Obama speaks at Bill and Melinda Gates event

I listened to this speech/interview last night, in part because I was happy to see Obama working with Gates, and also because I like Obama. If you don't like Obama I doubt that this video will change your mind, but one of the things I was struck by was how much I missed hearing a president, any president, speak in an intelligent and coherent manner. Over the last 8-9 months I've been slowly getting use to the Trump's speaking style which is often bombastic and erratic, and listening to this video reminded me of what we use to hear fairly regularly.

Seriously, listen to Obama for just a few minutes (or all of it if you want) and compare just his manner of speech to just about any speech by Trump to see what I mean.

@Serraph105: Yes it was refreshing to hear someone speak intelligently. I am embarrassed every single time trump opens his mouth as representative of the US.

Obama is a lawyer and a trained politician. So of course he knows how to perform and present a good written speech.

But thank god he can never be president again.

Why you playa' hatin?

Yeah, same. Hell, I heard a W. Bush speech not too long ago and even that was intelligent by comparison to Trump. Never thought I would say that, but, well....here we are.

Obama is a hell of a speaker, and not only is he an educated man, but an incredibly intelligent one as well that can still relate to everyday people, unlike our current president.

I miss him and his family so god damn much, it hurts. Thank god he is still fighting the good fight.

I didn't like the Obama Presidency, but if he starts doing some good for the world...i'm not going to hate him for it?

I don´t hate Obama, hate is also such a strong word. I have a strong dislike for his presidency since he was a horrible president and put the country back decades.

As a person i am sure he is a good person and i am all for him using his leftist popularity to the betterment of all people in America.

He's one of the better orators of his generation.

Are you asking us to answer if you're going to hate him?

Yes, please tell me!

Im no Obama fan, but i imagine my criticism of him is vastly different from yours.

I would however like to know how he put the country back decades because what i saw was a man who maintained the status quo set by corporate republicans.

Well, first he left the country more divided than ever, and the biggest thing is the debt which he increased in such a number that it will take decades before that is down to a more reasonable level.

So no he didn't maintain the status quo.

And was that his fault or the people who proclaimed he was the worst president ever before he took office? The same people who made those same division claims before he was even sworn in? Aside from being black, what actual actions did he take to divide the nation? IMO we simply found out that 20-30% of the country could not mentally handle a black man in office, but im willing to listen to evidence of him actually dividing people if you have it.

As for debt, it seems people have a minimal understanding of debt so ill just leave this here. Given this graph, how do you think debt (something we cannot default on) will look under Trump? Seems to me like this is just evidence of the status quo.... add that to the charges of... at least slight racism, weve seen from a large portion of the population.... yah, id say status quo. But in all of this you never actually mentioned anything he did specifically. You mentioned him resigning the debt ceiling, which naturally inclines, but every president including the orange buffoon has done this. Im going to ask you again, can you actually cite things he did as a president (not how people reacted to him being black) that demonstrates a single thing you said or can we just chalk this whole thing up to you never knowing what youre talking about and youll never be able to demonstrate a single thing you want to say is fact?

@Serraph105: I watched it yesterday also. He's definitely an educated man. The only problem I have with most of his speeches is he seems to have long pauses in places there shouldn't be... Like he's trying to think of the right word. I think the majority of Americans can relate to the way Trump speaks because it isn't complicated. I don't really have a problem with either. When Trump does a speech I know it'll just be like listening to an average Joe(unless scripted, which sounds worse to me and not genuine). But Obama, the man, seemed like a really good person. Kinda glad he got his pokes in at Trump during that speech. Trump deserved those. I hate obama care, but you don't belittle the man for trying. Anyways, good speech, good man.

@LJS9502_basic: It is embarrassing, but he does relate well to the majority of Americans. Kinda shows we need a better education system here.

And who´s job is it to get the country to see otherwise? why do you think normally democratic strongholds went to trump? places that went Obama in 08 and 12. Obama did not work on removing the division, he kept on his own path despite his actions made America look weak and divide the country

As to the debt let´s get one thing clear On January 20, 2009, when he was sworn in, the debt was $10.626 trillion. On January 20, 2017, it was $19.947 trillion. That increase is more than any other president before which means not holding the status-quo at all.

