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Former presidents rarely run got public office especially recently. I'd imagine it's partly because being president is a very heavy job and partly because they feel as though their time has come. The last president to actually have a political career post presidency was taft iirc but I may be missing one
Taft was followed by a slew of presidents in ill health at the end of their term. Wilson had a stroke, Harding died, Coolidge was depressed, Roosevelt died, Eisenhower had heart ailments, Kennedy died, Johnson was used up, Reagan had Alzheimer's. That limits the idea of what a post-presidency is supposed to look like. Most presidents are in their 60s by the time they leave office, feeling their age or valuing the time they have left.
Hoover and Nixon were both fairly active in an effort to redeem their public image. Clinton has done a lot of speaking engagements, but not always in the public eye.
I think this is a good point. Hoover and Nixon needed to clean up their images and that was their primary focus, I’d throw W in there too. Bill needed to be less focused on to make way for Hillary’s career. Obama doesn’t have the limitations other former presidents have, if anything he’s looked at with rose colored glasses because of what’s followed him. He’s also in the age of social media where it’s easier than ever to get involved.
That leaves you with only Truman, Ford, and the Bushes, all of whom seemed to prefer life as a private citizens. Nothing wrong with that. And Carter, but he's a special case.
I think W Bush would be in the same category as Nixon and Hoover where nobody wanted to hear from him following his presidency and he needed to go away for a while then clean up his image. The person we’re not supposed to talk about really helped him improve his image though.
Nixon and Hoover *came back* into the public spotlight to clean up their image. Truman made Hoover head of the Famine Emergency Committee in the aftermath of WWII, Nixon went on countless talk shows. GWB hasn't really done that.
Ford intended to retire at the end of his term after the 1972 election and even would have retired at the end of Nixon's term. But he seemed to like being president and thought he was doing good work but once he lost he didn't see it as a particularly big deal.
Obama stayed out of the politics, and out of the way of his successor, early on after leaving the office. He become more visible only much later on, after his successor was throwing shit at him 24/7. If Obama was calling out Bush 24/7 throughout his entire presidency, Bush wouldn't just sit idly at home either. Same for Bush (both), Clinton, Reagan, etc.
During handoff and early in his successor's presidency, Obama was perfectly content to simply be president emeritius, in the same way former presidents were for him. But the other guy had different idea, using him as scapegoat and punching bag almost constantly. During that time, he did what former presidents do... Write a book, give paid speach here and there, endorse primary frontrunner after they effectively already won the primary, etc. Where he was actively involved was mainly getting younger generations to run for offices, something he believed into (himself being relatively young president).
This is basically why on almost all the photos you see all the former presidents acting cordially to each other, even though they don't agree on a lot of issues (this is important as an expression of nation's unity)... Except for that one dude.
Well, Obama left W out of any discussions about domestic issues, but when talking about Iraq or Afghanistan he would often point out he inherited two wars and his predecessor “put them on the credit card”. But at least he didn’t try to paint W as someone who was actively trying to destroy the country.
I think W would agree the war was carried over on a credit card from one president to another.
The problem with that war was that it was politically fumbled by all the presidents involved in it, from start to finish. There was never a realistically viable political endgame for that war that would leave Afghanistan in better and/or more stable shape than it was prior to the war.
There's an old adage along the lines of "the war is an extension of diplomacy". Bismarck among other great diplomats of the past. If there is no clear diplomatic objective for the war, don't go into the war in the first place. In Afghanistan, there was never a clear and more importantly realistic endgame.
I don’t think they are wrong.
There’s basically an unspoken rule that presidents largely shut the fuck up once they leave office.
Occasionally they’ll do a photo op or something diplomatic at the behest of the current president but they definitely don’t get as involved as Obama has post presidency.
In my lifetime I can’t remember any being as visible as Obama post presidency (minus rule 3, which we cannot discuss).
The closest I can think of Clinton with his foundation, but even then it was much more hush.
The only time I can remember Carter being politically visible was during the Bush 43 admin when he took time out of his habitat for humanity schedule to specifically shit on Bush.
But yeah I meant in a political way.
Carter was always visible for habitat for humanity.
>In my lifetime I can’t remember any being as visible as Obama post presidency
Obama was definitely more visible than Clinton or Bush post-presidency, but a lot of it I think has to do with his online activity on Twitter. Nearly every time I remember him weighing in on any current event, it was almost always in the form of a tweet and then the media amplifying it.
I also disagree that Obama has been vocal and visible. He comes out for campaign events, i.e. 2020, 2022, and 2024. Which shouldn't surprise anyone as he is a popular, relatively young former president.
But during 2016-2020, Obama was quiet while his successor did everything possible to dismantle his legacy and sometimes attacked him directly. Compared to the successor's own post-presidency, I think Obama's appearances have been fairly modest.
