbird: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

That perspective, Obama suggested, should lead Americans to have sympathy for refugees, immigrants, the rural poor, minorities, transgender individuals, and even middle-class white men who have lost jobs.

Obama called on Americans to engage in political debates in a civil manner.

“We must guard against a weakening of the values that make us who we are,” he said. “That’s why I reject discrimination against Muslim Americans. That’s why we cannot withdraw from global fights—to expand democracy, and human rights, and women’s rights, and LGBT rights.”

The president also noted specific accomplishments he was proud of during his tenure, many of which conservatives would call failures: the Iranian nuclear deal, the reset of diplomatic relations with Cuba, the killing of Osama bin Laden, the fight against ISIS, the legalization of same-sex marriage, and Obamacare’s expanded insurance coverage.

Obamacare could be the first of the president’s initiatives to be overturned by the new administration: President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are making the repeal the Affordable Care Act one of their top priorities this year. After a rocky rollout, the law has resulted in skyrocketing insurance premiums for many Americans.

Speaking of his signature healthcare law, Obama reiterated, “If anyone can put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements we’ve made to our healthcare system—that covers as many people at less cost—I will publicly support it.”

In terms of the president’s accomplishments, Chicago-area supporters attending the speech pointed not only to universal healthcare but also to what they described as Obama’s ability to unite Americans.

“The things that he was saying about immigrants and race relations … just felt like exactly what we needed to hear right now,” said Matthew Mann. “For us, we took it pretty hard with the election results.”

“He was a president literally for every person in this country, no matter your race, your creed, your religion, whatever,” said Astrid Beltran, calling “equal rights for marriage” a “huge” achievement of Obama’s legacy. She recognized the president didn’t accomplish every goal: “I would have loved more immigration reform.”

Obama leaves office after leading the country out of a recession, while presiding over a national debt that grew from more than $10 trillion in 2009 to nearly $20 trillion today. He fulfilled a campaign pledge to bring home U.S. troops from Iraq, but soon after saw the rapid growth of ISIS, the Islamic terrorist organization, throughout Iraq and Syria.

Rose Bailey praised the president for “corralling people into a different, hopeful state of mind for the country.” Obama is welcome back in Chicago after he leaves office, she said, adding, “Whatever he’s going to bring to the city of Chicago, we’re going to be all for it in droves.”