“Yes we did”. As the three words were greeted with a resonant roar in Chicago last Tuesday night, Barack Obama had advanced a seemingly affirmative answer to the rhetorical chant in 2008  “Yes we can”. As he goes through the wrap-up motions of his eight-year Presidency, he must be acutely aware that the signal of intent has been addressed only partly. No, it wasn’t an exercise in self-delusion. As he and his family bade a teary-eyed goodbye, it wasn’t really a night of joy and nostalgia, so very unlike the farewell speeches of his predecessors. Implicit in the presentation was the stark warning that democracy in the United States of America is “under siege”. It really is. Regretfully, the outgoing President’s speech was somewhat overshadowed by Donald Trump debunking the Russian dossier and what he called the “media nonsense” on the Kremlin’s involvement in the elections as “phony stuff” generated by his opponents. It would be fair to assume that Americans by and large will accord far greater credence to Mr Obama’s “goodbye address” than to his successor’s almost inbuilt aversion to intolerance, if not the data furnished by the National Security Adviser, the FBI, and the CIA. “I can’t do that! This is not a monarchy, after all” was the outgoing President’s prompt reply to the orchestrated cry of the Chicago crowd ~ “Another four years”.
Verily, it was a “state of our democracy” speech in course of which he was riveted to the overwhelming malaise that plagues USA today. Only once did he mention Donald Trump by name, a testament as much to his diplomatic acumen and innate graciousness. The speech was an issue-based repudiation of the Trump agenda.
He dismissed misgivings of post-racial America ~ racism has been mortally pronounced during his years in the White House ~ as unrealistic. He has effectively conveyed a message to the next occupant of the Oval Office by defending the rights of immigrants and Muslim Americans, virtually trashing Trump’s suggestion on a “Mexico Wall”. He was virulent in his condemnation of those who refuse to accept the science of climate change, pre-eminently Trump himself.
He warned of the threat posed by “the rise of naked partisanship”, with people “retreating into their own self-confirming bubbles”. Without being explicit, the Chicago address ~ to summon the title of Swami Vivekananda’s seminal speech ~ was a stout rejection of Trump’s plan of action. “Every day I learned from you,” Mr Obama told the audience as they roared, whistled and cheered. “You made me a better President and you made me a better man.” The tribute to the people could scarcely have been more profound as America gears up for a peaceful transfer of power.