For Obama, Clinton rallies a chance to reflect on his legacy
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — President Barack Obama likes to say that historians, not he, will evaluate his legacy with the perspective only hindsight can provide. Yet as he campaigns across the country for Hillary Clinton, Obama is offering his own first draft of the way he hopes his eight years in office will be remembered.
For Obama, the final stretch of the campaign has been a nagging reminder that his presidency is about to close, and an opportunity for self-reflection that the president has seized. After all, Obama’s chief argument for Clinton is that only by electing her over Donald Trump can his supporters protect his accomplishments.
“It’s been hard work, and there have been times where we’ve had setbacks,” Obama told roughly 4,500 people packed in a gymnasium Friday in North Carolina. “But I’ll tell you why I didn’t get discouraged. I didn’t get discouraged because of you.”
Lest the country forget his accomplishments, he used his speech to revisit what he considers his greatest hits: 20 million Americans who have gained health coverage, unprecedented steps on climate change, the death of Osama bin Laden. He touted higher graduation rates and the legalization of gay marriage as signs of major progress.