The World Needs More of Obama

He’s back! Barack Obama reappeared last Tuesday in South Africa. He hadn’t formally disappeared, but it was almost as if he had.

Since the end of his presidency, he’s been extremely discreet. Too discreet.

But Tuesday, while Donald Trump clumsily tried to extinguish the most recent fire, one he himself lit, Obama gave a major speech in Johannesburg as part of the ceremonies marking Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday.

Those close to him had said in advance that it would be his most important speech as a former politician. It was, indeed, a great speech from Obama. An inspiring address in which he praised the icon of the fight against apartheid all while warning against the dangers currently facing the world.

And just as Obama fell under hope’s spell when he was little, he has also proven his optimism. He recalled that humanity has “been through darker times” and is convinced that “good will prevail.”*

The speech lasted for more than an hour, but it deserved to be heard (or read) from start to finish. It is about, as those close to him explained, a “message of tolerance, inclusivity, and democracy.” A warning, but also a call to action to save the universal values and principles now under threat.

“The progressive, democratic vision” represented by Nelson Mandela defined the parameters of the last few decades, but is today under siege, Obama insisted. “A politics of fear and resentment and retrenchment began to appear, and that kind of politics is now on the move … at a pace that would have seemed unimaginable just a few years ago.”

The U.S. president’s shadow lingered over his speech, as did those of numerous other authoritarian heads of state riding high over the world. But no one was named. It wasn’t necessary.

Hearing the former Democratic president’s plea for more solidarity and humanity was inspiring. Reassuring, too. But it was also … frustrating.

Because once again, he reminds us – as he did in Montreal in June 2017 – how much we miss him. And how much we’d like for him to be less discreet.

He is one of those rare world leaders to enjoy a credibility and prestige that allow him to balance out the figureheads fighting against democracy and its institutions. Why doesn’t he appear more often?

Even a majority of the Americans who elected Trump 18 months ago continue to have a deep respect for Obama. A recent survey shows that they feel that he has done the best job “during their lifetime.” He was the first or second choice of 44 percent of people surveyed, followed by Bill Clinton (33 percent) and Ronald Reagan (32 percent).

This survey seems to confirm that Obama is in a position to influence debates on American soil like no other politician has been able to do.

Yet, he insists on wanting to respect the tradition in which the sitting American president’s predecessors remain far out of the spotlight. It’s unfortunate. The damage done by Trump deserves to be forcefully denounced as often as possible. And the current president feels free to criticize Obama, to accuse him of espionage without any basis and destroy his heritage.

Obama’s prudence is understandable. American society is so polarized that Trump could use his predecessor’s appearances as a diversion. The Republican president could easily stir up his supporters, and again push the controversies surrounding him into the background.

But Obama doesn’t need to react quickly to all the Republican president’s bad habits. He can certainly make himself heard more often by calibrating his interventions to avoid being a spark forTrump.

It’s fine to show restraint, but to express himself so rarely that we’re left wondering if his picture will one day be seen on a milk carton is no longer bearable.

During his last great speech as president – which was just translated into French and published as “Le pouvoir de l’espoir” (“The Power of Hope”) – Obama asked Americans to mobilize in order to defend democracy. “It needs you,” he said, “not just when your own narrow interest is at stake, but over the full span of a lifetime.”

He took care to add: “Show up, dive in, stay at it.” He has practiced what he preached throughout the past decades, that much is undeniable. But we would love, even if he retreats from active politics, for him to dive in himself a little more often.

The Speech in 5 Quotes

“More than a quarter century after Madiba** walked out of prison, I still have to stand here at a lecture and devote some time to saying that black people and white people and Asian people and Latin American people and women and men and gays and straights, that we are all human … I would have thought we would have figured that out by now. I thought that basic notion was well established.”

“And I should add for this to work, we have to actually believe in an objective reality. This is another one of these things that I didn’t have to lecture about. You have to believe in facts. Without facts, there is no basis for cooperation.”

“And a politics of fear and resentment and retrenchment began to appear, and that kind of politics is now on the move. It’s on the move at a pace that would have seemed unimaginable just a few years ago. I am not being alarmist, I am simply stating the facts. Look around.”

“In fact, it is in part because of the failures of governments and powerful elites to squarely address the shortcomings and contradictions of this international order that we now see much of the world threatening to return to an older, a more dangerous, a more brutal way of doing business.”

“Madiba reminds us that: ‘No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart.’ Love comes more naturally to the human heart, let’s remember that truth.”

*Editor’s note: The original quotation, although accurately translated, could not be verified.

**Editor’s note: Nelson Mandela is often referred to by his clan or family name, Madiba, as a sign of affection and respect.