As to the rest of your BS post , either debate constructive or don´t debate at all.

I agree that it's kind of annoying, but at the same time I sort of appreciate it. It makes me think Obama will stop to consider his actions so that he gets it right. That's something I have never thought about Trump. I honestly think he gets excited about the stuff he does to the point of not questioning whether it's the right thing to do.

@Serraph105: That's exactly right. They are about as opposite as you can get. Probably a big reason he was elected... A new perspective, a business man instead of a politician, etc. I kinda wish someone like Paul Ryan would of been the president with Trump as a financial advisor.

Yup, and when people want something new and different they, apparently, try to go as different as possible. Personally I don't quite get how people can look at a guy who doesn't always (and in Trump's case, rarely) think things through and see that as a positive trait for running world affairs. I get that it's a positive trait if you happen to be in some sort of immidiate battle or a tense situation that requires a person to operate on instinct, but that situation almost never applies to a president, and when it does it still means they have a couple of days or even hours to take an action.

I'm trying to think about how the country could guard against electing a president who operates like Trump in the future. Logically it means looking at a guy like Obama and rejecting him for being too methodical under a weird pretense that it would mean people may want an overly reactive president like Trump in the future. Doing that however would ultimately mean rejecting the best potential leaders, and supporting mediocre ones in an attempt to avoid really bad ones in the future. That doesn't make any sense either, but it's where the logic takes me.

I have to disagree with your assessment of acting without thinking. Actions taken without thought are rarely if ever the appropriate action. Using emotion rather than thought is dangerous.

Well I'm referring to stuff that doesn't really affect the job of being president. If something is about to fall and you have a split second to react to catch it or you're in literal fight where someone is throwing a punch at you and you have to react to it you don't have a moment to think over your options. That's the sort of thing that I believe people's minds leap to when they think about the upsides of a president being reflexive as opposed to needing/wanting to stop and think things through. Again though, that sort of situation is basically never a reality when you are president, but because it technically happens to other people (sometimes) it may be why people view it as a good thing.

http://www.crfb.org/blogs/has-president-obama-doubled-national-debt

First of all, much of the debt increase was the result of laws and economic conditions in place before Obama took office rather than laws that passed under his presidency. The Congressional Budget Office’s first current law projections of the Obama presidency already projected debt held by the public would rise from $5.8 trillion to $9.1 trillion when Obama left office – and these projections didn’t incorporate the entire depth of the Great Recession, which reduced revenue and therefore further increased debt.

Importantly, though, President Obama did sign many laws worsening this debt situation. Among the most significant are the 2009 stimulus, extending the 2001/2003 tax cuts temporarily in 2010 and making most of them permanent in 2012, the 2015 permanent "doc fix," and the tax extenders/omnibus bill at the end of 2015. President Obama also signed several pieces of legislation to reduce projected debt, most significantly the Budget Control Act. But importantly, these laws were written not by the president but by Congress.

It is Congress that passes tax and spending legislation. There is little the president can do to impact the debt, positively or negatively, without a bill passed by Congress. Conversly there is little Congress can do without the president's signature or a veto-proof supermajority. Further, during most of Obama's term to date, control of Congress was split between a Democratic Senate and a Republican House. Both branches share blame, both for legislation that increased the debt and for failing to enact legislation that would curb the debt growth that was already projected to occur from the growth of entitlement programs and insufficient revenues.

***

By a few metrics, debt has doubled during the Obama presidency. The blame though is not only on him because some of the debt increase over the past eight years was already expected to occur, and Congress had to approve bills that increased the debt. Interestingly, debt held by the public would double again by 2024 under Trump's proposed plans – so while he is right about what's happened under President Obama's watch, his plan will make the problem worse.

