President Obama on Wednesday returned to the Illinois state assembly, where he launched his race for the White House exactly nine years ago, and lectured the crowd to come together to forge compromise and eschew “poisonous” partisanship, a goals he admitted mostly eluded him during his time in office.
Speaking to a chamber full of many old colleagues, he recalled the bipartisan camaraderie that existed across the aisle during his tenure and admitted his inability to fulfill many of his campaign promises, among them being unable to bridge the ideological divide and jettison special interests in Washington.
While he cited a string of successes, such as passing the Affordable Care Act and killing Osama bin Laden, he bemoaned the divisive tenor of today’s political debate, the more “fractured” and partisan media, gerrymandered political districts and the free flow of money in politics after the Supreme Court’s Citizen United decision.
“We’ve got to build a better politics…one that is less of a business and more of a mission,” he said. “The success of the American experiment rests on our ability to engage all of our citizens.”
His remarks, delivered during a fierce race to succeed him in the White House, seemed aimed at shaking the American public back to their senses. The president didn’t mention the rise of Donald Trump, but his message seemed clearly aimed at those embracing the real-estate mogul’s abrasive style.
“Our children are watching what we do,” he said. “They don’t just learn it in school. They learn it by watching us — the way we conduct ourselves, the way we treat each other.”
“If we lie about each other, they learn it’s okay to lie. If they make up facts and ignore science, then they just think it’s their opinion that matters. If they see us insulting each other like school kids, then they think, well, I guess that’s how people are supposed to behave,” he said. “The way we respect — or don’t — each other as citizens will determine whether or not the hard, frustrating but absolutely necessary work of self-government that continues.”
The political parties, he said, have become more homogenous than ever without a diversity of views. Combined with a fractured, more partisan media, he said, “we can choose our own facts — we don’t have a common basis of what’s true and what’s not.”
“If I listened to some of these conservative pundits, I wouldn’t vote for me either,” he said with a laugh. “I sound like a scary guy.”
Warning of the power of “unlimited dark money,” Obama said too many wealthy individuals and monied special interests are drowning out the majority of American voices.
Too often, he said, political debates have become abstractions, and candidates come across as “just cardboard characters and positions.” That kind of heartless type of partisan fighting “encourages ideological fealty and rejects any compromises as a form of weakness,” he said.
“Because folks are worried, I’m going to get yelled at by her, or some blogger’s going to write that or you know this talk-show host is going to talk about me and some way I’ve got to challenge her and calling me a RINO or you know not a real progressive,” he said.
Instead of recalling times where he might have contributed to the sniping when it comes to issues like gun control and health care, Obama gave himself credit for trying to find common ground with Republicans. He said he has often agreed with Republicans on getting rid of outdated regulations, passing budgets and “making our streets safe” through support for local law enforcement and transportation infrastructure projects.
The president also appeared to be looking ahead to see how history might treat him better than how he is currently faring in opinion polls. He recalled the famous Illinoisan Abraham Lincoln and the struggles he faced before emerging as one of the nation’s best presidents.
“Abraham Lincoln wasn’t always the giant that we think of today,” Obama recalled, noting that over the course of his career he was called a demagogue, a traitor and an enemy sympathizer.
But because he stood by his opposition to slavery and his determination to hold the country together in the midst of a civil war, he became the first Republican president and “I believe our greatest president,” Obama said.
“Through his will and his word, and most importantly, his character, he held a nation together and set a people free,” Obama said before pivoting to his own state of mind at the twilight of his presidency.
Nine years after launching his campaign for president, Obama said, “I still believe in the politics of hope.”
