What does Obama have up his sleeve during these contentious times? Vox interviewed six current and former aides of former President Barack Obama to find out. Unlike his successor, Obama is definitely a planner; he takes time to look at the whole picture and act accordingly. This is evident in Vox’s article.
Obama wants to rise above the partisan muck, but he’s also eager to accomplish goals that are inescapably political in nature.
His team has a workaround. Obama’s aides say he believes that if he can take politically neutral steps to improve democracy — by bringing people together through “civic engagement,” or by giving grassroots activists the tools for community organizing — then thatwill change the political landscape that culminated in Donald Trump’s election, while also keeping Obama himself above the fray.
As the most recent former U.S. president, Obama has more power and wealth than the vast majority of Americans. However, his time in office has made his name—and thus any associated with it—inherently political. That’s why he is going to follow the FLOTUS model.
Michelle Obama came into the White House beset by criticism, reviled by the far right for a speech in which she appeared to criticize the country’s history.
She left the White House not just one of the most popular Democrats but among the most popular political figures in the country. Somewhere along the way, the first lady executed a series of relatively low-profile initiatives — on things like nutrition and girls’ education — that the president views as high-impact. She succeeded, he believes, in part because those issues didn’t become as polarized as they would have if the president had embraced them, according to one senior adviser.
That makes a lot of sense. I still hear cries for Michelle considering a run for political office and there were even some jokes about nominating her for the Supreme Court. The reason why so many folks love and trust is her precisely because she’s not political. If she were a politician, I know she would not be nearly as loved.
Being ex-president is comparable to the power of being FLOTUS — and that’s what Obama plans to tap (emphasis mine).
Michelle Obama didn’t rely on political support on Capitol Hill, billions of dollars in the federal budget, or the vast apparatus of the White House to achieve her goals. Instead, aides say, the former president thinks she had roughly the same assets as first lady as he has in his post-presidency — the bully pulpit, an ability to convene experts and CEOs and top minds from around the world, and the freedom to not have to drag along a Senate majority every step of the way.
Obama is definitely a very smart, thoughtful man. I am excited to see what he does with his newfound power (and freedom from the Oval).