U.S. President Barack Obama’s farewell speech was dignified and bore a clear testament to his power of articulation (“Obama pushes values in farewell”, Jan.12). It stood in sharp contrast to the acerbic rhetoric of President-elect Donald Trump in his first press conference. During his tenure, Mr. Obama walked the extra mile to promote racial equality and convinced Iran, through a sustained dialogue process, to give up its clandestine nuclear programme, among other achievements. Mr. Obama has cemented his place as the one of the greatest statesmen in the world.
M. Jeyaram,
Sholavandan
President Barack Obama’s mixed legacy has more negatives than positives (“Farewell with a message”, Jan.12). Since the liberal media dominates the political narrative, Mr. Obama’s performance has got more ayes than nays. He steered the nation to a safer ground during the economic recession, but failed to rein in Wall Street or hold it accountable for its excesses.
The fact that he leaves behind a racially divided nation is a damning indictment of his policies. His only solid achievement is the enactment of the Affordable Care Act that helped millions of uninsured Americans to access medical insurance. One could also add the nuclear deal with Iran as a significant achievement.
He did not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize that was prematurely conferred on him. He did nothing to end the Syrian civil war or mediate to end the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The U.S.’s withdrawal from Iraq without stabilising the nation led to the rise of the Islamic State. Mr. Obama was a decent, intelligent man and a great orator. But he failed to deliver on his promises. His reiteration of his catchphrase “Yes we can” juxtaposed with “Yes we did” will find little resonance with the majority of the Americans.
V.N. Mukundarajan,
Thiruvananthapuram
It is normal for a person to seek power and wealth. If wealth comes first, a person strives for power; if power comes first, wealth follows naturally almost always. I ruminate on this subject after listening to President Obama’s farewell speech because of the sharp contrast between him and his successor. Mr. Obama, an African-American, came from a lower middle-class family and made it to the highest office of the President of the United States with the ‘audacity of hope’. In contrast, we have a President-elect, Donald Trump, who was born with a silver spoon and with both power and wealth, a deadly combination. For Mr. Trump, humility is anathema. In contrast, Mr. Obama is a great humanist and orator. Like Nelson Mandela, Mr. Obama had a good head and a good heart, a formidable combination for a trusted leader.
K. Ravi,
Bhubaneswar
When Barack Obama speaks, the world listens. This week’s soaring farewell address, with self-deprecatory humour and with emphatic tributes to his family and associates, tried to put across a message for the country and the world. But what was hard to miss in the speech were the fears that liberal Americans harbour about Donald Trump. Aware of the deep political, social and economic divisions in the U.S., Mr. Obama addressed these fears, rightly calling for unity even as he asked citizens to stay vigilant against the erosion of democratic ideals. He leaves office with the reputation of being an honourable man, untarnished by personal scandal.
Meghana A.,
New South Wales, Australia
