Obama: Look for Solutions, Not Saviors

'Don’t wait to feel a tingle in your spine because you’re expecting politicians to be so inspiring'
By Janet Cromley,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 29, 2018 2:49 PM CDT
Obama: Look for Solutions, Not Saviors
President Obama speaks at a rally for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov., Ralph Northam, in Richmond, Va., Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017.   (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Former President Obama, who has been largely absent from the political stage since leaving office, reemerged this week at a Democratic fundraiser in Los Angeles and delivered a pointed message to Democrats: calm down and start looking for solutions, reports the Los Angeles Times and Politico. “All these people that are out here kvetching and wringing their hands and stressed and anxious and constantly watching cable TV and howling at the moon, ‘What are we going to do?,’ their hair’s falling out, they can’t sleep,” Obama told donors, per the Times. “The majority of the American people prefer a story of hope. A majority of the American people prefer a country that comes together rather than being divided. The majority of the country doesn’t want to see a dog-eat-dog world where everybody is angry all the time.”

Obama, who left office with a 60% approval rating, also cautioned against looking for the perfect candidate with the perfect message. “Politics, like life, is imperfect,” he said. “But there is better and there is worse.” He added, "The simple message right now is that if people participate, and they vote, then this democracy works. And if we don't vote, then this democracy does not work." According to CNN, Obama has signaled to top lawmakers that he intends to re-enter the political arena in the coming months, and his priorities are regaining democratic control of the House and supporting redistricting efforts. (Obama did not mention Trump by name in his speech, and a recent profile suggested that he's not about to change strategy on that front.)

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