The only people who talk about this weird divide (aside from the natural political one we've seen for well over 20 years) with race are like... 10-15% of the population. And the only one's attributing it to Obama as if its something he did other than being black, are morons who have no concept of US history. What we saw with Obama was really no different than what we saw with Bush and Clinton except a slightly higher percentage of racists popped out of the woodwork. And no, its not Obama's job to change their mind. Its his job to run the country as best as he can and as we always see, there will be a group of people who will hate him no matter how good or bad of a job he does. Right now you seem to simply want to cite the base of the base... the lowest of the low.... the idiots.

Our debt is never going to decrease and its never going to decrease becasue of the way we function as a country in this current system. A system that Obama simply continued, he did not create and any abnormal increases were due to that economic collapse Bush and Clinton put us in. Its called an economic recovery, you should read about how it functions...... but im betting thats too boring right?

There is no debate. You tell me how you feel and then i hit you with the reality brick. And you still have yet to mention a single thing Obama did to divide the country outside of him being black, and you wont be able to do this because youre a liar and a POS.

Had Obama run against trump, he would have won in a landslide.

@LJS9502_basic: Before I say this, I'm not sexist. But the emotion thing may have also worked against Hillary. Biology shows women are more emotional and less rational. Not 100% of the time or even close to that. But in the publics eye, this may have affected the outcome. There are some really educated people in America, but as you know, there are a lot that aren't. I'm a college drop out(going back next semester to finish an RN program) and I don't know some of the words former president use in their speeches. Heck, I don't even know some of the words Kim Jong Un uses!(Look at last response to Trump). Point being, I think all through culture, when a leader was elected, it was someone who related well with the public, or made themselves perceive that way. Fortunately, there are many under him that are experienced and intelligent. I love the idea of all political parties (or simply put, all Americans) working together for the good of the country. Compromises will always have to be made, and I think Trump is slowly grasping that. Even when Bill Clinton and the Monica thing came out, I think more American's liked Bill because it showed he was human... He even directly lied to the public about it lol. My point in all this is that people want someone they relate to. Someone not afraid to take risk. Someone who supports America first and then our allies. Someone who can possibly help us all make a little more money, through better jobs or tax cuts. I'm on the bottom end of middle class so I'm all for someone at least attempting to improve that aspect. From what I've noticed, it generally people well off($100,000/year income) that hate on Trump. The "poor" people seem to support him, or at least want what they think he can offer. General observation, not facts though.

The sad thing is that I've yet to see him offer anything to actually help the poor people in America except for maybe getting a few coal miners back on the job, but at the same time we've seen proposals to cut their health benefits should they get something like black lung disease.

I'm legitimately at a loss for why people, particularly poor people, think he will be able to help them get a better job. Is it just that Trump pays lip service to it? Because the details on how he's going to do so have been few, if indeed they exist at all.

@Serraph105: I don't know every detail, but from what Paul Ryan said, it seems Everytime they propose something, they get shut down on it. I'm giving Trump a few more years to see if he can do something, anything would be great. He has been getting more praise on CNN lately(How he's handling N. Korea, minus the tweets), so that's always a good sign if they can manage to swallow their pride and give him a compliment lol. Still a lot of unneeded bashing going on, but that probably just fuels the fire inside the man, Trump, to prove them wrong. One thing we all know is that Trump wants to be a winner. And he'll do whatevers necessary to fulfill his promises or at least make his best effort to. The DACA was a good example. Some of his base are mad, but more aren't, and plenty on the other side are praising him for coming to his senses. Crazy as it sounds, this President (being anti-political) may be a really good thing for America... If we can all just stop fighting with each other. A physical wall doesn't need to be built and is near impossible geographically, but a lot more money can be allocated from the military budget to protect the borders(Canada obviously hasn't been a problem). Again, compromise is the answer. Improve the walls already up if needed, add some less expensive ones with added security. Throw a drone up that patrols at random times. Ha, ok I'm getting way off subject, sorry.

Should he be getting that praise?

I mean.... this is how you handle NK.......................................... That. Right there. You ignore them. The whole world knows the situation, they know what he does and why he does it. At this point there is no need to even speak on the issue.

