Without a doubt, President Obama campaigned vigorously for the woman he wanted to succeed him. He invested heavily in Hillary Clinton’s success, so the results must taste pretty bitter.
In spite of that, he managed to make one of the more gracious speeches of his career and welcomed Donald Trump to the presidency. He made it clear that he will do his best to support an effective transition, and in something similar to a Grant reference, he noted that Republicans and Democrats are Americans first. All of that sounded pretty good.
Then, he had to ramble for several more minutes in some attempt to placate the losers of the election. The entire gist of it was, “Somebody has to lose, so be grownups about it.”
Ultimately, there is one clear underlying message to it all. Obama is worried about backlash. He fears that the viciously outspoken group that has never shied away from proclamations of bigotry may react violently to the results. The people who declare themselves peaceful and accepting have increasingly moved away from the spirit of cooperation and tolerance.
Obama is worried because the last few years have shown just how “peacefully” his most devout followers like to protest, and he is afraid because he cannot count on those people to behave respectfully, lawfully or humanely.
Fortunately, Obama’s time in the spotlight has ended. His voice will fade, and with it, the tensions and violence that he pushed onto the American people.
