Official Obama's last Presser of 2016 thread! Please help record his statements for DUers...

[bettyellen]

Who cannot watch with us.

I'm going to miss POTUS.

[Nwgirl503]

1. I'm out of the country and can't watch

Would be very grateful for updates.

[bettyellen]

2. I will try to get the most relevant quotes reported here. Hope others will help w that!

[bettyellen]

3. Still waiting for the two minute warning....

[ginnyinWI]

4. live stream links

https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/president-obama-holds-press-conference-18

http://abcnews.go.com/Live

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/obama-vows-retaliation-suspected-russian-hacking/

the news conference and commentary from NPR: http://wuwm.com/#stream/0

[Hekate]

7. A thousand thanks

[bettyellen]

8. Thanks! Was hoping we could pull quotes for those who can't watch on real time too!

[Hekate]

5. Kick

[bettyellen]

9. The press room is packed to the gills, they say press is spilling out into the hallway

[TheDormouse]

6. it will be archived on c-span

[sheshe2]

10. I am watching on CNN

I will miss him too bettyellen.

[bettyellen]

11. So glad to see you! Who's hosting over there? Am listening to Tur on MSNBC

[sheshe2]

12. Wolf ...

[bettyellen]

34. Cannot stand him!

[demmiblue]

13. Gah... my stomach is in knots. Start sooon!

Oh, here we go!

[Maru Kitteh]

14. Review of 8 years

Touting the number of people now with healthcare
Economic success, jobs growth
Reduction of dependence on foreign oil
Income gains at bottom and middle of income strata
180,000 troops > 15,000 troops at war
Bin Laden still dead
Iran nuclear deal
Opened relations to Cuba

[bettyellen]

18. Thank you Maru! Good to see you.

[Maru Kitteh]

23. Oh thank you bettyellen, so good to see you :-) nt

[bettyellen]

15. POTUS recapping good progress we've made the last year -

Domestic issues unemployment, health care financial
Growth.
Foreign, drawing down and avoiding war, Cuba, working on global warming. America stronger and more prosperous than eight years ago.

[bettyellen]

16. We are reminded people are still hungry homeless, laid off, gun violence....

Issues he plans to work on once he is out of office.

[bettyellen]

113. Asking about Taiwan / China issue does he agree w DT in his unorthodox approach...

"Foreign policy should be subject to fresh eyes..."
Obligation of new POTUS to examine what's going on"

Given how much at stake, huge signifance of bilateral relationship w China danger if the relationship goes into full conflict mode. Shld be systematic intentional and deliberate way. Should have "a full team in place and be fully briefed" before acting.

Implication being he was not.

[Maru Kitteh]

17. I'm leaving things much better for my successor, but people are still hurting

more needs to be done.

Homeless, gun violence, income disparity still too great, events abroad creating great suffering.

[mcar]

19. He will continue to work to build on the progress

[bettyellen]

20. Assad and Russia - blood and atrocities on their hands! Need an impartial review to

[bettyellen]

21. Russia has blocked UN Security Council, the USA will push them to act

[bettyellen]

24. "Assad cannot slaughter themselves to legitimacy!!!"

"The world will not be fooled. The world should not forget"

[mcar]

22. Aleppo hardest issue he's faced as Pres

Talking about the atrocities. Responsibility for brutality lies with Assad, Russia Iran

[Maru Kitteh]

25. Being an American means remembering how lucky we are and our responsibility to others

Thanks the troops and all those who keep us safe at home and abroad.

[bettyellen]

26. Questions- "are you letting Putin get away w election hack?"

He did not mention hacks in his statement

[mcar]

27. Being American means helping others

Paraphrasing

[bettyellen]

28. The facts: uniform intel assements say it was Russians that hacked and we have to do what we can

To prevent that in the future"
Should not be partisan issue/ source of an arguement.

[Maru Kitteh]

29. Must be able to distinguish between politics of election and threat to our country posed by Russian

interference.

I ordered notification of victims (DNC) and bipartisan briefing of congress.

No motive ascribed by White House to avoid damaging integrity of elections. But people needed to know, so information was made known.

