Hello, Chicago! It's good to be home!
Thank you! Thank you everybody!
(Applause)
Thank you!
(More standing ovations)
Thank you, it's good to be home!
We're on live tv, I gotta move!
The President shows his trademark smile as the
20000 people in attendance that night continue the applause.
You can tell that I am lame duck, because nobody is following
instructions.
Everybody have a seat.
My fellow Americans,
Michele and I had been so touched by all the well wishes that
we received over the past few weeks. But, tonight, tonight it's
my turn to say thanks. Whether we have seen eye to eye, or rarely
agreed at all, my conversations with you, the American people, in
living rooms and in schools, on farms and factory floors, at diners
and on distant military outposts.
Those conversations were what that kept me honest, and kept me
inspired, and kept me going. And every day I have learned from you,
you made me a better President, and you made me a better man.
So, I first came to Chicago when I was in my early twenties, and I
was still trying to figure out who I was, still searching for a
purpose in my life, and it was the neighborhood not far from here
where I began to work with church groups in the shadows of closed
steel mills.
It was on these streets where I witnessed the power of faith, and
the quiet dignity of working people, and the face of struggle, and
loss.
Four more years! The crowd chanted...
The President -- I can't do that.
This is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary
people get involved, and they get engaged, and they come together
to demand it.
After 8 years as your President I still believe that, and it's not
just my belief. It is the beating heart of our American idea, our
bold experiment in self-government.
It's the conviction that we are all created equal. Endowed by our
creator with certain unalienable rights. Among them, life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness.
It's the insistence that these rights while self-evident, have never
been self-executing. That we, the people, through the instrument of
our democracy, can form a more perfect union.
What a radical idea!
The great gift that our founders gave to us. The freedom to chase our
individual dreams, through our sweat and toil, and imagination, and
the imperative to strive together as well, to achieve a common goal,
a greater goal.
For 240 years our nation's call to citizenship has given work and
purpose to each new generation. That's what led patriots to choose
republic over tyranny, pioneers to trek West, slaves to brave that
makeshift railroad to freedom. It's what pulled immigrants and
refugees to cross Oceans and the Rio Grande. It's what pushed women
to reach for the ballot. It's what powered workers to organize. It's
why GI's gave their lives on Omaha Beach and Iwojima, Irak and
Afghanistan, and why men and women from Selma to Stonewall were
prepared to give theirs as well.
So, that's what we mean when we say America is exceptional. Not that
our nation has been flawless from the start; but that we have shown
the capacity to change and make life better for those who follow.
Yes our progress had been uneven. The work of Democracy had always
been hard. It's always been contentious. Sometimes, its been bloody.
For every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back.
But the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion.
A constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all and not
just some.
If I have told you 8 years ago, that America would reverse a great
recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch
of job creation in our history. If I have told you that we would open
up a new chapter with the Cuban people. Shut down Iran's nuclear
program without firing a shot. Take out the master mind of 911. If
I had told you that we would win marriage equality, secure the right
to health insurance for another 20 million of our fellow citizens.
If I had told you all that, you might have said our sights were set
a little too high. But, that's what we did. That's what you did.
You were the change. You answered people's hopes, and because of you,
by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it
was when we started.
In 10 days, the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy.
Four more years! Someone in the crowd responded.
President Obama -- no, no, no, no, the peaceful transfer of power
from one freely elected president to the next.
I committed to president elect Trump that my administration would
ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as president Bush
did for me.
Because it's up to all of us to make sure our government can help
us meet the many challenges we still face.
We have what we need to do so. We have everything we need to meet
those challenges. After all, we remain the wealthiest, most powerful,
and most respected nation on earth.
Our youth, our drive, our diversity and our openness and our boundless
capacity for risk and reinvention means that the future should be ours.
But that potential will only be realized if our democracy works. Only if
our politics better reflects the decency of our people. Only if all of
us, regardless of party affiliation or our particular interest, help restore
the sense of common purpose that we so badly need right now.
