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"My fellow Americans, it has been the honor of my life to serve you. I won't stop. In fact, I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days. But for now, whether you are young or whether you're young at heart, I do have one final ask of you as your President — the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago. I'm asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change — but in yours." —President Barack Obama
388 episodes. 8 years. One last chance to say farewell. Thank you for joining us on this journey.
It's a long-standing tradition for the sitting president of the United States to leave a parting letter in the Oval Office for the American elected to take his ...or her place. It's a letter meant to share what we know, what we've learned, and what small wisdom may help our successor bear the great responsibility that comes with the highest office in our land, and the leadership of the free world.
But before I leave my note for our 45th president, I wanted to say one final thank you for the honor of serving as your 44th. Because all that I've learned in my time in office, I've learned from you. You made me a better President, and you made me a better man.
Throughout these eight years, you have been the source of goodness, resilience, and hope from which I've pulled strength. I've seen neighbors and communities take care of each other during the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes. I have mourned with grieving families searching for answers – and found grace in a Charleston church.
I've taken heart from the hope of young graduates and our newest military officers. I've seen our scientists help a paralyzed man regain his sense of touch, and wounded warriors once given up for dead walk again. I've seen Americans whose lives have been saved because they finally have access to medical care, and families whose lives have been changed because their marriages are recognized as equal to our own. I've seen the youngest of children remind us through their actions and through their generosity of our obligations to care for refugees, or work for peace, and, above all, to look out for each other.
I've seen you, the American people, in all your decency, determination, good humor, and kindness. And in your daily acts of citizenship, I've seen our future unfolding.
All of us, regardless of party, should throw ourselves into that work – the joyous work of citizenship. Not just when there's an election, not just when our own narrow interest is at stake, but over the full span of a lifetime.
I'll be right there with you every step of the way.
And when the arc of progress seems slow, remember: America is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word 'We.' 'We the People.' 'We shall overcome.'
Yes, we can.
And if you'd like to stay connected, you can sign up here to keeping getting updates from me: https://act.barackobamafoundation.org/Keep-In-Touch
President Obama set out to reinvigorate clemency, and in one of his final actions as President, he has done just that.
Commuting the sentences of 1,175 people in eight years, President Obama has now granted more commutations than any president in history and has surpassed the last 13 presidents combined. http://go.wh.gov/6ULdiL
"Being your First Lady has been the honor of a lifetime. From the bottom of my heart, thank you." —First Lady Michelle Obama
“I believe in this country. I believe in the American people. I believe that people are more good than bad. I believe tragic things happen, I think there’s evil in this world. But I think that, at the end of the day, if we work hard and if we’re true to those things in us that feel true and feel right, then the world gets a little better each time. That’s what this presidency has tried to be about.” — President Obama answers his last question from reporters at the White House.
Happening now: President Obama takes questions from reporters in the final press conference of his presidency.
Today, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama joined Americans across the country in a day of service to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Check out their day at Naylor Road Family Shelter.
"Dr. King and those who marched with him proved that people who love their country can change it. As Americans, we all owe them a great deal." — President Obama on Martin Luther King Day.
Watch live as President Obama finally gets the chance to welcome the World Series Champion, Chicago Cubs, to the White House!
"Whether we’ve seen eye-to-eye or rarely agreed at all, my conversations with you, the American people – in living rooms and schools, at farms and on factory floors, at diners and on distant military outposts – are what have kept me honest, kept me inspired, and kept me going. Every day, I learned from you. You made me a better President, and you made me a better man." — President Obama delivers his final weekly address to the American people from the Oval Office. http://go.wh.gov/AXSZLA
“This house belongs to you, and to every American. For eight years, just a short chapter in the long story of our democracy, my family also had the privilege of calling the White House home.” —President Obama. Join the President and the First Lady for a preview of a 360° tour of the White House taking you into some of the most historic rooms of the People’s House, from the Situation Room to the Oval Office.
(Created by Félix & Paul Studios and Oculus)
“To know Joe Biden is to know love without pretense, service without self-regard, and to live life fully. As one of his long-time colleagues in the Senate, who happened to be a Republican, once said, ‘If you can’t admire Joe Biden as a person, you got a problem. He's as good a man as God ever created.’” —President Obama awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction to Vice President Biden
BREAKING: Today, President Obama designated new national monuments that preserve critical chapters of our country’s history, from the vibrant history of the Reconstruction Era and its role in redefining freedom, to the important stories of the citizens who helped launch the civil rights movement in Birmingham, and the Freedom Riders whose bravery raised national awareness of segregation and violence: go.wh.gov/svwWua
