“No man’s ignorance will ever be his virtue.” Seriously.
It’s also difficult to beat this version of George Washington’s farewell address:
“Like the scripture says: everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree. . . ” I wonder what it will be like for President Obama, whose vine and fig tree will be in Washington, D.C. for another year and a half, and for the Human Stain. History has its eyes on them.
If you have any thoughts or reactions to the president’s speech tonight, please leave them in the comments below.
Historiann 
It’s going to be hard to get used to living under government despite the people. Not that I’ll listen to or livestream a whole lot of it. Where was the other girl, for the concluding stage-walk?
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Sasha probably has homework due tomorrow at Sidwell Friends; Malia’ on a gap year, IIRC, so she’s free to travel with her mom & pop.
I have a feeling that the next 4 years are going to feel like 12 instead, whatever happens with the Human Stain.
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You asked for reactions? I think he’s angry. He’s worried that so many of the gains that have been made over the last 8 years will be undone. I realize that tonight he needed to be restrained, but I look forward to what comes next.
For me, I watched and remembered how hopeful and excited I was 8 years ago. Now I look towards the next 8 years with dread. But one thing that did resonate was becoming involved. Obama inspired me to become part of the process. I have been active since his primary days. And will continue to be. I believe we can turn this around in 2018. But it will take more than Hamilton. As great as it is, it exists in a bubble. How much are tickets? Not to be critical, but this is part of the discussion where rural americans are the disconnect.
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I wish he had had Luther his anger translator with him.
I didn’t see him as angry. I saw him as more like, “good luck, MoFos. You did this!”
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Hamilton tickets are too expensive for me–but it doesn’t exist in a bubble. You can stream all of its songs free on YouTube, and the iTunes recording is only $20. The Constitution doesn’t guarantee our right to affordable Broadway show tix. (But I also think they give away several in a lottery every day, and I know they do a lot of gratis performances for NYC school children.)
The show is coming to Denver in 2018, I hear–I’ll see it then with a traveling cast. That’s OK! I get to see Fun Home this weekend, and front row center, right in front of the Orchestra pit, was only like $100. Not bad!
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I guess my point was that Hamilton seems like the epitome of the divide between Clinton and Trump voters at the moment. A multi-ethnic cast of a Broadway musical celebrating values of inclusion and democracy has appealed to everyone I am friends with, but for Trump voters, it is everything that is wrong with the liberal elites of the coasts. Several of my family members are pro-Trump, and not only do they have zero interest in watching Hamilton on you-tube, they derided it in horrible racist, homophobic terms.
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Oh, God. Well, that’s their fault, not the fault of Hamilton.
It’s impossible to reach people who are deep inside a cult of personality. Those of us on the outside will have to wait it out, because it will end. But it will be awful and dangerous for a lot of people until it does.
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The farewell speech gave me hope. Obama was speaking to all of us, and I think especially to progressives — telling us America can survive this administration, if we step up. That’s an important point.
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Obama was only one guy. There are 300+ million of us who need to step up. As I wrote in one of my first blog posts here ever nearly nine years ago, “One man’s political fortunes aren’t transformational–only rank-and-file organizing and support for candidates of all ethnic backgrounds will truly change the face of the Democratic party.”
But no one reads this stupid blog, so–
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He was a man, take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again.
– Hamlet
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Perfect.
We will miss him. I was a huge skeptic but I came to appreciate him and voted enthusiastically for him twice. I will surely miss him.
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I am bummed I missed his farewell speech. My wife has cut me off from watching the news or political speeches on TV or listening to NPR. I wonder how many of Obama’s speeches will make it into the compendiums of Presidential addresses?
I will definitely miss Obama. I propose we collect a bunch of money to put up a billboard in February 2018 on I-35 with Obama’s picture on it and the caption “Miss me yet?”
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