[Maru Kitteh]

30. Told Putin directly in October to"cut it out or there will be serious consequences" ACTIVITY STOPPED

[PearliePoo2]

95. Yeah, that made ME sit up straight. Said he had the same conversation with the Chinese!!

with similar results (activity stopped)

Thanks for all your work here!

[Maru Kitteh]

146. thank you PearliePoo2 :-) nt

[SHRED]

31. So this election was legitimate according to Obama?

FUCK!!

[NightWatcher]

33. We told him to stop, it stopped, we cool?

Who cares if it already did damage that cost Hillary the election?

Damn Obama is downplaying this too much.

[cwydro]

44. I never expected anything more.

Sad.

History will speak to this.

[unitedwethrive]

71. Agreed, he's never been one to take any controversial stands. Always taking the path of least

resistance. Most of the time it works, but I really don't think this is one of those times.

[Hekate]

38. I don't think that's what he said

[bettyellen]

32. He's calling out press pretending to be surprised the leaks had an effect when they did all the

Obsessive reporting on the leaks.

[Hekate]

35. They should be flayed

[mcar]

37. He is really giving it to the press

Rightly so!

[bettyellen]

52. Yes. You could hear a pin drop in that room. Complicit af.

[sheshe2]

81. Yup!

[Cha]

169. President Obama was talking about that

in the Trevor Noah interview, too.

Thank you for your thread, bettyellen.

[bettyellen]

171. Thank you Cha!

[Maru Kitteh]

36. You media obsessed on every little tidbit including a Risotto recipie instead of real issues

In other words, Obama to press - YOU HELPED PUTIN ACCOMPLISH HIS GOALS.

[femmedem]

39. Calling out the press

saying how could they act surprised that the hacked emails benefited Trump and hurt Clinton when the press wrote stories about the emails every day. And we should reflect on how during an election season with such enormous differences between the candidates the media coverage was dominated by stories about the emails.

[Maru Kitteh]

41. A bit more than a bit, I would say. He politely told them they bear the responsibility for this

national disaster.

[femmedem]

48. Re response to hacking

Priority leading up to election was to protect election integrity.

Goal is now to send a message to Russia and other potential hackers to not do this to us because we can do the same to you. Response must be thoughtful. Some response may be public, but other response might be invisible to public, only visible to target. How to create an appropriate response is something that takes time to figure out.

Russia is effective because they don't go around announcing what they did. They deny it. So public shaming is not effective and doesn't read the thought process in Russia very well.

[bettyellen]

55. Great summary- thank you!!!

[bettyellen]

40. He's talking about cyber warfare and the multitude of possible targets - many private -

(Including DNC) Make it difficult to guard against. Also international community are targeted and we need to work together against it. Need to add guard rails.

[LeftInTX]

53. Noted that DNC is private entity

[Maru Kitteh]

50. Take that right-wing tripe elsewhere please.

and thank you.

[WillowTree]

57. He's the President of the United States. He knows.

He knows a lot more than we do.

[greatauntoftriplets]

66. Bang on.

He certainly doesn't want to show his hand on retaliation so that Russia knows what or when it will happen.

[Maru Kitteh]

59. My daughter may owe her life to ACA, you called his PRESIDENCY weak & INEFFECTUAL

And THAT is what I am calling right-wing TRIPE - BECAUSE IT IS.

[Maru Kitteh]

65. You've been here all of one day and want to come in here with right-wing smears against POTUS?

You hit one of the best presidents we've EVER HAD, with broad-brush smears made part of the unfortunate lexicon of deplorables and you are surprised when you get some blow-back?

[sheshe2]

108. Looks like MIRT got them.

[Maru Kitteh]

110. Woo Hoo! Nice to know :-)

[mfcorey1]

74. Weak and ineffectual describes what you are about to experience under the reign of

Donald the con. This president kicks ass without bragging in press conferences. I imagine many times the things he could have done if he did not face a congress with nothing on their minds but power. He is about the people and there are so many times he has protected you when you will never know he did. He might not be yelling and being as vociferous as you like, BUT HE IS HANDLING BUSINESS. Read between the lines.

