Obama's farewell speech: tears and farewell to the future. Video in Russian
In the evening, January 10 44-th US President Barack Obama addressed the Americans with a farewell speech.
He spoke in his native Chicago, Illinois, where he once began a political career to urge Americans not to lose faith in the future, regardless of how they feel about the next president.
Thousands of people gathered at the McCormick Place convention center to hear Obama’s closing remarks as president. Voice of America.
About democracy
“For the first time,” the president recalled, “I appeared in Chicago on 20 with a little while I was still trying to understand who I was, still looking for a goal in life. Not far from here is the area where I began working with church groups - in the shadow of closed steel mills. On these streets, I witnessed the power of faith, and the calm dignity of the working people in the face of problems and losses. There I learned that changes occur only when ordinary people are involved and involved in this process, and together begin to demand them. ”
“After 8 years as your president, I still believe in that. And this is not just my faith — this is the heart of our American idea — our bold experiment with self-government, ”Obama continued. “This is the conviction that we were all created equal and endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights, including the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Obama noted that democratic values in the world are now being challenged by religious Islamist fanatics and secular dictators, “autocrats” who perceive “free markets, open democratic states and civil society in itself as a threat to their power”. Obama noted that they are characterized by disdain for the rule of law, intolerance for dissent and free thought, the conviction that a pistol or a bomb or a propaganda machine is the final arbiter of what is right and what is not.
The President noted that we are all together proud of the main concept of democracy - “the concept of citizen”
“Yes, our progress has been uneven. The democratic process has always been difficult, contentious and sometimes bloody, Obama acknowledged. “For every two steps forward, it often seems like we are taking a step back.” But in the long term, what defines America is moving forward...”
video
About the main achievements of 8 years of presidency
As achievements of his presidency, Barack Obama once again noted the economic recovery after the crisis and the record decline in unemployment in recent years, the reform of health insurance, thanks to which 20 millions of Americans were able to receive health insurance.
Speaking of foreign policy successes, the current president attributed to them the achievement of a nuclear deal with Iran, the restoration of relations with Cuba and the destruction of a number of leaders of international terrorist organizations.
About the peaceful transfer of power
Obama recalled that "in 10 days, the world will witness the symbol of our democracy ... a peaceful transfer of power from one freely elected president to another."
“I promised President-elect Trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest transition of power—as President Bush did for me,” the current White House chief said.
Obama also expressed confidence that American democracy will continue to work.
“At the end of the day, we are still the richest, strongest and most respected country on earth,” the president said. “Our youth and energy, our diversity and openness, our endless ability to take risks and reinvent means that the future is ours.”
The complete presentation with a translation into Russian can be viewed below:
Obama leaves the White House, being a relatively popular president, whose activities are supported by 57% of Americans. This is evidenced by the results of a survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Policy Studies, published on the eve of his speech.
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