President Obama smashes Trump’s anti-intellectualism
President Obama calls out Trump without using the Trump name, characteristically making his brilliant eloquence point out the anti-intellect of Trumps politics. The President did not miss a beat as he showed the inadequacy and moronic temper of Trumpian politics. You can watch the full speech and read the entire transcript here.
Here is the text of the snippets in the video.
When you hear someone longing for the “good old days,” take it with a grain of salt. Take it with a grain of salt. We live in a great nation and we are rightly proud of our history. We are beneficiaries of the labor and the grit and the courage of generations who came before. But I guess it’s part of human nature, especially in times of change and uncertainty, to want to look backwards and long for some imaginary past when everything worked, and the economy hummed, and all politicians were wise, and every child was well-mannered, and America pretty much did whatever it wanted around the world. Guess what. It ain’t so. (Laughter.) The “good old days” weren’t that great.
When you hear someone longing for the “good old days,” take it with a grain of salt. Take it with a grain of salt. We live in a great nation and we are rightly proud of our history. We are beneficiaries of the labor and the grit and the courage of generations who came before. But I guess it’s part of human nature, especially in times of change and uncertainty, to want to look backwards and long for some imaginary past when everything worked, and the economy hummed, and all politicians were wise, and every child was well-mannered, and America pretty much did whatever it wanted around the world. Guess what. It ain’t so. (Laughter.) The “good old days” weren’t that great. …
Building walls won’t change that. …
Isolating or disparaging Muslims, suggesting that they should be treated differently when it comes to entering this country that is not just a betrayal of our values that’s not just a betrayal of who we are, it would alienate the very communities at home and abroad who are our most important partners in the fight against violent extremism. Suggesting that we can build an endless wall along our borders, and blame our challenges on immigrants — that doesn’t just run counter to our history as the world’s melting pot; it contradicts the evidence that our growth and our innovation and our dynamism has always been spurred by our ability to attract strivers from every corner of the globe. That’s how we became America. Why would we want to stop it now? …
Which brings me to my third point: Facts, evidence, reason, logic, an understanding of science these are good things. These are qualities you want in people making policy. These are qualities you want to continue to cultivate in yourselves as citizens. …
We traditionally have valued those things. But if you were listening to today’s political debate, you might wonder where this strain of anti-intellectualism came from. …
So, Class of 2016, let me be as clear as I can be. In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue. It’s not cool to not know what you’re talking about. That’s not keeping it real, or telling it like it is. That’s not challenging political correctness. That’s just not knowing what you’re talking about. And yet, we’ve become confused about this.
President Obama will be an excellent surrogate for the Democratic nominee on the stump. He is likely the only option that would give a Hillary Clinton the possibility of becoming the next President of the United States.