[Hekate]

76. Welcome to DU, firerises

Enjoy your stay

[Maru Kitteh]

100. Right?

Somewhere a bridge is missing . . . . . . . . . oh well.

Nice to see you Hekate

[Hekate]

120. Nice to see you too

And good riddance to all trolls.

[mcar]

104. He's been shown the door

[cwydro]

43. Sounds like he intends to blame the press.

Lol, hell yeah they are culpable, but wow.

Thanks Obama.

[snpsmom]

58. Sounds more like

you have 33 days to redeem yourselves. Get to digging.

[cwydro]

62. Ha.

Don't hold your breath on that one.

[snpsmom]

64. Not n/t

[bettyellen]

45. W respect to response: pre election tried not "too feed any idea in the public that tampering

Occurred in the actual election" he'd noted earlier that Trump himself was trying to delegitimize the process.


balks at idea that chest thumping would have stopped the Russians. We already have a lot of sanctions against Russia. Will not be announcing all counter measures.

[loyalsister]

77. He's right about delegitimizing the process

I think Trump's comments about a rigged election contributed to the low voter turnout.

[Maru Kitteh]

46. When we have taken actions we can reveal publicly we will do so, but there are things that

are done that will not be known.

[NightWatcher]

47. Did he say it went off without a hitch?

[elleng]

49. 'Maybe I can give some advice to the Democratic Party.

Has to do with where we show up.'

'How do we rebuild that party as a whole.'

[bettyellen]

51. Coverage of Clinton's campaign "was troubling" advises Dems to

"Show up" where people feel they're hurting.

[elleng]

61. Re: FBI,

system where we want law enforcement to be without politics. I have tried not to weigh in, to preserve independence.

[bettyellen]

56. q about he FBI response being "lackadaisical"... and that perhaps the

Issue might be swept away w next POTUS

[bettyellen]

60. "Help keep us safe.....always a challenge safety/politics, want them to play it straight.

But... particularly in this partisan atmosphere everything "gets scrutinized.
Tried to "preserve independence" and don't know why I should stop now.

[femmedem]

63. Re FBI

Comey and FBI take jobs seriously, work hard, save lives. Always a challenge for law enforcement when there is a conflict between their work and the political system. We want them to be free from politics, but sometimes investigations touch on politics. In these hyperpartisan times, any action can be seen as partisan.

Obama has tried to strictly keep his own biases out of law enforcement.

[bettyellen]

67. Re: Aleppo could not commit to large number of troops on the ground without a request or support of

International community. Had to go all in and take over Syria and not do this "on the cheap".

[elleng]

68. Someone not feeling good.

Get Doc Jackson in here.

[elfin]

69. He looks so tired. Wrinkles are grooves not lines.Due to....

publicly intelligent restraint and eloquent grace, truly caring about human suffering, superlatively handling many enormous burdens despite constant harassment of his decisions and of his very identity.

Agent Orange will not show such results because he does not give a sh@#, will carelessly delegate every important decision affecting humanity, and will only care if the bottom line affects his or his three (not five) kids' bank balances in a negative way.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

158. Last night my husband & I were talking about what to call He Who Must not be Named,

and I came up with "Agent Orange"! Honestly hadn't seen or heard that elsewhere. He thought that was pretty good, though not nearly strong enough to reflect the truly awful character in question.

[elfin]

161. Got that moniker from another poster on DU (can't remember who)

Can't claim it - previously called it (can't say him) the Dumpster. But think Agent Orange is more apt, in that it kills or irretrievably maims what it touches.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

164. I also like the implication of him being a Russian agent.

And, or course, he's so unnaturally orange.

[Maru Kitteh]

70. Medical emergency in press core, asking for MD in the room.

[Maru Kitteh]

73. President's MD summoned, person being taken to Obama's doctor's office in WH

[crosinski]

79. And the President stops waits to see if he can help until the situation is take care of.

Gods above, I'm going to miss this man's humanity.

