If you watched Obama’s speech without knowing what the date was, it would have looked like most any other rally during his presidency. While the speech itself was a snooze-fest, Obama broke from presidential precedent and basically held a campaign rally for his Farewell Address.
President George W. Bush gave his Farewell Address to a small crowd gathered in the White House. President Clinton gave an address from the Oval Office, as did Presidents Reagan and Eisenhower.
For a president to gather before a huge crowd to say goodbye is unusual. While Obama will surely speak at campaign rallies for other candidates in the future, this was his last chance to give a rally for himself, the last rally for a president that’s always excelled at campaigning instead of governing.
Or is it his last rally?
It was clear Tuesday night that Obama isn’t ready to leave office. It says a lot that he recently said he would have won if he had run again (questionable). Even his Farewell Address was the longest in presidential history.
“It has been the honor of my life to serve you,” Obama said. “I won’t stop,” he added, seemingly suggesting he won’t be quiet in the post-presidency section of his life. And despite being the last major speech of his presidency, the speech didn’t seem to carry the huge emotional weight of someone who thought they were giving the last major speech of their life.
What does that mean for the Democratic Party? It sure seems like Obama is going to suck the air out of the party, and be a distraction for years to come. Is he willing to step out of the spotlight and let a new generation of Democratic Party leaders take charge?
He’ll have to get used to working behind the scenes instead of rallying the public if he’s truly willing to give the next generation their turn.
Or maybe he plans on coming back as a political spouse.
One of the loudest standing ovations of the night was given when Obama mentioned the first lady, louder even than the ovation given to “the scrappy kid from Scranton” Vice President Joe Biden.
If you look at the gambling odds for who will win the election in 2020, Trump is the obvious favorite (39 percent chance of winning the election), as most any incumbent president would be. He’s followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., at 7 percent and then Michelle Obama at 6 percent.
While the 6 percent chance might seem low, is there any other first lady in history that would get such high odds for winning the presidency just four years after their husband’s administration? Hillary Clinton won a senate election in 2000, sure, but no one would have predicted she’d rise above all the other Democratic nominees as soon as 2004.
As of August 2016, 64 percent of the country viewed Michelle Obama favorably. Compare that to roughly 34 percent of the country viewing Trump favorably.
If you were looking for one candidate to go up against Trump, it’s hard to argue with those numbers.
Even if the Michelle 2020 idea is far-fetched, it’s obvious Obama’s not really planning on leaving the political stage any time soon. Maybe that’s why he decided, instead of simply saying goodbye to the country, to rally the base one more time.
Jason Russell is the contributors editor for the Washington Examiner.