Yes but trump is not the champion of the poor. If his policies are enacted they are the ones that will be hurt most. Obviously we need better education including teaching critical thinking in secondary school and not waiting for those who go to college and happen to take the correct courses.

Differing political parties will always exist. But when you don't want to hear factual information that is negative to your stance then there is no hope for an educated electorate.

The only one not debating is you, and when you lack arguments you just go into petty mode.

Who said Obama divided the country by being a certain color? that has nothing to do with it, as i said people who voted for Obama in 08 and 12 , the reason they turned away from the democrats , is because they feel neglected and forgotten, and when Obama did nothing to get them jobs or help them, it´s no wonder.

What nonsense is that? our debt is never going to decrease, While it has not decreased since 2004 after the subprime burst. All it takes is a fiscal sound president who comes into office and we will see a decrease, and we will have to. Remember Clinton had a balanced budget. Also except Bush jr. no president besides obama has gone above 2billion.

Intellectual and a pretty damn good President all things considered, IMO. Damn shame he couldn't run again.

Can you see? Do you have vision problems? Do you know a single thing about how our economy is structured now?

Who said Obama divided the country by being a certain color? that has nothing to do with it, as i said people who voted for Obama in 08 and 12 , the reason they turned away from the democrats , is because they feel neglected and forgotten, and when Obama did nothing to get them jobs or help them, it´s no wonder.

And most of the people who took these issues with Obama and voted for him, don't say the dumb shit you do. You cant see it because you're the single most partisan person on these boards only behind DD, but the only people who talk about Obama dividing the country are far right wingers who couldn't pass a second grade English, math or science class. Are his supporters the one who came up with "The Welfare President" nickname? Again, before he was in office i might add.... gee... i wonder what played a role in that name.

@kod: I don't think anyone knows how to handle NK. This is the first time they've had a nuke that large. It's the first time they've proved they have missiles that can reach US soil. It's new territory for the world. The sanctions bit seems to be agreed upon by all. Ignoring a threat doesn't make it go away. If someone calls 911 with threats of a bomb, even if it's 10 times a day, you still have to take it seriously. The fallout if one of those threats actually happens will be worse than being proactive to prevent it from happening. I can't understand how a country declares war with the most powerful country in the world and their allies and nothing is done(besides sanctions). I know there isn't a "good" solution, but there are many "bad" solutions... Crossing your fingers is probably not the best, especially if you live in SK or Japan... You live in terror everyday... Wake up to sirens and text messages that a missle has been launched. Not sure how long those countries will live like that for before they say enough is enough.

I think everyone knows how to handle NK and i think everyone has been handling it correctly.

The only reason they want a nuke is because its the only deterrent for the US. Nuke = US wont invade for whatever reason they create. No Nuke = US invades for any reason they create. We know this, they know this, the whole world knows it.

Every test launch they do is half empty threat and half real test to check improvements.

But the good thing about NK is much like any other nation, they have displayed this small thing called "self preservation". Its all bark because if they bite they lose everything. No more power to this lazy, western educated buffoon. Its not easy to maintain a totalitarian society, Un is not insane or stupid or unpredictable. It sucks the situation exists, but it does and we have to be able to take in all the information before we start overreacting. And i will say overreacting because again, self preservation of a sane person.

No. I lived in SK for a little under a year and this is not something that people fear in their daily lives. In fact the biggest concern i saw on this subject was people worried about the US doing something to NK, because over half the population of SK has family in NK. In fact there is almost no tension between NK and SK until you go to the DMZ or read a few fear mongering outlets that are not viewed favorably by most people.

I don't know about Japan, but im willing to bet they don't concern themselves with it too much either.

So........ how can i put this....... living in constant fear with no real reason, is an American thing. It has a lot to do with our media and a lot to do with the fact that we are doing bad things to other people constantly, so its always on our mind. If this is not something your country does regularly or is not under actual attack regularly or immediate threat identified, its not something you're going to concern yourself with. Luckily most of the world does not let their imaginations run wild with fear.