[Maru Kitteh]

93. Indeed. It's heartbreakng. nt

[Sissyk]

72. This is not going to be popular here, but.....

Transitions are sometimes bumpy. PBO still thinks there is a sobering process when you walk in Oval Office. PBO says all conversations with trump have been cordial and he thinks trump has listened to his suggestions

He is still trying to make this a great transition.

[Sissyk]

78. And that was not easy to type.

But, I wouldn't expect less from PBO. That's one of the things I have always admired about him.

So many are now wanting him to be the mouth- breathing, fangs-showing person like was just elected president to stop the next mouth-breathing, fangs-showing president. It is not going to happen.

However, that doesn't mean we can't continue to try and stop trump from taking over.

[greatauntoftriplets]

89. Thanks, Sissyk.

What's going on behind the scenes is what counts and I am certain that he is taking care of business.

[Sissyk]

106. I agree, greataunt!

He has for 8 years. I don't see how anyone could listen to the first of his statement, and all the great things that have happened in 8 years, and say he doesn't know how to work behind the scenes while publicly being everyone's President.

Very good to see you!!

[greatauntoftriplets]

115. It's a hard line and has to be especially difficult, considering that Drump is next.

I'd love to hear what he says about all these issues to Joe Biden. And, at least he understands the geopolitics of our relations with Russia and China. Herr Drumpf certainly doesn't.

Good to see you, too, Sissyk!

[GoCubsGo]

111. Yep.

Something tells me that before this is all over, we'll realize that President Obama will have played Comrade Trump like a fiddle.

[greatauntoftriplets]

117. President Obama is subtle and has great finesse.

Drumpf probably won't realize what hit him.

[LeftInTX]

75. Discussing Syria

Couldn't do it piecemeal or on the cheap.

Would have to go "all in" to be successful

[Hekate]

118. "On the cheap" not possible in any sense.Would take a lot of American lives to accomplish anything

And we might end up worse off than before. His priority has to be the US -- he can't go charging off in all directions.

[LeftInTX]

80. I like the way he keeps mentioning the Russian/Assad

Connection

[bettyellen]

91. Yes! Now he's hammering home Trump's friendly relationship w Russia

And how press ignored it.

Now we're at a point where 1/3 of tepublicans approve of Putin. Regan would "roll over in his grave"- because partisanship became paramount.
Makes us vulnerable to foreign influence.

[blitzburgh55]

82. Read between the lines

On what he said about Russia. He said we can't go around telling everyone what we're going to do. Hopefully he was aiming that at what they're doing about Cheeto.

Hopefully, they're behind the scenes building their case and giving no ammo for Cheeto and his band of miscreants.

Trump denying the Russian hacking tells me, they're preparing for the shoe to drop.

I may be wrong, but it's what I'm thinking.

[uponit7771]

86. +1, "Trump denying the Russian hacking tells me, they're preparing for the shoe to drop. "

Yeap, Benedict Donald could say nothing and be in the same spot he is right now if there was nothing else to come down the pike.

Benedict Donald is stupid and that makes him unpredictable but on this issue he and his band of bigots haven't stopped

[greatauntoftriplets]

92. I don't think you're wrong.

If he said what the retaliation is, the Russians could act to prevent damage.

[uponit7771]

83. Humility... Amen

[bettyellen]

84. Re:hacking Russians: "A lot of it will stay classified"

If people think out intel communities are less trust worthy than Russians....
We have to think about what's happening w political culture here. "
Russians provide oil gas weapons ... can only impact us if we abandon our values. If it's okay to intimate the presss, to discriminate against people"

[LeftInTX]

85. Question about declassification

Will give what "we can safely provide"

[Maru Kitteh]

87. We have to think about our politcal culture when "some people" are trusting the RUSSIANS more

than our own intelligence agencies.

