On Thursday, former President Barack Obama was named the winner of the 2017 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. To me, this is a lot like Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize for basically “not being George W. Bush.” Obama is getting the Profile in Courage Award for basically “not being Donald Trump.” Plus, Caroline Kennedy announced the award, and Caroline is very close to the Obamas, etc. That being said, Obama does deserve this, because as Caroline’s son Jack Schlossberg said, “Faced with unrelenting political opposition, President Obama has embodied the definition of courage that my grandfather cites in the opening lines of ‘Profiles in Courage’: grace under pressure. Throughout his two terms in office, he represented all Americans with decency, integrity, and an unshakeable commitment to the greater good.” So, yeah, basically Obama is getting an award for not being Emperor Baby Fists.
Speaking of Baby Fists, I didn’t get a chance to cover this earlier in the week (because of the Oscars), but did you know that Obama is responsible for every bad thing that has happened to the Trump administration? That’s what Trump told Fox News ahead of his Joint Session address. Trump was asked about all of the protests happening at Republicans’ town halls and whether Obama has masterminded the leaks about the Baby Fists’ administration and this is what Trump said:
“No, I think he is behind it. I also think it is politics, that’s the way it is,… You never know what’s exactly happening behind the scenes. You know, you’re probably right or possibly right, but you never know. No, I think that President Obama is behind it because his people are certainly behind it. And some of the leaks possibly come from that group, which are really serious because they are very bad in terms of national security. But I also understand that is politics. In terms of him being behind things, that’s politics. And it will probably continue.”
Obviously, most people rolled their eyes and shrugged, because Emperor Baby Fists is an unhinged, delusional and paranoid old man who spreads lies and peddles conspiracy theories and then has the audacity to complain about “fake news.”
But here’s the thing… while obviously Trump is crazy and stupid, I’ve been wondering if Obama did hatch some kind of plan and parts of that plan are being executed. Like, as soon as Trump “won” the presidency, the Obama administration rushed to “preserve a trail of evidence about alleged Russian efforts to undermine the U.S. presidential election in the last days before Donald Trump’s inauguration.” While I still believe that the FBI is “Trumpland,” I also think that there are decent patriots and Obama-loyalists still working civil service jobs in the FBI, DOJ, CIA, NSA and more, and they are the people leaking all kinds of sh-t to the media. They’re not necessarily doing it at Obama’s behest, but I also think there’s a reason why Obama pushed the Russian sanctions and espionage investigations so quickly: so people within those agencies would have the information to leak if the worst case scenario happened.
One more piece of evidence: Eric Holder announced this week that he and Obama are ready to get to work on the ground to preserve voting rights and protect minority communities from being gerrymandered into oblivion. Holder said Obama is “ready to roll.” Meaning Obama is going to be working in battleground districts… and possibly encouraging all of the peaceful demonstrations.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Getty.
Yes. I’m so here for it. Maybe, Donnie, if you weren’t such a disaster Obama could retire, build his library, write his book and vacation with Michelle. But nooooooo….some people do love this COUNTRY more than they care for you and your bs.
Exactly!
“as Caroline’s son Jack Schlossberg said, “Faced with unrelenting political opposition, President Obama has embodied the definition of courage that my grandfather cites in the opening lines of ‘Profiles in Courage’: grace under pressure. Throughout his two terms in office, he represented all Americans with decency, integrity, and an unshakeable commitment to the greater good.”
Congratulations, Mr. President! You deserve it. So proud to have voted for you twice.
Three times for those of us who lived in Illinois in 2004 when he ran for Senate.
Congratulations on a well deserved honor, Mr. President.
Well deserved and congratulations to him.
And yes, of course he set things up in order for people to know exactly what is going on, and thank god he did because the first thing trump did was try to oust the press.
Whomever is leaking all the info to the NYT deserves an award for courage as well.
Is it, well deserved? I mean, he was highly problematic in his foreign policy, so givng him awards like the Nobel Peace Prize doesn’t seem right.
You shouldn’t get an award for not being Donald Trump.
Yes, it is well deserved. The award is for fighting to do what is right while facing strong opposition – a perfect description of what Obama did against that obstructionist Republican Congress.
Read what the award is based on – “grace under pressure.” Can’t you agree that President Obama more than personified grace under pressure during eight years of vile, nasty, and racist opposition from Republicans?
Absolutely deserved.
Even as his presidency was ending, he was facing such terrible racists comments about himself and his wife. Comments like “fumigate the bed”.
And he still got up everyday and was President to all the people. Even if you didn’t like his policies, he showed class and dignity for 8 solid years.
He’s responsible for deaths od innocent people, but at least he did it with grace and dignity, huh?
Domestically he was a good president, but you talk about him like he was a saint and completely disregard the very problematici things he did .
Well, of course, you’re right Daisy. No other president has ever been responsible for deaths. Nobody in Congress has ever voted to pursue war. Juries have never voted for the death penalty. Large companies have never unloaded toxic waste in low income communities.
