President Obama would like to ask one question for those looking to succeed him in the White House: Why?
NPR’s Steve Inskeep asked the president in the last portion of an end-of-the-year interview on “Morning Edition” what is the one thing he would ask his would-be successors.
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“So I might just ask somebody, why do you want to do this?” Obama responded. The president said that being the most visible person in the world loses its novelty quickly.
“And I suppose they would give a cliche answer because that’s what candidates do, but I will tell you as president, if you are interested just because you like the title or you like the trappings or you like the power or the fame or the celebrity, that side of it wears off pretty quick. At least it has for me,” he added.
In an earlier segment of the interview that aired last week, Obama criticized Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for “exploiting” the anger and fear among white blue-collar men, saying: “I don’t think this country works best on fear. I don’t think this country works best on hate. I don’t think this country works best on cynicism. I think this country works best on community and hope and optimism and dynamism and change.”
“If you are aspiring to this job, then you need to ask yourself some very serious questions about why you’re doing it because that’s what’s going to keep you going on those days that things aren’t going so well,” he said.
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