President Barack Obama waves as he walks out of the residence toward Marine One while departing the White House, on February 10, 2016 on his way to make a speech in Springfield, Illinois.
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Obama’s speech comes at a particularly vitriolic time in IL politics. In what one should assume will be many speeches in the coming months reflecting on his legacy as President, Obama said he cared about repairing things for the future. On Wednesday, President Obama visited the Illinois General Assembly yesterday, and appeared to defend Dunkin’s willingness to compromise with republicans on budget issues.
Rather than reward the most extreme voices or whoever is best at “launching schoolyard taunts”, the president told IL lawmakers in Springfield that “we should insist on a higher form of political discourse that is based on respect”.
Obama harkened to his experiences as a state senator – where he served for eight years – to tell lawmakers that his time in Springfield taught him to forge compromises.
Obama said the increased partisan polarization in Washington is “one of the few regrets of my presidency” during his final State of the Union address, saying “that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better”.
Also in Presidential news, a budget proposal released during a meeting with Obama’s national security team.
“I think you should pass that legislation right away”.
Some even went so far as to read Obama’s call for patience, experience, and temperament as a not-so-discreet endorsement of Hillary Clinton.
Obama said finding common ground doesn’t make him a sellout to his own party, but that he is trying to get stuff done.
The president conducted the interview with three of his former colleagues from the IL state Senate.
“It turns folks off. Makes them cynical”, he said. He said the influence of money on politics could be reduced, the country should rethink the way it redraws its congressional districts and said everyone has the responsibility to change how elected officials and citizens work together.
President Obama returned to Springfield, IL today, nine years after he announced his presidency, for a speech about “fixing our broken politics”. Speaker Madigan and Illinois Democrats have turned our state into a fiscal basket case.
But the realities of American politics remain stark, fundraising is essential and party turnout is often more important than winning over new voters.
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Amid Obama’s efforts to revamp his nine-year-old message of hope and change during his last year as president, he also acknowledged that he has yet to see more bipartisan efforts since he took office.
