Watching Barack Obama greet the first 100 visitors to his Presidential Center, I felt an unexpected sense of grief. It reminded me how much I miss grace, dignity, and simple kindness in leadership. Whether you agreed with his politics or not, that standard of civility feels increasingly rare these days.
It should not have been possible.
Out of a thin line of colonies came the most remarkable roster of exceptional men the world has ever seen.
At the same time. In the same place. For the same cause.
A printer who pulled lightning out of the sky and then talked France into funding a revolution. A 33 year old Virginian who wrote the sentence that would echo through every freedom movement since. A failed Boston businessman who could turn street anger into organized resistance across colonies. A penniless immigrant who built the financial spine of a nation before most men his age had found their footing.
They did not even like each other most of the time. They feuded, schemed, and attacked one another in the press. But when they aimed it all at the same impossible target...they hit it.
Most nations are lucky to get one or two men like that in a century. We got a room full of them at once.
Barack and I had so much fun reading Where the Wild Things Are – a family favorite – in the new Chicago Public Library branch at the Obama Presidential Center. Check it out! 📚
Barack: You told me all those years ago that you couldn’t promise me the world, but you could promise me an interesting life. Of course, you outdid yourself and managed to give me both.
Eight years in the crucible, and not once did you melt from the heat. Not once did you let it harden you. Instead, you used it to reveal your truest essence: your stubborn optimism and unflinching courage, your dazzling brilliance and unpretentious decency, your ferocious work ethic and absolutely unshakable moral fiber.
More than 40 years ago, I arrived in Chicago in search of an idea. I was a young man looking for purpose, who believed deeply in America, was inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, and wanted to be a part of something larger. The America I believed in was one where everyone has opportunity, everyone is seen, everyone belongs—because that was an America that had a place for me, too.
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool had aging pipes, cracked concrete and filtration problems. Trump’s administration spent over $14 million but didn't fix the infrastructure. Now it’s covered in algae and they're dumping 12% hydrogen peroxide in it.
That’s the most perfect metaphor for modern Republican governance we've seen all year. Paint the surface. Ignore the problem. Try to fix the fuckup and blame somebody else.
Trump can’t talk without putting someone down.
Trump can’t talk without using superlatives about himself and pejoratives about everyone else.
Trump can’t talk without pathologically lying.
Trump can’t talk above a 5th grade level.
It’s humiliating that he is in the WH.
Happy Michelle Obama Day yall
Let me give you a clip of the time President Obama was STRUGGLING trying to talk to his wife
He wanted to cry so bad 😂😂 he loves him some Michelle and I do too ❤️
Flood the timeline with Michelle Obama.
Michelle Obama earned degrees from Princeton and Harvard Law, served as First Lady, became a bestselling author, and inspired millions around the world.
Today, WE post Michelle Obama.