It was for President Obama a day of thank you calls, farewells, wrapping up loose ends — and business as usual.
Obama began his last full day on the job Thursday the way he did some 2,920 times before — with the Daily Presidential Briefing.
It was held in the usual location, which is the Oval Office. And, as is typical, Vice President Joe Biden was in attendance, according to a schedule released by the White House.
The only other thing on Obama’s official agenda was a last lunch as president with Biden in the private dining room.
But while the rest of the First Family was bracing and preparing for the Friday departure from what’s been their home for the last eight years, Obama still had a country to run.
The White House released a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate underscoring that while his administration has transferred nearly 200 detainees from the facility at Guantanamo Bay, 41 remain.
He commuted the sentences of 330 prisoners.
President Obama’s final call with a foreign leader was with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, fitting, as they’ve spent the last eight years together as world leaders dealing with the financial crisis, the rise of ISIS and the new nationalist movement sweeping the world.
Obama called Merkel a “strong, courageous, and steady” leader and “acknowledged a “personal friendship” and that they’ve forged a “deeper partnership between Germany and the United States”.
In a break from usual protocol, First Lady Michelle Obama joined the call as did Merkel’s husband, Professor Joachim Sauer.
“We know he will be spending a lot of time reviewing clemency cases and signing clemency documents,” Terry Sullivan of the White House Transition Project told NBC News. “Then there will probably be some administrative things he has to do.”
The average work day of a U.S. President is 14 hours a day, seven days a week, Sullivan said. And up to a quarter of that day is spent “taking care of presidential clerkships.”
“That means signing a lot of documents,” Sullivan said. “It’s a vast government. There are lots of things that a president has to review and sign off on.”
What else will Obama be doing?
“My guess is he will spend a fair amount of time calling important people in his administration and thanking them for their service,” Sullivan said. “He’ll probably be calling some members of the Senate to encourage them and to tell them they can count on him to continue fighting for things important to his legacy. That’s part of what a leader does.”
White House aides told NBC News that Obama has also been calling some key foreign leaders.
One thing Obama is not likely to be doing is doing any serious packing, Sullivan said.
“He’s not boxing stuff up,” he said. “He’s still the leader of the free world.”
The contents of the Oval Office will be packed up by workers from the National Archives. Movers will handle the rest while Obama is handing over the reins to Trump at the inauguration on Friday.
But in recent days, Obama has personally packed up some personal items that will travel with him to his new digs some two miles away in Washington, D.C., aides say.
Already the White House feels emptier. Many staffers are gone and most of the photos of Obama, his family and staff that lined the West Wing walls have been taken down as workers prepare for the arrival of Donald Trump.
The First Family will say thanks and farewell to the White House staff at 8:30 a.m. on Friday. Two hours later, they will depart via the North Portico and head by limousine to the Capitol.
“It’s a nostalgic day,” said Patrick Maney, a presidential historian at Boston College. “The only thing that upsets this routine is friction between incoming and outgoing presidents.”
For example, Franklin Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover barely spoke to each other. Things were also tense between Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower. And George H.W. Bush was miffed when the Clintons showed up late for the traditional pre-Inaugural coffee, Maney said.
Obama, however, has gone to great lengths to smooth the transfer of power to Trump, a man who until recently publicly questioned whether the president was even an American.
“What happens tomorrow will be very interesting, ” Sullivan said.
Courtesy: NBC NEWS
His Presidency was historical, we will surely miss him!
Obama pushed America towards a more perfect union. Reformed health care, legislated against predatory lending, reformed the student loans scheme, etc etc- he was one of America’s best Presidents
Obama did nothing fundamental for the plight of the black man in America or increased opportunities in the inner cities- His ungodly romance with transgender, gays and lesbians was unseating to anyone who had Christian beliefs. Many believed that Obama was a closet Muslim or had deserted his Christian faith- for me it is good riddance to the messy Obama presidency..
Such rubbish arguments as that of Bala Usman-above cannot take away from the grace and dignity that Barak & Michelle Obama brought to the white house. Let us see what the groper in chief & the ex porn star will do the desecrate the place!!
Any rational person should thank Obama for saving the American and the world economy from the collapse inflicted on it by Bush. If Obama did not step in in 2009 to revive the American economy, we would have been in for a long winter. And do not forget the over 21 million people that have health care because of Obamacare
Obama care with rising premiums and barely any reasonable coverage is a mess- #amallforarepeal
Good job Obama- may God guide you as you continue to work for we the people, post your presidency
Obama founded ISIS and was an Islamic mole! He was the 1st American President that did not veto a UN sanction against Isreal.
I do not like the fact that Obama choose to ignore Nigeria or even visit the country in the eight years he was President. That was not right, Nigeria is the most important country in Africa. Even if he had issues with Nigerian leaders, what did he do to help the Nigerian people?
Obama was a president with excellence, very eloquent and “vision gifted”. Americans will miss him. The whole world will miss him. Farewell Great man.
Obama did a good job . Americans will miss him