Tamara Keith
NPR
January 10, 2017
In giving his farewell address on Tuesday night in Chicago, President Obama will follow a tradition begun by America’s first president.
George Washington offered a series of warnings, what he called a “solemn contemplation.” His parting words have been deemed so valuable that they are read on the floor of the U.S. Senate each year, including his warning about the dangers of partisanship:
“It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another; foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which find a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passion.”
The presidential farewell address became a fixture in the 20th century, right along with the arrival of television in American homes. In these modern farewell speeches, almost all of them talk about the difficulty of the job, and urge the American people to be nice to the next guy. Continue reading “Obama’s Farewell Address: How Presidents Use This Moment Of Reflection”