That's what I want to focus on tonight. The state of our democracy.
Understand, democracy does not require uniformity. Our founders argued,
they quarreled, eventually they compromised. They expected us to do
the same. But, they knew that democracy does require a basic sense
of solidarity.
The idea that for all our outward differences, we are all in this
together, that we rise or fall as one.
There had been moments throughout our history that threatened that
solidarity, and the beginning of this century has been one of those
times.
A shrinking world, growing inequality, demographic change and the
specter of terrorism.
These forces haven't just tested our security, and our prosperity, but
are testing our democracy as well, and how we meet these challenges to
our democracy will determine our ability to educate our kids, and
create good jobs, and protect our homeland.
In other words, it will determine our future.
To begin with, our democracy won't work without a sense that everyone
has economic opportunity, and the good news is that today the economy
is growing again, wages, incomes, home values and retirement accounts
are all rising again. Poverty is falling again.
The wealthy are paying a fair share of taxes even as the stock
market shatters records. The unemployment rate is near a 10-year
low. The uninsured rate has never been lower. Healthcare cost are rising
at the slowest rate in 50 years, and I have said and I mean it, if anyone
can put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements
we've made to our healthcare system, that covers as many people at less
cost? I will publicly support them.
Because that, after all, is why we serve. Not to score points and take
credit, but to make people's lives better.
But, for all the real progress that we've made, we know it's not enough.
Our economy doesn't work as well or grow as fast when a few
prosper at the expense of a growing middle class, and ladders for folks
who wants to get in the middle class? That's the economic argument.
But, stark inequality is also corrosive to our democratic idea. When the
top 1 percent has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many
of our families, in inner cities and in rural counties, had been left
behind.
The laid off factory worker, the waitress or healthcare worker who is just
barely getting by, and struggling to pay the bills is convinced the game is
fixed against them. That their government only serves the interests of
the powerful. That's a recipe for more cynicism and polarization in our
politics, and there are no quick fixes to this long-term trend.
I agree our trade should be fair and not just free. But, the next wave of
economic dislocations won't come from overseas. It will come from the
relentless pace of automation that makes a lot of good middle class jobs
obsolete.
And so we are going to have to forge a new social compound, to guarantee all our kids the education they need. To give workers the power to unionize for better wages, to update the social safety net to reflect the way we live now, and make more reform to the tax code so our corporations and individuals who reaped the most from this economy don't avoid their obligations to the country that's made their very success possible.
We can argue about how to best achieve these goals. But, we can't be complacent about the goals themselves. For if we don't create opportunities for all people. The disaffection and division that has stalled our progress will only sharpen in years to come.
There is a second threat to our democracy, and this one is as old as our nation itself.
After my election, there was talk about a post racial America, and such a vision; however, well-intended, was never realistic.
Race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society. Now, I have lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were, ten, twenty or thirty years ago, no matter what some folks say. You can see it, not just in statistics. You see it in the attitude of young Americans across the political spectrum.
But, we are not where we need to be, and all of us have more work to do. If every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hard-working white middle-class and an undeserving minority, then workers of all shades are going to left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into private enclaves.
Huge applause.
If we're unwilling to invest in the children of immigrants just because they don't look like us, we will diminish the prospects of our own children, because those brown kids will represent a larger and larger share or America’s workforce.
Huge applause.
And we have shown that our economy doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game. Last year, income rose for all races, all age groups, for men and for women. So, if we're going to be serious about race, going forward, we need to uphold laws against discrimination in hiring and in housing, and in education, and in the criminal justice system. That is what our Constitution and our highest ideals require.
Huge applause.
But, laws alone won't be enough. Hearts must change. It won't change overnight. Social attitudes often times take generations to change. But, if our democracy is to work the way it should, in this increasingly diverse nation, then each one of us need to try to heed the advice of a great character in American fiction: Atticus Finch, who said, "you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view."