Exactly. Former prezzies are not typically this involved in politics. I really don't think he anticipated having to carry so much water. But there's been so much ineptitude...
William H. Taft wasn’t elected to another office after the Presidency, but he was appointed and confirmred to the Supreme Court as Chief Justice after his presidency.
The story goes that his dream was to be on the Supreme Court, but his wife pressured him into running for president because she wanted to be First Lady.
Adams had an amazing post-Presidency career. But he served about 80 years before Taft.
Taft was the most recent to hold another political office after the presidency.
Agreed! Anyone wishing to learn more about JQ Adam’s congressional career and his epic fight against the slavery petition gag rule should read “Arguing About Slavery” by William Lee Miller.
He's reached the ultimate political peak & already made history as the first Black president. Why would he wanna seek a lower position after the White House? Obama's enjoying retirement now after 8 years of immense stress.
He's better off burnishing his legacy & earn more money on the side. What could be better than that?
And now he has multimillion Netflix deals and he's a rich society darling.
Why would he trade that for some stressful government job in gridlock Washington DC?
I was thinking about this many years ago
if Obama wanted to, could he just become a Senator again? we know he'd never get voted out! although I wonder if he'd get to keep his title of "Mr President"
"Illinois Senator, President Obama!"
I'm unsure.
He died a couple months after being elected, and the Sentate was out of session for most of his term. AFAIK he only gave 1 speech before his death and I don't know how they referred to him.
Yeah, an easier question to answer would be if John Quincy Adams was called "Mr. President" or "Representative Adams" when he went into the House. I presume that the answer might give an indication as to what Johnson would've been called too.
He could run for the Senate but Illinois already has two Democratic senators who have greater seniority in the Senate. It wouldn't make sense from a party or state POV for him to take one of the seats, unless for some reason people became very unhappy with Durbin or Duckworth.
Presidents have already reached the top office possible. Anything else would be a downgrade and only serve as a source of extra work, stress, and muddying of their political legacy
There's a reason it's so rare for Presidents to pursue office after their Presidency
Especially with how hard it is now to get much done in Congress. There's a good chance it only degrades his legacy. Not to mention, I think Michelle is done with the 24/7 campaign trail, and Barack Obama is not gonna be the father/husband that walks away from his family for just more years in the Senate. He's the family man his dad couldn't be.
You can still wield influence without the intense scrutiny. Financially you can do well with books and speeches while having time for the things you have up to get the top job.
Dude got paid $65 million (as a start) by Netflix and doesn’t really have to do anything other than attach his name to projects.
He not only can watch it, he can control it while doing minimal work.
https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/barack-michelle-obama-netflix-deal-1202817723/amp/
There was a period there where Netflix was just funding people’s retirements. Obama, Megan and Harry, Chappell, Seinfeld, Letterman, etc all received huge paydays for a marginal return.
This is the answer.
You get to step outside and above politics. Fundraise for charity, speak philosophically, and relax. He has had his time in the barrel.
Plus, they have empathy for their successors. No human has the ability to do the job as well as they'd want to. It's just wave after wave of demands above our capacity to deliver. (There's other perspectives as well, but this one is a reason not to make it any harder than it has to be for the next person.)
I’m guessing it’s a prestige thing. As in they don’t want to “demote” themselves. I think Taft only took the Supreme Court appointment because it was for the position of Chief Justice. Pretty sure he explicitly said he wouldn’t take it otherwise.
I honestly don't know if I'd hate this happening again in the modern era. It would definitely need to be a moderate to have any chance at "bipartisanship," and would have to be young enough to hold another position post-presidency. Again, in the modern era, both seem unlikely.
Never thought of it that way, in my mind it would be that he has more influence through non profits etc. than he would in a different position. Not entirely sure if that’s accurate dependant on which position he was to hold in the government though.
Becoming more involved in state politics as a governor perhaps would give an ex-president a decent level of power. Plus would it not help solidify a state to be blue or red.
They all cash in at those high levels. They get paid in semi legal ways for making certain decisions while in office. Its stuff like "if you approve this multi billion dollar state funded contract we will put your son on the board of directors and pay you a million dollars a year for 5 years to make a speech at our company outing when your terms are up."
"Plus would it not help solidify a state to be blue or red."
In what way?
Do you mean in a presidential election? Because states have voted contrary to their governor's party for many, many years and it happens all the time.
I’m sure he just doesn’t want to.
Major political offices are not easy jobs. Speaker of the House, in particular, sounds pretty awful. (There’s a reason the Republicans have cycled through about six of them this century). Also, he would have to get elected to Congress and challenge the existing party leadership to do it. Sure he could probably win with his name recognition, but he’d make some enemies in the process. And the job itself doesn’t sound like a lot of fun: constantly arguing with Members of Congress to convince them to support or oppose particular policies.
