The Obama Speech I've Been Waiting For . . .

It took way too much time for Obama to do this, but he finally did deliver the speech I have been waiting for, namely, the one where he blames the Republican Party for creating the conditions which allowed Donald Trump to rise.

As I pointed out previously, Obama and Hillary have avoided blaming the GOP for Trump, favoring instead to call him a mere anomaly within the Republican Party. That changed last night in Ohio, where the President finally gave blame where blame was due.  The entire "Swamp of Crazy" Speech is worth watching, but my favorite part started at the point where Obama was talking about Ted Strickland, the Democrat who is trying to unseat GOP Senator Rob Portman.  Obama directly blamed Portman -- and the rest of the GOP -- for the rise of Trump:

People like Ted’s opponent — they stood by while this happened. And Donald Trump, as he’s prone to do, he didn’t build the building himself, but he just slapped his name on it and took credit for it. And that’s what’s happened in their party. All that bile, all the exaggeration, all the stuff that was not grounded in fact just kind of bubbled up, started surfacing.

They know better, a lot of these folks who ran, and they didn’t say anything. And so they don’t get credit for, at the very last minute, when finally the guy that they nominated and they endorsed and they supported is caught on tape saying things that no decent person would even think, much less say, much less brag about, much less laugh about or joke about, much less act on — you can’t wait until that finally happens and then say, oh, that’s too much, that’s enough. And think that somehow you are showing any kind of leadership and deserve to be elected to the United States Senate. You don’t get points for that. In fact, I’m more forgiving of the people who actually believe it than the people who know better and stood silently by, out of political expediency, because it was politically convenient.

But Obama did not stop there. Instead, he openly questioned the GOP as to why it eventually nominated a candidate who rejected long-standing Republican principles:

[Y]ou claim the mantle of the party of family values, and this is the guy you nominate? And stand by, and endorse, and campaign with until, finally, at the 11th hour you withdraw your nomination? You don’t get credit for that. You’re the party that is tough on foreign policy and opposes Russia — and then you nominate this guy, whose role model is Vladimir Putin, the former head of the KGB?

I’m sorry, what happened? It’s disappointing. It really is. Because, yes, I’m a Democrat, but I’m an American first.  And I actually believe in a strong two-party system. And I think that the marketplace of ideas should have a reasonable, common-sense Republican Party debating a reasonable, common-sense Democratic Party. But that is not what we have right now. And the reason is because people like Ted’s opponent who know better have stood silently by.

They’ve been trying to block everything we’ve tried to do to help working folks for years now. Even here in the state of Ohio, they opposed us trying to save the auto industry upon which hundreds of thousands of jobs depend. And then when it works out pretty good you’re taking credit for it. Man, look at this economy, it’s gone great. Yeah. But you sure didn’t help. It wasn’t because of your policies. That’s not why Ohio grew. That’s not why folks got back to work. So the point is, if your only agenda is either negative — negative is a euphemism — crazy — based on lies, based on hoaxes, this is the nominee you get. You make him possible. Now they’re shocked. It’s like remember that movie, Casablanca — the guy walks in, shocked that there’s gambling in this establishment.

Obama then wrapped up that section of the speech by stating: "So don’t act like this started with Donald Trump. He did take it to a whole new level. I got to give him credit. But he didn’t come out of nowhere."

As an aside, it is great to see an outgoing two-term president finally be able to actively campaign for his party's nominee.  George W. Bush (lack of popularity) and Bill Clinton (PenisGate Scandal) could not do it.  Reagan chose not to do much campaigning for Poppy Bush.  But as I was watching Obama speak last night, it occurred to me that he is doing more than just campaigning for fellow Democrats -- he is also doing a farewell tour of sorts.  I predict that a lot of people will be sad to see Obama leave office, including a lot of Republicans who spent the last eight years vilifying him.