President Obama warned a group of fellows from the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative on Monday that people who simply want to be famous or want to be “important” shouldn’t get into politics, and that politicians should instead focus on helping people.
“[W]hen I look at other political careers that I admire, I think the most important thing is to have a sense of principle and why you’re in public service,” Obama recommended. “I think sometimes people want to be in public service just because they like seeing their name up in lights; they like being important.”
“And that’s a bad reason to go into politics; you should be like an actress or a singer, or make a lot of money” if fame is the goal, he added.
“But if you’re going into politics and public service, there’s only one good reason to do it: and that is because you want to help people,” he continued. “I knew that I wanted to work to create more opportunity for all people; that my orientation was always, how does this help the poor or the marginalized, or somebody who has less opportunity then me? How is this going to help them if they work hard to get ahead?”
Obama warned that setbacks and even electoral losses are inevitable, but said even when that happens, politicians should have a set of core principles that they will not violate under any circumstances. “[A]t least you’ll know every morning when you wake up and you look at yourself in the mirror, I know who I am and why I’m doing what I’m doing,” he said.
“And I think those are the people who eventually end up having successful careers because people sense that integrity and that leadership. Even if they don’t agree with you, at least they know you believe in something,” Obama said.
“And unfortunately, too many politicians, they’re just climbing the ladder but they don’t know why,” he warned.
