President Barack Obama will be campaigning for Hillary Clinton on campus today, and though his primary motive is to transfer his support in Chapel Hill to Clinton, his speech should also give students at UNC a chance to reflect. For many students at UNC, he is one of the two presidents in their living memory.
Regardless of your thoughts on his predecessor, Obama inherited a frayed, if not torn, nation. And though there are valid critiques about the nation’s progress — or lack thereof — since January 2009, the categorical attacks on the President’s character prove the foolishness of many of these detractions.
The tears he shed in reaction to catastrophes such as the shootings in Sandy Hook and Charleston were equal parts stirring and authoritative — an emotional admonishment of the people who refuse to acknowledge that parts of our society need to be fixed.
The absurdity of this election cycle has only further emphasized what staggeringly few people seem willing to acknowledge: Obama has delivered a remarkable level of humanity and decency to the presidency.
If you put aside your judgments of his policies, it is undeniable that Obama has been an immaculate statesman. In the past eight years he has been the epitome of what it means to be a father, a husband and, most importantly, a human being. For that, he deserves our thanks.