Putin can weaken us like he had some parts of Europe when we start to think it's okay to intimidate the press, or discriminate against some people because of their faith

Some Republican party members and voters have now gone against every single thing this country stands for just because "we hate Democrats that much"

[bettyellen]

122. Good stuff!

[mcar]

88. Hitting Rs for their Russia support

Big time

[elleng]

90. Surprised that so many repugs 'approve' of putin.

[bettyellen]

94. Re DTs appointments- up to him, process w senate will begin...

[bettyellen]

96. Can you unequivocally state it was Russia hacking? Report will asses it's Russia ....

That hacked The DNC and Podesta.
Evidence in closed session given to house and senate leaders.

[bettyellen]

99. "Not much happens in Russia without Putin" - confirmed its happened st the

"Highest level of Russian govt"

[LeftInTX]

97. "Ronald Reagan would be rolling over in his grave"

In response to poll that showed Repubs supporting Putin

[mcar]

98. He is really hitting the Rs on their hypocrisy re Russia

I think he is, as usual, getting the real message out without coming out and saying it.

[bettyellen]

102. Yes- as well as the press!

[bettyellen]

101. Do the DT tweets embolden Russia? A "he's still in transition mode"

And there's a whole different attitude/ vibe once you are in office"

"Have to see when they have been fully briefed and have hands on levers"

One way to be unifying is to "welcome a bipartisan independent process " fair and free elections and develop strategy against cyber warfare"

[bettyellen]

103. "Everyone is corrupt everything raises suspicion..." narrative helped the Russians push BS....

YES!!

[mcar]

107. Throwing some elbows now

[bettyellen]

124. Well deserved elbows. The press will ignore it all though.

[mcar]

126. They have no capacity for introspection

[bettyellen]

127. Have seen plenty of phony introspection and deflections though!

[mcar]

129. Yup

[uponit7771]

105. BOOM... "...Do you trust Russia more than our intel services..."

[bettyellen]

114. Great statement!

[Maru Kitteh]

109. Important to see how PE and his team will handle this issue - THEY'VE BEEN BRIEFED on this issue

They SHOULD welcome an independent, bipartisan investigation on this issue that focuses not just on counting of the votes but how foreign powers may use PROPAGANDA

I will repeat again - OUR VULNERABILITY to future attack depends entirely on how we address our own partisanship in this country. New administration must be willing to look at this as security, not partisan issue.


--
Says fake news thrived due to Republicans (out of power) fanning the flames of "all Democrats (in power) are evil and have nefarious intentions. This made it easy for foreign power to place fake news items because they fit the narrative already being put forth.

[BeyondGeography]

112. He's basically saying we're fucked if we don't grow up and use our heads

And he's right. His answers on Russia and Republican partisanship have been classic.

[mcar]

116. I agree

If he came out and directly said that Russia/trump are in cahoots, that's all the reporting would focus on. He's given the media lots to talk about and given Twitler more fodder for his insane ravings.

He is brilliant.

[greatauntoftriplets]

150. And if he'd come out ranting and raving...

Putin would have celebrated getting President Obama's goat. By being so matter-of-fact, he likely lulled Putin et. al. into a false sense of security so that when the retaliation comes, it will be more of a surprise. As you said, brilliant.

[mcar]

156. Yep

[greatauntoftriplets]

152. Yup.

[bettyellen]

119. Our agreement w China has kept the peace and Taiwan safe. For China issue of Taiwan

"Is at the heart of their conception as a nation."

So you have to have thought through the consequences before acting. Their reaction could be "very significant"
And POTUS should be prepared to respond to that.

[Richard D]

121. Did Obama just totally ignored

Politico's question about the electoral college.

[bettyellen]

123. Perhaps, but he made it clear the report is coming when it's coming...

I think he knows it's not something people should hang their hats on- he's in anti partisan mode. Trying hard not to feedthat.

[bettyellen]

125. DNC - nice words about Perez.

[Maru Kitteh]

128. About Electors meeting who are thinking of changing votes, should they be briefed?

On the Democratic party, how do you feel about some who say it shouldn't be a continuation of the way you have led the party?

POTUS: Tom Perez is tireless and WICKED smart, able to work across labor, business, working people, he's been very extraordinary. Others who have declared are also friends and fine people, I don't have a vote in this and we'll see how it plays out. I think it HAS to continue as a 50 state effort, in all states at the grassroots level. I am proud of what we did because it was INCLUSIVE. We have to keep casting a broad net, there is more that we share than divides us.