Until you climbed into his skin and walk around in it. For blacks and other minority groups, that means tying our own very real struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face. Not only the refugee or the immigrant, or the world poor, or the transgender American, but also the middle-aged white guy who, from the outside may seem he's got advantages, but has seen his world up-ended by economic and cultural, and technological change. We have to pay attention and listen.
Huge applause.
For white Americans, it means acknowledging that, the effects of slavery and Jim Crow, didn't suddenly vanish in the sixties.
Huge applause.
But when minority groups voice discontent, they're not just engaging in reverse racism or practicing political correctness. When they wage peaceful protest, they are not demanding special treatment, but the equal treatment that our founders promised.
Huge applause and standing ovation.
For native born Americans, it means reminding ourselves that the stereotypes about immigrants today, were said almost word for word about the Irish and Italians, and Poles who, it was said, were going to destroy the fundamental character of America.
And, as it turned out, America wasn't weakened by the presence of these newcomers. These newcomers embraced this nation's creed, and this nation was strengthened. So, regardless of the station that we occupy, we all have to try harder. We all have to start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do. That they value hard work and family just like we do, that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own.
Huge applause.
And, that's not easy to do. For too many of us, it's become safe to retreat into our own bubbles. Whether in our neighborhoods or on college campuses, or places of worship or especially our social media feeds. Surrounded by people who look like us, share the same political outlook and never challenge our assumptions. The rise of naked partisanship, increasing economic and regional stratification. The splinting of our media, into a channel for every taste. All this make this great sorting seem natural, even inevitable.
And increasingly, we become so secure in our bubbles, that we start accepting only information, whether it's true or not, that fits our opinions. Instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that is out there.
Huge applause.
And this trend represents a third threat to our democracy. But, politics is a battle of ideas. That's how our democracy was designed. In the course of a healthy debate, we prioritize different goals, and the different means of reaching them.
But, without some common baseline effects, without a willingness to admit new information and concede that your opponent might be making a fair point, and that science and reason mattered, then we are going to keep talking past each other and will make common ground and compromise impossible.
Huge applause.
And, isn't that part of what so often makes politics dispirited? How can elected officials rage about deficits when we propose to spend money on pre-school for kids, but not when we're cutting taxes for corporations?
How do we excuse ethical lapses in our own party, but pounce when the other party does the same thing?
It's not just dishonest, this selective sorting of the facts, it's self-defeating. Because, as my mom used to tell me, reality has a way of catching up with you.
Take the challenge of climate change. In just eight years, we've halved our dependence on foreign oil, we doubled our renewable energy, we've led the world to an agreement that has the promise to save this planet.
Huge applause.
But, without bolder actions, our children won't have time to debate the existence of climate change. They will be busy dealing with its effects. More environmental disasters, more economic disruptions, waves of climate refugees seeking sanctuary.
We can and should argue about the best approach to solve the problem, but to simply deny the problem, not only betrays future generations, it betrays the essential spirit of this country. The essential spirit of innovation, and practical problem solving that guided our founders.
Huge applause.
It is that spirit, born of the enlightenment that made us an economic power house. The spirit that took flight at Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral, the spirit that cures disease and put a computer in every pocket. It's that spirit, a faith in reason and enterprise and the primacy of right over might that allowed us to resist the lure of fascism and tyranny during the great depression, that allowed to build a post World War II order with other democracies. An order based, not just on military power or national affiliations, but built on principles. The rule of law, human rights, freedom of religion and speech, and assembly, and an independent press.
Huge applause.
That order is now being challenged. First, by violent fanatics who claim to speak for Islam. More recently, by autocrats in foreign capitals, who see free markets and open democracies and civil society itself as a threat to their power.
The peril each poses to our democracy is more far reaching than a car bomb or a missile. He represents the fear of change, the fear of people who look or speak or pray differently. The contempt for the rule of law that holds leaders accountable, an intolerance of descent and free thought. The belief that the sword, or the gun, or the bomb, or the propaganda machine is the ultimate arbiter of what's true and what's right.