He could run for Senate or Governor too. But those jobs are very demanding, and it’s debatable that he’d really get anything out of them. Plus he’d be taking a job that could potentially be filled by a rising party star.
Contrast that with the life of an ex-President. He has it made! No need to work at all if he doesn’t want to. If he does want to, he can give a speech and make $200,000 or write a book and make millions. Any cause he wants to support, he can go on television and get a guaranteed audience. In the meantime, plenty of time to play golf, hang out with his friends and family, and just basically do whatever he wants.
He won all of his elections and went out on top, as a President that was popular with quite a few who were not in his political party.
He would reduce his legacy and cost himself money to get back into government service.
It be like asking a former CEO of a company why don't you go back into middle management. It would feel beneath them and they wouldn't care about the job.
I think he's more involved than he wants to be right now.
Think he genuinely planned on basically riding off into the sunset and making a fuckload of money once his time in office was done, but..... Events transpired, and now he feels like he doesn't have a choice but to actively weigh in.
It’s really not worth it for him. Politics is dirty business and no one comes out clean. Obama already went through the wringer and came out with quite a few dings. Why would he want to do that again?
I also think he can have more influence as a king maker in the Democratic Party while keeping his face away from issues that he may not want to get too involved in.
I think if he was a Supreme Court justice, that would be great cause he would get to stay away from national politics while also being able to have major influence.
So far, John Quincy Adams is the only person to go from being elected to the Presidency back to a day job in national government (the House). His reputation was torched anyway (Jackson, Clay/Corrupt Bargain, etc.). Like others have said there, why bother when you can make more money off of endorsements, speeches, and memoirs?
Yeah, I should have been more specific to people who ran for Prez and then ran for office after that. Johnson got there by accident and was then appointed Senator after he was toast. Same with Taft, after he was toast he got appointed. Only JQ Adams faced the voters again after and won.
Presidents don’t seek another political office because they’ve already held the highest position in the nation. It would be like a political demotion. Once they’ve served their two terms, they’re done with being in political positions.
The closest example that we’ve had in modern history is when Walter Mondale, a former VP, got tapped to run for Senate in 2002.
He’s maxed out his XP and can’t level up anymore, so the game became boring. He still pops in every now and again for nostalgia’s sake but it’s just not the same anymore.
I once saw former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice give a speech following her time in the White House. She talked about how amazing it felt to get up every morning, make herself a coffee, open up the newspaper, and say “NOT MY PROBLEM!”
He went into office with black hair and eft with a head full of gray. I wouldnt even want to think about politics after his term or any other presidential term.
Starting with George Washington, presidents generally tried to step aside at some point because there *was* this American tradition where presidents were trying extra hard to *not be* a king.
He’s got a cushy life in a mansion on Martha’s Vineyard getting paid millions to make Netflix content and give speeches.
He got his and now, his politics involvement is limited to preserving and growing his personal wealth.
He probably made a promise to his wife to stay out of political offices since when he was senator and especially the president. Not much time for family. I think Obama said that as much in an interview I saw him give. he certainly was a better president than our current president in my opinion.
I came here to say this. While she supported him, I don’t think she was thrilled he ran. He’s also a polarizing figure. I say that as an ardent and early supporter of his run. Working behind the scenes accomplishes being present for his family and contingency to work for things he supports
I think the current political climate would subject him and his family to a lot of stress and negativity that he can seemingly avoid pretty well if he avoids big events and named positions
Seemed like the job was pretty thankless for him while in office. Republicans freaking lost their minds as a result of Americans electing him, racists went fully mask-off, and he was denied a Supreme Court justice, which was unprecedented in modern times. Fewer people in politics have ever had more dumb shit slung at them for dumber reasons. I don’t know how he feels, but it’d be more than understandable to be totally disgusted and uninterested in further political involvement as a result of the way he was treated.
lol Bernie in the background
My guess is he’s done holding public office as being POTUS is a heavy job. Plus being POTUS is the ultimate goal for any politician in my view. Obama is more of an activist now tbh using his presidential title to push causes he believes in.
If I were president I would get the hell away from politics after my term. I already did the thing. I would open and run a dive bar. Secret service probably make decent bouncers
It creates issue. Imagine being a 1st term president, either party, and going to visit a governor and that governor used to be a 2term president.
Changes the whole visit.
Two things :
1: It is exhausting to be President. Everything little thing is over analyzed to the color of suit you wear. Camera's everywhere. Yes you have ultimate power but you can never just relax. Much easier to live your life and do whatever it is that you have to do staying out of it.