Red/Blue state is a construct that has become more powerful due to

Gerrymandering
Big Money
Splintering of media and people only watching/listening to what they want to hear

People largely want the same things, safety, a decent living, opportunities for their children and DNC must deliver that to all of us.


On electors: I'm not going to wade into that issue as to whether or not they should feel bound to the votes of their states.

Long term on electoral college - it's a vestige from a long ago time and different vision of how our democracy would go.

[bettyellen]

132. "If we look for one easy fix.... we'll be disappointed " it's been degrading the last ten years....

How can we get to a place where people are focused on working together? A common agreement on facts"
Channel basic decency to work together on policy"

Restore "confidence and faith" so we trust our own givernment more than Russia"

That Michelle's healthy eating issue is more important than intimidation of the free press?"

WOW

[LeftInTX]

130. Blamed part of 2010 loss on on-going financial crisis

And being the party " in-power". "When things aren't going well party in power is blamed"

Reading between the lines: Voters wanted quicker soln to financial crisis

[JudyM]

131. Wow, just wants Dems to take a breath and be less polarizing.

Paraphrasing: he'd rather that we just give up now and if we're nicer from now on we'll have s better chance of winning elections in the future, since the general populace will see that his policies were better than tRump's are going to be. Whew, is that disappointing!

[bettyellen]

134. I didn't hear that? Quote? I thought he was talking about the GOP and the press.

[JudyM]

137. When he started addressing the electoral college revolt possibility, he used that phrase and that

was his point. Paraphrasing: Don't foment an electoral college uprising, just look at what's happened and learn that being polarizing turns people off.

[bettyellen]

139. Ah- 'twas specific regarding the EC. Otherwise he hammered the GOP on their hyper partisan stance

And the media for manufacturing phony scandals and both for refusing to work on policy Americans want.

[JudyM]

140. Still, that's huge. And reflective of his posture toward the entire post-election mess: roll over.

[bettyellen]

142. As far as the EC goes I agree. Just as I disagreed w Sanders trying to upend the norms during his

Campaign. Going rogue means normalizing it. Would be written off as sour grapes as well.

[JudyM]

144. Could you please rephrase that? No idea what you mean....

[bettyellen]

168. I think all the talk of upending the electoral college is pointless crap, as were the

Complaints and lawsuits against the DNC, refusal to show taxes and lying about that, as was complaints about how the primary was run during the primary, fighting months past she there was a path to a win... all of that crap was disrespectful and just looked like sneaky shit and sour grapes. All of a sudden HRC was the only one conforming any norms. Now, there are no norms.
Like Obama said the "everybody and everything is corrupt" hair on fire bullshit just fed hatred and gave the useful idiots ammo.

[JudyM]

170. Ok I see what you mean. Thanks.

[bettyellen]

172. youre welcome!

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

159. Um, the extremely nasty, divsive, polarizing party just won Yuuuuuuuge in the last

election, so, gotta call BS on that.

[JudyM]

162. Not just this time, either, Dark n Stormy! Think gerrymanderers, Gingrich, tea party, McConnell...

Bush v Gore, Ohio in '04...

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

163. I know. Yet, I keep hearing this crap about how we need to play nice.

So now, after the Rs doing all they could to obstruct our Democratic president, the Dems are supposed to sit around singing kumbaya with the R kleptocracy. It's ridiculous!

[JudyM]

165. I am so with you. Anti confrontation appeasement has its place, but our party already has a problem

of sitting back and taking it. We need the opposite for once!

[Maru Kitteh]

148. You didn't listen then, because that is NOT what he said

He said Dems need to take a breath and reflect on how to reach a country that is very polarized. We have to keep casting a broad net, we have to remember there is more that we share than divides us. We have to show up in all the places that people are hurting and convince them we are on their side.

