US PRESIDENT BARACK Obama bowed out of the Oval Office with a typically measured press conference today.
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President Barack Obama speaks during a surprise appearance at White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest’s last daily press briefing of the Obama administration in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington on January 17. Obama acknowledged that there’s little he can do after leaving office, but he let the reporters know how much he appreciates them, both personally and professionally. “You’re not supposed to be sycophants, you’re supposed to be skeptics – cast a critical eye on folks who hold enormous power and make sure that we are accountable to the people who sent us here and you have done that”, the president said from the White House. “I’m totally in agreement with that, and obviously we brought a high level of satisfaction to the city of Chicago and Cubs fans throughout the world, and we’re very proud of that”. It took you long enough. “They just surprise and enchant and impress me more and more every single day as they grow up”.
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In a farewell interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes”, President Obama warned successor Donald Trump on Sunday about the downsides of a presidency as improvisational as his campaign, and suggested that Trump’s vow to implement change may fall to the same forces of partisanship that hampered his presidency.
Mr Obama also praised his daughters, saying they do not intend to pursue a future in politics – thanks to the influence of his wife, Michelle.
Trump’s team has floated the idea of evicting the White House press corps from the West Wing, ending daily on-camera briefings and handpicking who gets access, although some of those suggestions have since been rowed back.
Obama attacked the political awkwardness with humor.
“Among Sox fans, I am the Cubs number 1 fan”, Obama quipped.
President Obama also was pardoned by Chicago president of baseball operations Theo Epstein for his Sox fandom. The Cubs also gave Obama a handful of gifts, including a lifetime pass to Wrigley Field – “non-transferrable”, Obama noted, examining the pass – and one of the “W” flags that flies at Wrigley after a Cubs win, autographed by all the members of the team.
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The President was presented with what he called the best swag yet; a 44 from the Wrigley Scoreboard, a life-long all access pass to the park and a 44 jersey that he said would be hard to put on.
