Barack Obama says he wants to focus on training young leaders

HE WAS humble, articulate and conciliatory. On April 24th, in his first public appearance since January, Barack Obama charmed his audience with his ability to listen and his unwillingness to boast. As a community organiser on the South Side, "I am the first to acknowledge that I did not set the world on fire," Mr Obama said. “This community gave me a lot more than I was able to give in return.”

Mr Obama held his presidential farewell speech on January 11th in Chicago, his adopted hometown, and returned to the Windy City for his re-emergence in public life after an extended holiday. In his farewell speech the former president had reflected on the fragility of democracy. This time he focused on civic engagement and community organising in a 90-minute discussion with a panel of half a dozen youthful activists at the University of Chicago’s Logan Center for the Arts in front of an audience of mainly college students.

In his remarks Mr Obama brandished political polarisation, which he blamed on gerrymandered electoral districts, money in politics, a politicised media landscape and voter apathy, especially among young people. He admitted that his much-quoted comment at the Democratic...Continue reading