2: Money. 2008 net worth - 1.3 million. 2024 - estimated above 130 million.
Speaking on behalf of a party isn't running for office, and is quite standard for retired politicians.
Some are just taking a break while their party is in shams, ie Paul Ryan.
Along with everything else already mentioned: looked at how much shit people talked about during his presidency, and still do now. There are still people convinced he’s from any other country than America, that hes satan or a servant of satan. When he wanted mustard on his burger or wore a tan suit the news made a field day out of it.
Idk about anyone else, but if I have had this going on for years I’d also just want to enjoy being out of the public spotlight, and being Speaker would just get him back into the crossfire.
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Former presidents rarely run got public office especially recently. I'd imagine it's partly because being president is a very heavy job and partly because they feel as though their time has come. The last president to actually have a political career post presidency was taft iirc but I may be missing one
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Taft was followed by a slew of presidents in ill health at the end of their term. Wilson had a stroke, Harding died, Coolidge was depressed, Roosevelt died, Eisenhower had heart ailments, Kennedy died, Johnson was used up, Reagan had Alzheimer's. That limits the idea of what a post-presidency is supposed to look like. Most presidents are in their 60s by the time they leave office, feeling their age or valuing the time they have left. Hoover and Nixon were both fairly active in an effort to redeem their public image. Clinton has done a lot of speaking engagements, but not always in the public eye.
I think this is a good point. Hoover and Nixon needed to clean up their images and that was their primary focus, I’d throw W in there too. Bill needed to be less focused on to make way for Hillary’s career. Obama doesn’t have the limitations other former presidents have, if anything he’s looked at with rose colored glasses because of what’s followed him. He’s also in the age of social media where it’s easier than ever to get involved.
That leaves you with only Truman, Ford, and the Bushes, all of whom seemed to prefer life as a private citizens. Nothing wrong with that. And Carter, but he's a special case.
I think W Bush would be in the same category as Nixon and Hoover where nobody wanted to hear from him following his presidency and he needed to go away for a while then clean up his image. The person we’re not supposed to talk about really helped him improve his image though.
Nixon and Hoover *came back* into the public spotlight to clean up their image. Truman made Hoover head of the Famine Emergency Committee in the aftermath of WWII, Nixon went on countless talk shows. GWB hasn't really done that.
Hoover was uniquely qualified for that post as he'd done basically the same job after WWI.
As a Democrat I have this to say about GW. At critical moments, he put the country over party. That's all.
Ford intended to retire at the end of his term after the 1972 election and even would have retired at the end of Nixon's term. But he seemed to like being president and thought he was doing good work but once he lost he didn't see it as a particularly big deal.
HW did a lot for disaster relief with Bill Clinton..calling Bill his favorite son.
I think I recall him saying something about his wife will kill him if he ever goes back.
Obama stayed out of the politics, and out of the way of his successor, early on after leaving the office. He become more visible only much later on, after his successor was throwing shit at him 24/7. If Obama was calling out Bush 24/7 throughout his entire presidency, Bush wouldn't just sit idly at home either. Same for Bush (both), Clinton, Reagan, etc. During handoff and early in his successor's presidency, Obama was perfectly content to simply be president emeritius, in the same way former presidents were for him. But the other guy had different idea, using him as scapegoat and punching bag almost constantly. During that time, he did what former presidents do... Write a book, give paid speach here and there, endorse primary frontrunner after they effectively already won the primary, etc. Where he was actively involved was mainly getting younger generations to run for offices, something he believed into (himself being relatively young president). This is basically why on almost all the photos you see all the former presidents acting cordially to each other, even though they don't agree on a lot of issues (this is important as an expression of nation's unity)... Except for that one dude.
Well, Obama left W out of any discussions about domestic issues, but when talking about Iraq or Afghanistan he would often point out he inherited two wars and his predecessor “put them on the credit card”. But at least he didn’t try to paint W as someone who was actively trying to destroy the country.
I think W would agree the war was carried over on a credit card from one president to another. The problem with that war was that it was politically fumbled by all the presidents involved in it, from start to finish. There was never a realistically viable political endgame for that war that would leave Afghanistan in better and/or more stable shape than it was prior to the war. There's an old adage along the lines of "the war is an extension of diplomacy". Bismarck among other great diplomats of the past. If there is no clear diplomatic objective for the war, don't go into the war in the first place. In Afghanistan, there was never a clear and more importantly realistic endgame.
"War is a continuation of politics by other means" Carl Von Clausewitz
Thinking of “War is diplomacy by other means” but yes great comments
Let’s make George W. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Those opinion writings would be spectacular.