Because of the extraordinary courage or our men and women in uniform. Because of our intelligence officers, our law enforcement, and diplomats who support our troops, no foreign terrorist organization has successfully plan and execute an attack on our homeland in the past eight years.
And although, Boston and Orlando, San Bernadino, and Fort Hood, remind us of how dangerous radicalization can be, our law enforcement agencies are more effective and vigilant than ever. We have taken out tens of thousands of terrorists, including Bin Laden.
Huge applause.
The global coalition we are leading against ISIL has taken out their leaders, taken away about half their territory. ISIL will be destroyed and no one who threatens America will ever be safe. And to all who served or have served, it has been the honor of my lifetime to be your commander-in-chief, and we all owe you a deep debt of gratitude.
Huge applause and standing ovation.
But, protecting our way of life, that's not just the job of our military. Democracy can buckle when it gives in to fear. So just as we, as citizens, must remain vigilant against external aggression, we must guard against a weakening of the values that make us who we are.
Applause.
And, that's why for the past eight years, I worked to put the fight against terrorism on a firmer legal footing. That's why we ended torture, worked to close GITMO, reform our laws governing surveillance to protect privacy and civil liberties. That's why I reject discrimination against Muslim Americans.
Huge applause and standing ovation.
Who are just as patriotic as we are. That's why we cannot, we cannot withdraw from big global fights, to expand democracy and human rights, women rights and LGBT rights, no matter how imperfect our efforts, no matter how expedient ignoring such values may seem, that's part of defending America. For the fight against extremism and intolerance and sectarianism, and chauvinism, are of a piece with the fight against authoritarianism, and nationalist aggression.
If the scope of freedom and respect for the rule of law breaks around the world, the likelihood of war within and between nations increases, and our own freedom will eventually be threatened. So let's be vigilant, but not afraid.
Huge applause.
ISIL will try to kill innocent people. But, they cannot defeat America, unless we betray our Constitution and our principles in the fight. Rivals like Russia and China, cannot match our influence around the world, unless we give up what we stand for, and turn ourselves into just another big country who bullies smaller neighbors.
Which brings me to my final point.
Our democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted.
Huge applause.
All of us, regardless of party, should be throwing ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic institutions. When voting rates in America are some of the lowest among advanced democracies, we should be making it easier not harder to vote.
Huge applause.
When the trust in our institutions is low, we should reduce the corrosive influence of money in our politics, and insist on the principles of transparency and ethics in public service. When Congress is dysfunctional. We should draw our congressional districts to encourage politicians to cater to common sense and not rigid extremes.
Huge applause.
But remember, none of this happens on its own. All of this depends on our participation, on each of us accepting the responsibility of citizenship regardless of which way the pendulum of power happens to be swinging.
Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift. But, it's really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on its own. We the people, give it power. We the people, give it meaning.
Huge applause.
With our participation and the choices that we make, and the alliances that we forge. Whether or not we stand up for our freedoms, whether or not we respect and enforce the rule of law. That's up to us.
America is no fragile thing, but the gains of our long journey to freedom are not assured.
In his own farewell address, Georges Washington wrote that, self-government is the underpinning of our safety, prosperity and liberty. But, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth.
And so, we have to preserve this truth with jealous anxiety, that we should reject the first dawning of any attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties that make us one.
America, we weaken those ties, when we allow our political dialog to become so corrosive that people of good character are not even willing to enter into public service. So coarse with rancor, the Americans with whom we disagree are seen not just as misguided, but as malevolent. We weaken those ties when we define that some of us as are more American than others. When we write off the whole system as inevitably corrupt.
And when we sit back and blame the leaders we elect, without examining our own role in electing them.
Huge applause.
Transcript by Veritas, watch the entire speech at the bottom of this page.
