Barring an emergency executive order or a Biden-backed coup, President Barack Obama will only be in the White House for 659 more days. But this reality hasn’t stopped some left-wing pundits from plotting to keep in him in power.
Matt Yglesias writes: "This is so obvious that it hardly bears mentioning, but it is worth saying that while Hillary Clinton is a fine Democratic Party nominee a much more reasonable choice of 2016 standard-bearer would be Barack Obama."
Obama’s former "body man" Reggie Love has a more ambitious vision. In an interview with BuzzFeed, Love suggested taking Obama’s talents to the international level. "If you look at [Obama’s] approval ratings outside of the US you would assume that he should have run for World Chancellor and not President of the United States," Love said.
This movement to install Obama as World Chancellor has obviously been in the works for some time. Here’s why it’s going to fail.
Obama’s lack of enthusiasm since getting blown out in the 2014 midterms has been palpable. We can’t blame him for being a little excited about entering the post-presidency phase of his political career. Why ruin things by taking another job? As Hillary Clinton and others have shown, it’s actually pretty easy to get paid lots of money for doing very little work after leaving an important government office.
Writing a memoir, for example, can be extremely lucrative. But it also takes time, especially if, like Obama, you intend to be the first U.S. president to compose a multi-volume opus about your time in office:
- Volume I: Hope & Change (The Early Years)
- Volume II: Truth & Reconciliation (The Quest for Affordable Care)
- Volume III: Regrettable Choices (The Biden Files)
- Volume IV: Learning to Fight (Reflections on a First Term)
- Volume V: Beating Romney, Part One (America Redeems Itself)
- Volume VI: Beating Romney, Part Two (No Mormon, No Cry)
- Volume VII: Wright Was Right (Dreams of My Reverend)
- Volume VIII: New Dawn (An Alternative History of the Obama Years)
- Volume IX: The Arc That Wouldn’t Bend (A Novel)
- Volume X: Light Footprint (10 Easy Steps to Transform the World AND Lose Weight)
These volumes aren’t going to write themselves. It’s going to require more free time than a World Chancellor could spare. In any event, such a job would require more effort (e.g., building relationships with lawmakers and international leaders) than Obama has shown himself willing to spare in his time as president. He’ll need plenty of time for golfing. And who knows? Maybe he’ll finally develop a competent follow through.
On the other hand, the Obamas appear to be seriously considering relocating to New York City when/if they leave the White House in 2017. Conveniently enough, that also happens to be the site of the United Nations. Americans, as always, should remain vigilant.