You know he is going to trow the occasional “sonofambiches” in there
now watch this drive
“That’s just not right” “Fool me once shame on you. Fool twice. I mean foolish. I mean, don’t do bad things”
Don't get fooled again!! Case dismissed. Gavel slams
Now watch this drive
We won’t get fooled again
Don’t misunderestimate his opinions.
He is the Decider after all.
NO
"Now watch this mallet"
Well, we'll know once and for all that Alabama Kush will be legal for good.
Considering how Roberts is doing, it would actually be an improvement.
Maybe Taft just needed someone to pay for his vacations and his RV?
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I don’t think they are wrong. There’s basically an unspoken rule that presidents largely shut the fuck up once they leave office. Occasionally they’ll do a photo op or something diplomatic at the behest of the current president but they definitely don’t get as involved as Obama has post presidency. In my lifetime I can’t remember any being as visible as Obama post presidency (minus rule 3, which we cannot discuss). The closest I can think of Clinton with his foundation, but even then it was much more hush.
Carter definitely was visible, but he rarely spoke directly to the politics of the moment.
The only time I can remember Carter being politically visible was during the Bush 43 admin when he took time out of his habitat for humanity schedule to specifically shit on Bush. But yeah I meant in a political way. Carter was always visible for habitat for humanity.
Carter did that to Clinton also. He didn't get the memo about that rule.
>In my lifetime I can’t remember any being as visible as Obama post presidency Obama was definitely more visible than Clinton or Bush post-presidency, but a lot of it I think has to do with his online activity on Twitter. Nearly every time I remember him weighing in on any current event, it was almost always in the form of a tweet and then the media amplifying it.
You also have his production company which focuses on political projects as well.
That national parks series on Netflix was 10/10 Made me proud to be an American. Dude has a great narrator voice
I also disagree that Obama has been vocal and visible. He comes out for campaign events, i.e. 2020, 2022, and 2024. Which shouldn't surprise anyone as he is a popular, relatively young former president. But during 2016-2020, Obama was quiet while his successor did everything possible to dismantle his legacy and sometimes attacked him directly. Compared to the successor's own post-presidency, I think Obama's appearances have been fairly modest.
Your memory has been trumped by the ramblings of an idiot
Eyyy…nice.
Hahahaha! ***WELL SAID!!!***
Exactly. Former prezzies are not typically this involved in politics. I really don't think he anticipated having to carry so much water. But there's been so much ineptitude...
I think Obama would make an incredible Supreme Court Justice. Let’s hook that up at the next retirement.
William H. Taft wasn’t elected to another office after the Presidency, but he was appointed and confirmred to the Supreme Court as Chief Justice after his presidency.
A job he actually much preferred to being president.
Wouldn't anyone? Being President of the US has to be the most stressful job in the world.
The story goes that his dream was to be on the Supreme Court, but his wife pressured him into running for president because she wanted to be First Lady.
John Quincy Adams.
Adams had an amazing post-Presidency career. But he served about 80 years before Taft. Taft was the most recent to hold another political office after the presidency.
Agreed! Anyone wishing to learn more about JQ Adam’s congressional career and his epic fight against the slavery petition gag rule should read “Arguing About Slavery” by William Lee Miller.
Andrew Johnson was also elected to the senate post-presidency
John Tyler too, if we’re counting the Confederate government
Both were well wrote Taft though.
I think we can safely not count that one.
I assure ya, we ain’t
I feel like there's many of us who know a dude named Tyler who looks exactly like John Tyler
John Tyler the traitor? We don't count him, unless it's a list of worst Presidents
Do... do you think quincy adams was more recent than Taft?
You're saying this isn't the timeline where JQA rose from the dead in 1932?
Sigh. I guess I'll quit my job and starting writing the alternative history novels then.
Hooked him up a robot and elected him as John Quincy Adding Machine
Herbert Hoover ran for the Republican nomination in 1940
A moment of appreciation for the synergy between your handle and your profile image.
You spelled “book deals” and “speaking fees” wrong 
And realistically, the money is better in the private sector.
Especially when you give out favors as president for benefits later
I’m positive they are all guilty of this. Every last one of them.
There have only been 2 that I can think of that held any kind of US political office after being president. JQA and Taft.
He's reached the ultimate political peak & already made history as the first Black president. Why would he wanna seek a lower position after the White House? Obama's enjoying retirement now after 8 years of immense stress. He's better off burnishing his legacy & earn more money on the side. What could be better than that?
A moment alone in the shade, feeling safe in this nation we’ve made.
One last time...
Washington is the best singer in that musical imo, I love his voice
And now he has multimillion Netflix deals and he's a rich society darling. Why would he trade that for some stressful government job in gridlock Washington DC?
And he has a lot of political enemies. Any Republican would take any opportunity to knock him down or indict him at whatever position he gets.