Red/Blue state is a construct that has become more powerful due to

Gerrymandering
Big Money
Splintering of media and people only watching/listening to what they want to hear

People largely want the same things, safety, a decent living, opportunities for their children and DNC must convince the country we are the ones on their side, we are the ones with the genuine wish to deliver that to all of us.

[JudyM]

157. I interpreted him differently than you, it seems.

He was urging us to lay off trying to get the electors to change their votes, that we should focus instead on not being divisive, on looking forward toward uniting voters with our principles.
"Take a breath" meaning back away from fighting for this election.

[bettyellen]

133. Emphasizing there are facts that show we are better off. He can prove that.

[Hekate]

135. God bless Obama. He looks so tired.

I'm going to miss him so much.

[greatauntoftriplets]

153. Same here.

The last month can't have been easy for him. He's had to do the job we hired him for, plus play tutor for Herr Drumpf who is likely a terrible student. Plus, he must be worried about what will happen after January 20 like the rest of us.

[Maru Kitteh]

136. How is FLOTUS healthy eating a greater threat to democracy than threatening the free press?

POTUS:

As Democrats we need to take a breath and some time to reflect about how to convince the country to work together STOP demonizing each other and focus on how to move forward.

How did some elected officials come to believe that Michelle Obama's healthy eating initiative is a greater threat to democracy than someone who was espousing that the government should be going after the free press because of a story that was written that they didn't like?

[mcar]

141. He hit Republicans very hard

I don't know why people don't see that.

[Maru Kitteh]

145. People wanted a screaming shit fit, because they WANT IT, not thinking or caring

that it would cause more harm than good, both long and short term.

[Sissyk]

151. Not only that, but some thought he was having

This press conference only to "finally tell us all what he knows so we can oust trump".

Correct me f I'm wrong, but hasn't he held a press conference before his Christmas vacation every year while in office?

Of course he was going to answer all the important questions the press cooked up, but it was also the last pre-Holiday press conference he will give. He has accomplished a lot in 8 years, and he needed to get that across to us all.

[greatauntoftriplets]

154. You're correct.

He has one every year.

[LeftInTX]

138. His eyes misted when discussing the Marine band

I'm in tears. Will miss him so much.

( In addition to being in total melt-down freak out mode)

[bettyellen]

143. President emphasizing protecting the important institutions that prop up democracy ....

From Joy Reid at MSNBC

[spin]

147. There is no doubt that Obama has charisma. ...

Trump lacks that as does Hillary. People either love or hate Trump and Hillary. With Obama even many of those who dislike his policies feel he is a good man who has tried his best.

I love watching Obama when he has a press conference because he is smooth, cool and reassuring. Trump and Hillary both tend to rattle my nerves.

It's something you either have or don't. You can't learn how to be charismatic.

While he was in office Bill Clinton also had the charismatic touch but over the years I feel it has faded somewhat. Joe Biden has charisma. Had he ran he would have beat Trump in a landslide. Obviously Obama would also have slaughtered Trump had he been allowed to run for a third term.
JFK was another very charismatic President.

Like you I will miss Obama. I fear the next few years will be a very bumpy ride.

[Maru Kitteh]

149. Well fuckitall! Let's just let NBC hold **AMERICA'S NEXT PRESIDENT** every 4 years

We can have a talent competition, send them with cameras in tow on mundane daily tasks to see how they handle a trip to Target, have them kiss 10 randomly selected babies from the audience and press #1 on our cell phones from our living rooms!

CHARISMA. It's ALL WE NEED.

[spin]

155. In my opinion a candidate with charisma can beat an extremely competent and ...

well qualified opponent. That's simply fact in today's world. It started back when JFK beat Richard Nixon. People who listened to the debate on radio felt Nixon won. People who watched the debate on TV gave the debate to the much more charismatic JFK. (In those days not everyone had a TV. If you had a TV you were lucky if you could get three channels. I remember those days well.)

While I don't agree that elections should be won by the most charismatic candidate, I can't argue that that is not the normal result.

