Presidents have delivered some form of final message while in office, a farewell address
to the American people. On Tuesday night in Chicago, I'll deliver mine. I chose Chicago
not only because it's my hometown, where I met my wife and we started a family, but also
because it's really where my career in public service began. The running thread through
my career has been the notion that when ordinary people get involved and get engaged and come
together in collective effort, things change for the better. That's the belief at the
heart of this precious American experiment in self-government. It's what gives work
and purpose to each new generation. It's easy to lose sight of that truth in the day-to-day
back-and-forth of Washington or our minute-to-minute news cycles. But remember that America is
a story told over a longer time horizon, in fits and starts, punctuated at times by hardship
but ultimately written by generations of citizens who've somehow worked together without fanfare
to form a more perfect union. Over the past eight years, we've added our own new chapter
to that story. Together, we've turned an economy that was shrinking and losing jobs into one
that's growing and creating jobs. With poverty falling, incomes rising, Presidents have delivered
some form of final message while in office, a farewell address to the American people.
On Tuesday night in Chicago, I'll deliver mine. I chose Chicago not only because it's
my hometown, where I met my wife and we started a family, but also because it's really where
my career in public service began. The running thread through my career has been the notion
that when ordinary people get involved and get engaged and come together in collective
effort, things change for the better.