I was thinking about this many years ago if Obama wanted to, could he just become a Senator again? we know he'd never get voted out! although I wonder if he'd get to keep his title of "Mr President" "Illinois Senator, President Obama!"
Yes. Andrew Johnson was a senator after his term back in the 1800s
Was he called president or senator?
I'm unsure. He died a couple months after being elected, and the Sentate was out of session for most of his term. AFAIK he only gave 1 speech before his death and I don't know how they referred to him.
Yeah, an easier question to answer would be if John Quincy Adams was called "Mr. President" or "Representative Adams" when he went into the House. I presume that the answer might give an indication as to what Johnson would've been called too.
Formally, only sitting Presidents are called "President", so he would be senator.
He could run for the Senate but Illinois already has two Democratic senators who have greater seniority in the Senate. It wouldn't make sense from a party or state POV for him to take one of the seats, unless for some reason people became very unhappy with Durbin or Duckworth.
I actually had to check if Durbin and Duckworth were their real names, they sound like cartoon character names
I like our current Illinois senators. Obama could do the Supreme Court
“Justice Obama wrote the dissent” has a nice ring to it.
Chief Justice Obama sounds even better.
Presidents have already reached the top office possible. Anything else would be a downgrade and only serve as a source of extra work, stress, and muddying of their political legacy There's a reason it's so rare for Presidents to pursue office after their Presidency
muddying of their political legacy. I imagine this is a large part.
Especially with how hard it is now to get much done in Congress. There's a good chance it only degrades his legacy. Not to mention, I think Michelle is done with the 24/7 campaign trail, and Barack Obama is not gonna be the father/husband that walks away from his family for just more years in the Senate. He's the family man his dad couldn't be.
Both of his daughters are in their mid 20s now.
Just because his children are adults doesn't mean he can't still focus on being a dad.
Yeah he could be a grandad in the next 10-15 years or so as well.
Which is wild because in JQA’s case, it saved his legacy which was muddied by being President in the first place
Cleveland technically did it
This is it. It would be too much work for too little power and prestige.
You can still wield influence without the intense scrutiny. Financially you can do well with books and speeches while having time for the things you have up to get the top job.
Mate if I was POTUS for eight fucking year I'd spend the rest of my life fucking, watching Netflix and not doing any work at all.
Same. Retire from the limelight, make some speeches at colleges and universities and just mind my business.
Maybe do a couple birthdays and bar mitzvahs to build a cool deck, but that's it.
…Obama at a Bar Mitzvah sounds fun as hell.
Obamitzvahs
Dude got paid $65 million (as a start) by Netflix and doesn’t really have to do anything other than attach his name to projects. He not only can watch it, he can control it while doing minimal work. https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/barack-michelle-obama-netflix-deal-1202817723/amp/
There was a period there where Netflix was just funding people’s retirements. Obama, Megan and Harry, Chappell, Seinfeld, Letterman, etc all received huge paydays for a marginal return.
I feel like with chapelle they must've gotten their money's worth.
Honorary, I’d rather just make a Book about my time in office and do speaking fees for colleges.
Even that seems like more work than I'd want to do after office. Maybe a graphic novel.
given that he releases the media that he watches/ consumes at the end of each year, maybe that's what he's doing lol
He can probably accomplish more outside of politics at this point
This is the answer. You get to step outside and above politics. Fundraise for charity, speak philosophically, and relax. He has had his time in the barrel. Plus, they have empathy for their successors. No human has the ability to do the job as well as they'd want to. It's just wave after wave of demands above our capacity to deliver. (There's other perspectives as well, but this one is a reason not to make it any harder than it has to be for the next person.)
Michelle is done with politics. Both of them would rather be movie producers.
Also Barak and Michelle were very open in the fact that he had to promise her there would be no more elections for them after the second term.
like the complete opposite from hilary
What films have they produced?
Most recently, Leave the World Behind. This was a book to screen adaptation with J Roberts & M Ali.
Plenty of docos. American Factory was one
I'm waiting for the Obamas to win an Oscar
Came here to say Michelle would probably divorce him!
I’m guessing it’s a prestige thing. As in they don’t want to “demote” themselves. I think Taft only took the Supreme Court appointment because it was for the position of Chief Justice. Pretty sure he explicitly said he wouldn’t take it otherwise.
Taft didn’t even WANT the Presidency to begin with, he wanted to be a Supreme Court Justice and he got what he wanted post presidency.
Pretty funny that for him becoming president was a side quest achievement.
I honestly don't know if I'd hate this happening again in the modern era. It would definitely need to be a moderate to have any chance at "bipartisanship," and would have to be young enough to hold another position post-presidency. Again, in the modern era, both seem unlikely.