There was no truly charismatic candidate in this recent election except perhaps Bernie. This election ended up as a race between two candidates who were strongly disliked by many voters. This poll took place just before the election:

Deep Unfavorability for Clinton, Trump Marks the Election's Sharp Divisions (POLL)
By GARY LANGER
Oct 31, 2016, 7:00 AM ET

Likely voters see Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump equally unfavorably, with a nearly complete partisan split in views of the two — testament to the unprecedented unpopularity of the candidates and the level of division between their opposing camps.

These divisions and the partisan predispositions that inform them help explain the close contest, unchanged in the latest ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll at 46 percent for Clinton and 45 percent for Trump, with 4 percent for Gary cJohnson and 2 percent for Jill Stein.

Clinton is seen unfavorably by 60 percent of likely voters in the latest results, a new high. Trump is seen unfavorably by essentially as many, 58 percent. Marking the depth of these views, 49 percent see Clinton "strongly" unfavorably, and 48 percent say the same about Trump — unusual levels of strong sentiment.

The extent of partisan antipathy in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, is remarkable: 97 percent of Trump supporters see Clinton unfavorably, 90 percent strongly so; 95 percent of Clinton supporters see Trump unfavorably, 90 percent, again, strongly so.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/deep-unfavorability-clinton-trump-marks-elections-sharp-divisions/story?id=43177423

I don't believe charisma played any factor in this election. You either loved or hated Trump or Hillary or you intensely disliked both.

Still Hillary should have won based on her experience. Obviously Hillary's private server mess plus the hacking of the DNC and release of John Podesta's email damaged Hillary. Also Comey was way out of line.

I don't believe we will ever find just one reason for why Hillary lost. I explain the loss as saying that Hillary was the right candidate at the wrong time. Hillary could have beat McCain in 2008 but Obama had enough charisma to beat her in the primary race. History shows that it is extremely difficult for a Party to hold the Oval Office for more than eight years. Hillary faced an uphill battle no matter who she ran against this year.

Hillary Clinton's test: A third straight Democratic term
David Jackson, USA TODAY 6:48 p.m. EDT April 10, 2015

***snip***

In seeking to follow President Obama after his two terms in office, she will be trying to buck a historical trend — one recently cited by former president Bill Clinton.

"It's hard for any party to hang on to the White House for 12 years, and it's a long road," Bill Clinton said in an interview with Town & Country magazine. "A thousand things could happen."

Since 1948 — the year Harry Truman won a fifth straight election for the Democrats, following Franklin D. Roosevelt's four wins — a political party has won three straight elections only once.

It happened in 1988, the year the Republican nominee, Vice President George H.W. Bush, won the right to replace Ronald Reagan.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2015/04/10/hillary-clinton-third-democratic-term/25512195/

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

160. Like in many things, charisma is in the eye of the beholder.

A lot of people say tRump has charisma.

1.compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others.

I find nothing attractive about our president elect--not his personality, not his voice, not his looks, and certainly not his mind. It makes sick and causes me to lose my faith in humanity when so many people find a crass, lying, cheating, misogynistic, homophobic, vengeful, immature, bully attractive and charming. But there is no denying that they do.

I keep swinging back and forth between and

[bettyellen]

167. A friend of mine was talking to a fella in a bar in Montana and the guy was shocked to find out

That NYers think Trump is a nation and a con man.
Now he might not have agreed anyway, but he assumed we liked and respected him. My friend was shocked the guy was so surprised.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

173. I can only assume that is due to a failure to look past the RW media for

information about who you're voting for as leader of the free world. Irresponsible and illogical.

Maybe, just maybe, it would be wise to at least consider that New Yorkers, who have followed the news on Trump all these many years might know something the folks in Montana don't and listen to them!

[Fla_Democrat]

166. I just got in from work, what did I miss?

How long is President Obama going to remain in office, did he settle on a full term? A half term? I guess it all depends on how fast they can set up the new election.

Did they show trumph being arrested? Wow, that would be sweet, seeing him pepe-marched out of trumpf towers. Any one else named and rounded up? Have we imposed sanctions on Mother Russia? Are we calling for the United Nations to bring them to heel?

C'mon, give us deets........