Focused Read (3-5 minutes) + Audio (60 minutes)
“Full transcript: David
Axelrod interviews President Barack Obama for The Axe Files
OBAMA: Tom -- Tom Vilsack,
my agriculture secretary from Iowa. We -- we devoted more attention,
more focus, put more resources into rural America than has -- has
been the case probably for the last two, three decades.
AXELROD: Right.
OBAMA: And -- and it paid
great dividends, but you just wouldn't know that, that's not
something that you would see on the nightly news. And so we've got to
figure out how do we show people and communicate in a way that is
visceral and -- and makes an emotional connection as opposed to just
the facts...
AXELROD: I...
OBAMA: ... because the
facts are all in dispute these days.
… OBAMA: Well, part of
what I've been saying to -- to people, and this was even when I
thought we were gonna win, was that -- that narrow Democratic
coalition, the quote/unquote "Obama coalition," that if --
if properly executed, yes you can probably win presidencies
repeatedly. It constitutes the majority of the country, but you can't
govern.
So part of the challenge
for Democrats and progressives generally is that if we cannot compete
in rural areas, in rural states, if we can't find some way to break
through what is a complicated history in the south and start winning
races there and winning back southern white voters without betraying
our commitment to civil rights and diversity, if we can do those
things, then we can win elections. But we will see the same kinds of
patterns that we saw during my presidency, a progressive president
but a gridlocked Congress that can't move an agenda for us.
… With respect to my
priorities when I leave, it is to build that next generation of
leadership; organizers, journalists, politicians. I see them in
America, I see them around the world, 20-year-olds, 30-year-olds who
are just full of talent, full of idealism. And the question is how do
we link them up? How do we give them the tools for them to bring
about progressive change? And I want to use my presidential center as
a mechanism for developing that next generation of talent.
… Short-term with
respect to the Democratic Party, I think even before I leave here,
what I can do is give people some sense of direction, and -- and we
already started talking about this. I think what I can do is not do
it myself, but say to those who are still in the game right now look,
think about this, think about how you're organizing that, you know,
what are you doing to make sure that young talent is out there in the
field being supported. You know, how are you making sure that your
message is reaching everybody and not just those who have already
been converted.
Identifying really
talented staff and organizers who are already out there and -- and
encouraging them to get involved.
So I -- I think over the
next 45 days, what I can say is here's how I would do it if I were
sticking around, but I'm not sticking around. I -- by virtue of the
Constitution and because I believe in the wisdom that George
Washington showed, that at a certain point, you make room for -- for
new voices and fresh legs.
Now, that doesn't mean
that if a year from now or a year and a half from now or two years
from now, there is an issue of such moment, such import, that -- that
isn't just a debate about a particular tax bill or, you know, a
particular policy but goes to some foundational issues about our
democracy that I might not weigh in. You know, I'm still a citizen
and -- and that carries with it duties and obligations.
But -- but the day-to-day
scrum, that's not only -- not only is it contrary to tradition for
the ex-president to be involved in that, but I also think would
inhibit the development of those new voices. And I know they're out
there; I've seen them. You know them too, it's just...
AXELROD: I do.
OBAMA: There's a little
bit of a generation gap, you know? The -- in some ways, we...
AXELROD: There are some
great leaders (inaudible).
OBAMA: Yeah, it's just
that they're -- they haven't quite gotten to prime age yet and what
we want to do is maybe accelerate their presence on the -- on the
scene, and that's where I can be helpful, shine a spotlight on all
the great work that's being done and all the wonderful young
Americans who will help lead the way in the future. … “
You can read the
transcript and listen to the audio here
Focused Thought in 30 seconds
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Direct source information for Democrats:
The Democratic Party Website
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TY! for being #StrongerTogether today!
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(Remember 2018...)
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Curated by Gail Mountain, Network For #StrongerTogether ! is not affiliated with The Democratic Party in any capacity. This is an independent blog and the hope is you will, at a glance, learn more about the Party and you will, with a click or two, also take action on its behalf as it is provided!
( Gail Mountain is an editor for Progressive Democrats - Moving Forward Not Back and you can find her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GKMTNtwits )
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