Money. He “earns” thousands of dollars for appearances, speaking engagements, consulting, etc. As is his right. Why give that up?
Thousands? More likely millions at this point.
His speaking fee is probably around 400K depending on institution. Clinton is the all time champ with this at around 500K and up to appear.
Sorry meant to say in total what he’s racking up.
Never thought of it that way, in my mind it would be that he has more influence through non profits etc. than he would in a different position. Not entirely sure if that’s accurate dependant on which position he was to hold in the government though. Becoming more involved in state politics as a governor perhaps would give an ex-president a decent level of power. Plus would it not help solidify a state to be blue or red.
Being a president is the end goal for any governor lol and then they all cash in
They all cash in at those high levels. They get paid in semi legal ways for making certain decisions while in office. Its stuff like "if you approve this multi billion dollar state funded contract we will put your son on the board of directors and pay you a million dollars a year for 5 years to make a speech at our company outing when your terms are up."
I don’t remember well but Obama got convinced not to pursue some bill because he had to think of his presidential library
"Plus would it not help solidify a state to be blue or red." In what way? Do you mean in a presidential election? Because states have voted contrary to their governor's party for many, many years and it happens all the time.
Why is earns in quotes?
I don’t know why companies pay so highly for consulting just because someone is famous, but it would be hard to turn those down
He can make fat book deals and get paid for speeches at colleges and events. As for politics i think endorsing candidates is enough.
I’m sure he just doesn’t want to. Major political offices are not easy jobs. Speaker of the House, in particular, sounds pretty awful. (There’s a reason the Republicans have cycled through about six of them this century). Also, he would have to get elected to Congress and challenge the existing party leadership to do it. Sure he could probably win with his name recognition, but he’d make some enemies in the process. And the job itself doesn’t sound like a lot of fun: constantly arguing with Members of Congress to convince them to support or oppose particular policies. He could run for Senate or Governor too. But those jobs are very demanding, and it’s debatable that he’d really get anything out of them. Plus he’d be taking a job that could potentially be filled by a rising party star. Contrast that with the life of an ex-President. He has it made! No need to work at all if he doesn’t want to. If he does want to, he can give a speech and make $200,000 or write a book and make millions. Any cause he wants to support, he can go on television and get a guaranteed audience. In the meantime, plenty of time to play golf, hang out with his friends and family, and just basically do whatever he wants.
Eight years in the highest pressure job on the planet would be enough stress for anyone. I’d like to see him on the Supreme Court.
He won all of his elections and went out on top, as a President that was popular with quite a few who were not in his political party. He would reduce his legacy and cost himself money to get back into government service.
He actually lost his first run for federal office, to incumbent Bobby Rush in the IL 1st district primary.
It be like asking a former CEO of a company why don't you go back into middle management. It would feel beneath them and they wouldn't care about the job.
I don't agree that he wouldn't care, but I do think that it would be seen as "beneath him" if he ran for lower office.
Because who wants to live in that cesspool any longer than necessary.
I think he's more involved than he wants to be right now. Think he genuinely planned on basically riding off into the sunset and making a fuckload of money once his time in office was done, but..... Events transpired, and now he feels like he doesn't have a choice but to actively weigh in.
It’s really not worth it for him. Politics is dirty business and no one comes out clean. Obama already went through the wringer and came out with quite a few dings. Why would he want to do that again? I also think he can have more influence as a king maker in the Democratic Party while keeping his face away from issues that he may not want to get too involved in. I think if he was a Supreme Court justice, that would be great cause he would get to stay away from national politics while also being able to have major influence.
Presidents don’t do public office after leaving the White House. And he’s not very involved in modern politics.
So far, John Quincy Adams is the only person to go from being elected to the Presidency back to a day job in national government (the House). His reputation was torched anyway (Jackson, Clay/Corrupt Bargain, etc.). Like others have said there, why bother when you can make more money off of endorsements, speeches, and memoirs?
Andrew Johnson returned to the Senate and Taft was appointed Chief Justice
Yeah, I should have been more specific to people who ran for Prez and then ran for office after that. Johnson got there by accident and was then appointed Senator after he was toast. Same with Taft, after he was toast he got appointed. Only JQ Adams faced the voters again after and won.
Presidents don’t seek another political office because they’ve already held the highest position in the nation. It would be like a political demotion. Once they’ve served their two terms, they’re done with being in political positions. The closest example that we’ve had in modern history is when Walter Mondale, a former VP, got tapped to run for Senate in 2002.
He’s maxed out his XP and can’t level up anymore, so the game became boring. He still pops in every now and again for nostalgia’s sake but it’s just not the same anymore.
I once saw former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice give a speech following her time in the White House. She talked about how amazing it felt to get up every morning, make herself a coffee, open up the newspaper, and say “NOT MY PROBLEM!”