Come to think of it, I’m fairly graceful and I don’t wilt under pressure. Give me the damn award.
Yes, exactly Daisy. At least he took ownership of his mistakes, tragedies , of the flaws in his logic and plans.
He stood up and shoulder the blame, as a leader should.
I mean, he didn’t, for example, blame others, like another president we know.
So yes, grace under pressure and dignity go a long way to rectifying problematic things that happened during his presidency. Especially when we are living, in real time, the polar opposite.
I don’t think any politician responsible for so many deaths ( and it wasn’t all done in war) should get a peace award.
This thread is not about the Nobel Peace Prize, Daisy. Different award, different standards.
I just wiki’ed this award, ’cause I never heard of it before. Looks like it’s a private award given out by a committee consisting partly of Kennedy family members. So it’s not like it’s an award given out by a governmental entity or anything. If you don’t agree with their decision to give it to Obama, you’re going to have to take it up with the Kennedys, et al., Daisy. It’s basically their call as to who gets it.
Trying to get tickets!
Get those tickets, give him a hug from us and take lots of pics to post.
“No, I think he is behind it. I also think it is politics, that’s the way it is,… You never know what’s exactly happening behind the scenes.”
donnie, it’s you, really, all you. It’s universally agreed that there’s never been an administration with so many shitheads in it. All reflective of YOU.
Exactly
I miss you, Mr. President. I miss your values, your smile, your commitment to this country, I miss waking up with a sense of calm born with the knowledge that good people are in charge of our safety, of our country.
Congratulations on the award, Mr. President — you deserve it.
+1,000
Congratulations, President Obama. Miss you!
I have rarely been as happy and proud as I was in 2009, welcoming this wonderful man and his family to the White House. They were and are a shining example of the best of America.
That’s great! He faced so much opposition from day 1 of his presidency. He pushed through and tried to compromise with the Republicans only for his efforts to be ignored or sabotaged. Congrats, Mr. Obama!
I hope that delusional tool is actually right about this one thing. I will put my tinfoil hat on and say that there is enough evidence to sway me to believe that it is true.
Obama if nothing else was truly about making America as great as it could be for everyone living in the 50 states. He really believes in the constitution and everything it stands for. Finding out that that orange dingleberry and the rethugs cheated their way into this win must have been the final straw for him. But, being the crafty lawyer that he is, instead of doing a data dump that no one would believe so soon after the election, he gave the info to the intelligence agencies for them to research on their own. Yeah it sounds crazy as all F%ck but at this point, I will believe almost anything.
And yes, Obama deserved this award. Your comparison to him winning the Peace prize is off in my humble opinion. There is more than enough evidence to prove he deserved the courage award other than the lovely words that Caroline wrote.
i love him and miss him.
Michelle too.
sigh.
I read that the French have a petition for Obama to run for President.
Obama and I were in NY at the same time last week and I had wondered if I could get tickets to the Price that Friday night (and then I vainly hoped he’d also go to the showing of Sunday in the Park I attended). Every time I see a picture of him I have the same knee jerk reaction. “Barack save us! Come back!” I wouldn’t blame him at all for tapping out after his time in the Oval Office but I’m glad to hear he’ll remain a public figure. We’re going to need all hands on deck.
Please do not conflate President Obama with the Dumpster Fire that is our current president. President O did not get the award for not being Trump, he got it for his hard work and grace.
Thank you! To say that he only got this because he isn’t Trump is insulting and degrading to all of Obama’s hard work, grace and dedication to this nation and world.
He earned and deserves this and would if Hillary, Jeb or Michelle was president right now.
Abso-freakin-lutely
Just seeing that familiar smiling face makes my heart hurt. He made me feel safe. I liked him as my President and as a human being and he deserves this honor and so much more. Don’t it always seem to go like you don’t know what you got till it’s gone……..sigh and sigh more.
As a palate cleanser from the odious jefferson beauregard sessions, let me post that the first recipient of the Award was an Alabamian, the esteemed Carl Elliott, a man the total opposite of jeff sessions.
http://www.jfklibrary.org/Events-and-Awards/Profile-in-Courage-Award/Award-Recipients/Carl-Elliott-Sr–1990.aspx
Excellent choice.
I’m glad to hear he and Holder will be working on voters rights, that is extremely important.
I miss him so much!
I love Barak and Michele so much. They are wonderful examples of true Americans and they deserve all the awards!! We were blessed to have them for 8 years.
Congratulations President Obama. I am and will forever remain and admirer of Barack and Michelle Obama. In terms of domestic policy, I am now more confident that his legacy will hold and will speak for itself. It warms my heart to see that voters are calling their Republican Senate and Congress leaders and giving them hell for repealing the ACA, without a worthy replacement on hand.
His foreign policy record was problematic, but we also have to remember that not everything in foreign policy is in the POTUS’s control. These are sovereign nations and they choose to do what they will.
Thank you, President Obama, for leaving us a trail of bread crumbs.