YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN!

The man just makes me smile. I have five pages of notes on his speech but I won't bore you. Remember John McCain called Joe Biden to concede in 2008. He didn't have the courtesy to call Barack.The Republicans even before he was inaugurated adopted a strategy of obstruction. John Boehner flew to New York to ensure Wall Street wouldn't invest in the economy. There was over $2 trillion they could have unleashed. The economy was in a very scary free fall. If the auto industry were to go bankrupt ,our complete manufacturing base would have evaporated. The global economy was in a Depression--forget Recession--. We had over 150,000 troops overseas. Iran ignored the Bush administration and was adding thousands of centrifuges all the time.

And this very young man became President. He was disrespected his whole two terms.Even this year, the Senate refused to hear his budget,his request for a declaration of war against ISIS had linger for two and half years and his Supreme Court justice was ignored.

 Tonight he looked very refreshed, not as haggard and grey as he looked at his farewell to the armed services.

Tonight he came home to Chicago to a thunderous crowd who chanted Four More Years! Four More Years!. He literally closed the speech with an authentic my last words to you are "Yes We Can ! Yes We Can!" It wasn't nostalgia. It was a new call to arms. He said that to those who were young or young at heart. "Believe in your ability to bring change. The story is not written."

In the last segments of the speech,he alluded to what we have been hearing. That he will be working as a citizen on issues such as voting rights, gerrymandering, and how citizens can participate in our democracy. I thought his phrase 'the anxious jealous guardians of democracy" seemed to be appropriate and perhaps the next set of speeches when he leaves the White House. He repeated his saying the most important office in a democracy is citizen.

Tired of politics,run for office yourself.
Show up,Dive In, Stay at it.
He seems to be rehearsing his lines for training and grooming the next generation of leaders.

The speech was a warning about the threats to our democracy. Here he seems to have fused his speeches about the American identity into a coherent whole. And he warned that betraying our values will destroy our democracy.

But he was very upbeat and optimistic. And acted as a cheerleader for everyone gathered. 

I think he finally found the formula to talk about his achievements. He managed to list them but with a phrase if I told you in 2008, we would have the longest period of job creation in our history,better relations with Cuba, an Iran Nuclear deal without firings shot,20 million having health insured and the lowest uninsured rate in our history, marriage equality and the death of a terrorist leader, you would tell me our sights were too high.

Which is true. Those things people thought were impossible. I knew he would get Bin Laden when he said it in a debate. That didn't surprise me. But frankly I didn't believe any of the other things would happen. The opening to Cuba was the most covert diplomacy I have seen in my life. No a word leaked.
The gains in LGBT rights the most dramatic human rights a changes in my lifetime. The Iranian Nuclear Deal with such hostility from the Republicans and Israel amazing. He was the first President who kept every promise he made to the American Indians, which they acknowledge. 

I was disappointed he didn't mention adding a trillion acres to our national parks and monuments. One of his greatest legacies. 

The Paris Climate Change Accord signed by nearly 200 countries is one of the greatest achievements in American diplomacy. Think about it: FDR could create the UN and its structure simply by getting Great Britain and Russia to agree. And that was amazing.

Be Vigilant but not Afraid as he urged Americans to continue the fight for human rights and democracy despite how flawed we are. We don't want to become a big country that just bullies our neighbors.

He presented a country that is prosperous, all-inclusive and secure. And he made it so.

He got most enthused when talking about the young, who said wanted a fair,just and inclusive world. And he reminded them they will outnumber us and our future is secure.
I have been critical of his optimism and others also say he minimizes our dark sides. 

But tonight he showed one aspect of his brilliance as a leader. He made you as the participant in what he achieved and what you achieved was good. 

Know go read the speech and do a little thought experiment. Could you imagine Donald Trump referring to all those events in our history and drawing a lesson from it? 

Weirdly President Obama created a new definition tonight for American exceptionalism--our values and ability to embrace change makes us exceptional. Nice.

I will miss him. And he ended as Bruce Springsteen played Land Of Hopes and Dreams.

You saw a man who grew in office and will grow even more. He is only 55. Terrific man, so eloquent,elegant,sharp and at the sometime humble. He said we kept him honest,inspired and a better man.

One of his legacies is that the White House was the People's House with everybody seen there. His was a most diverse and tolerant America. He appealed to our better angels.

God help us now. Elvis will leave the building in ten days.

An what will we do for music? The music and the arts were all effortlessly part of America.