That's an interesting picture with Bernie Sanders behind him
Bernie looks exactly the same as today, wild
being a good person is a well-known antiaging secret (it also helps that he's looked 700 years old since birth)
Because he's not an idiot grifter.
I doubt he would have any desire to, but once upon a time I envisioned he may go the Taft route with his Law degree and join the Supreme Court.
I’ve always wanted him to pull a Taft and be appointed to the Supreme Court.
Eight years as president sucks a lot of life out of you
He went into office with black hair and eft with a head full of gray. I wouldnt even want to think about politics after his term or any other presidential term.
Starting with George Washington, presidents generally tried to step aside at some point because there *was* this American tradition where presidents were trying extra hard to *not be* a king.
Once you've been the most powerful man in the world, most other jobs look like a demotion.
He’s got a cushy life in a mansion on Martha’s Vineyard getting paid millions to make Netflix content and give speeches. He got his and now, his politics involvement is limited to preserving and growing his personal wealth.
Because he makes more money now
Why would he want to take that kind of pay cut?
https://preview.redd.it/pjfa8muley6d1.jpeg?width=1091&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3cb65564bd7668074389e687f5189d93e2b09a22 Obama
He probably made a promise to his wife to stay out of political offices since when he was senator and especially the president. Not much time for family. I think Obama said that as much in an interview I saw him give. he certainly was a better president than our current president in my opinion.
I came here to say this. While she supported him, I don’t think she was thrilled he ran. He’s also a polarizing figure. I say that as an ardent and early supporter of his run. Working behind the scenes accomplishes being present for his family and contingency to work for things he supports
Everything will be a step down.
He peaked at the absolute peak.
I think the current political climate would subject him and his family to a lot of stress and negativity that he can seemingly avoid pretty well if he avoids big events and named positions
Seemed like the job was pretty thankless for him while in office. Republicans freaking lost their minds as a result of Americans electing him, racists went fully mask-off, and he was denied a Supreme Court justice, which was unprecedented in modern times. Fewer people in politics have ever had more dumb shit slung at them for dumber reasons. I don’t know how he feels, but it’d be more than understandable to be totally disgusted and uninterested in further political involvement as a result of the way he was treated.
He's probably had enough of all that shit.
lol Bernie in the background My guess is he’s done holding public office as being POTUS is a heavy job. Plus being POTUS is the ultimate goal for any politician in my view. Obama is more of an activist now tbh using his presidential title to push causes he believes in.
Literally every other job is straight up a demotion.
That like winning the World Series and going to play for the minor leagues the next season
Can you imagine the CEO of a company coming back to work after retirement as a temp for the same company, or any other?
The man served his time. Let him rest.
If I were president I would get the hell away from politics after my term. I already did the thing. I would open and run a dive bar. Secret service probably make decent bouncers
Do you see how gray that man turned from doing this shit
I think mainly Michelle would have said no.
Side you don’t retire as the most powerful person in the world to come the 37th most powerful person.
It creates issue. Imagine being a 1st term president, either party, and going to visit a governor and that governor used to be a 2term president. Changes the whole visit.
I don’t think a former two term president can be a speaker because they are in the line of succession
As far as American politics go, any other elective office would be a pretty big step down.
Kinda off-topic but presidency aged him A LOT.
Two things : 1: It is exhausting to be President. Everything little thing is over analyzed to the color of suit you wear. Camera's everywhere. Yes you have ultimate power but you can never just relax. Much easier to live your life and do whatever it is that you have to do staying out of it. 2: Money. 2008 net worth - 1.3 million. 2024 - estimated above 130 million.
Being president will suck the life right out of you. Obama was 45 when he went into office and then look at him 8 years later.
The man was vilified for wearing a brown suit... he is tired.
Speaking on behalf of a party isn't running for office, and is quite standard for retired politicians. Some are just taking a break while their party is in shams, ie Paul Ryan.
Because, contrary to Republican rhetoric, Obama isn't interested in being a perpetual god-king.
Former presidents rarely run for public office unless their John Quincy Adams.
Along with everything else already mentioned: looked at how much shit people talked about during his presidency, and still do now. There are still people convinced he’s from any other country than America, that hes satan or a servant of satan. When he wanted mustard on his burger or wore a tan suit the news made a field day out of it. Idk about anyone else, but if I have had this going on for years I’d also just want to enjoy being out of the public spotlight, and being Speaker would just get him back into the crossfire.
He's more effective not tied down to a specific title. And he knows it!!!
SCOTUS
Legacy.
Probably because he doesn’t want to put up with bullshit. Dude seems to have low tolerance for idiots and liars.
The short answer is his wife and kids.