‘I will consider it a personal insult’: Obama urges black Americans not to vote against his legacy

by WorldTribune Staff, September 19, 2016

The president is not running this year, but he has made clear that this election is mainly about him.

A vote for anyone other than Hillary Clinton is a vote against the legacy of President Barack Obama, the president warned black Americans.

“My name may not be on the ballot, but our progress is on the ballot,” Obama said on Sept. 17 during his final keynote address to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

President Barack Obama to black Americans: 'Give me a good sendoff' and vote for Hillary Clinton. /AP
President Barack Obama to black Americans: “I will consider it a personal insult.” /AP

“Tolerance is on the ballot. Democracy is on the ballot. Justice is on the ballot. Good schools are on the ballot. Ending mass incarceration – that’s on the ballot right now! . . . Hope is on the ballot. And fear is on the ballot, too.”

The first African-American president insisted he would take it as a “personal insult” if the African-American community fails to turn out for Clinton in November.

“I will consider it a personal insult, an insult to my legacy, if this community lets down its guard and fails to activate itself in this election. You want to give me a good sendoff? Go vote.”

The last time Obama made his legacy an election issue, it did not work out too well for him. In a 2014 midterm election speech at Northwestern University, Obama said it was his policies that were on the ballot.

“Now, I am not on the ballot this fall.  Michelle is pretty happy about that. But make no mistake: These policies are on the ballot – every single one of them.”

Republicans made huge gains in Congress and in local elections across the country in the 2014 midterms.

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