1、Obama farewell speechTHE PRESIDENT: Hello, Chicago! (Applause.) Its good to be home! (Applause.) Thank you, everybody. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you so much. Thank you. (Applause.) All right, everybody sit down. (Applause.) Were on live TV here. Ive got to move. (Applause.) You can tell that Im a
2、 lame duck because nobody is following instructions. (Laughter.) Everybody have a seat. (Applause.)My fellow Americans (applause) Michelle and I have been so touched by all the well wishes that weve received over the past few weeks. But tonight, its my turn to say thanks. (Applause.) Whether we have
3、 seen eye-to-eye or rarely agreed at all, my conversations with you, the American people, in living rooms and in schools, at farms, on factory floors, at diners and on distant military outposts those conversations are what have kept me honest, and kept me inspired, and kept me going. And every day,
4、I have learned from you. You made me a better President, and you made me a better man. (Applause.)So I first came to Chicago when I was in my early 20s. And I was still trying to figure out who I was, still searching for a purpose in my life. And it was a neighborhood not far from here where I began
5、 working 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 in the face of struggle and loss.AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!THE PRESIDENT: I cant do that.AUDIENCE:
6、 Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!THE PRESIDENT: 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 eight years as your President, I still believe that. And its not just my belief. Its th
7、e beating heart of our American idea our bold experiment in self-government. Its 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. Its the insistence that these rights, while self-evident, hav
8、e never been self-executing; that We, the People, through the instrument of our democracy, can form a more perfect union.What a radical idea. A 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
9、 together, as well, to achieve a common good, a greater good.For 240 years, our nations call to citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation. Its what led patriots to choose republic over tyranny, pioneers to trek west, slaves to brave that makeshift railroad to freedom. Its what pu
10、lled immigrants and refugees across oceans and the Rio Grande. (Applause.) Its what pushed women to reach for the ballot. Its what powered workers to organize. Its why GIs gave their lives at Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima, Iraq and Afghanistan. And why men and women from Selma to Stonewall were prepared
11、to give theirs, as well. (Applause.)So thats 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 has been uneven. The work of democracy has alw
12、ays been hard. Its 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. (Applause.)If I had
13、told you eight years ago that America would reverse a great recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history (applause) if I had told you that we would open up a new chapter with the Cuban people, shut down Irans nuclear weapons program without firi
14、ng a shot, take out the mastermind of 9/11 (applause) if I had told you that we would win marriage equality, and secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million of our fellow citizens (applause) if I had told you all that, you might have said our sights were set a little too high. But th
15、ats what we did. (Applause.) Thats what you did.You were the change. You answered peoples hopes, and because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started. (Applause.)In 10 days, the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy.AUDIENCE: Nooo THE
16、PRESIDENT: No, no, no, no, no the peaceful transfer of power from one freely elected President to the next. (Applause.) I committed to President-elect Trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as President Bush did for me. (Applause.) Because its up to all of
17、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 openne
18、ss, 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. (Applause.) Only if all of us, regardless of party affiliation or particular inte
19、rests, help restore the sense of common purpose that we so badly need right now.Thats 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
20、 they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity the idea that for all our outward differences, were all in this together; that we rise or fall as one. (Applause.)There have been moments throughout our history that threatens that solidarity. And the beginning of this century has be
21、en one of those times. A shrinking world, growing inequality; demographic change and the specter of terrorism these forces havent 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 educa
22、te our kids, and create good jobs, and protect our homeland. In other words, it will determine our future.To begin with, our democracy wont 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 reti
23、rement accounts are all rising again. Poverty is falling again. (Applause.) The wealthy are paying a fairer share of taxes even as the stock market shatters records. The unemployment rate is near a 10-year low. The uninsured rate has never, ever been lower. (Applause.) Health care costs are rising a
24、t the slowest rate in 50 years. And Ive said and I mean it if anyone can put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements weve made to our health care system and that covers as many people at less cost, I will publicly support it. (Applause.)Because that, after all, is why we se
25、rve. Not to score points or take credit, but to make peoples lives better. (Applause.)But for all the real progress that weve made, we know its not enough. Our economy doesnt work as well or grow as fast when a few prosper at the expense of a growing middle class and ladders for folks who want to ge
26、t into the middle class. (Applause.) Thats the economic argument. But stark inequality is also corrosive to our democratic ideal. While the top one percent has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many families, in inner cities and in rural counties, have been left behind the laid-off fa
27、ctory worker; the waitress or health care worker whos just barely getting by and struggling to pay the bills convinced that the game is fixed against them, that their government only serves the interests of the powerful thats a recipe for more cynicism and polarization in our politics.But there are
28、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 wont come from overseas. It will come from the relentless pace of automation that makes a lot of good, middle-class jobs obsolete.And so were going to have to forge
29、 a new social compact to guarantee all our kids the education they need (applause) 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 reforms to the tax code so corporations and individuals who reap the most from this
30、 new economy dont avoid their obligations to the country thats made their very success possible. (Applause.)We can argue about how to best achieve these goals. But we cant be complacent about the goals themselves. For if we dont create opportunity for all people, the disaffection and division that h
31、as stalled our progress will only sharpen in years to come.Theres a second threat to our democracy and this one is as old as our nation itself. After my election, there was talk of a post-racial America. And such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic. Race remains a potent and often d
32、ivisive force in our society. Now, Ive lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were 10, or 20, or 30 years ago, no matter what some folks say. (Applause.) You can see it not just in statistics, you see it in the attitudes of young Americans across the political spectrum.But were not where we need to be. And all of us have more work to do. (Applause.) If every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and an undeserving minority, then workers of all shades are going to be left fighting f
