Barack Obama seemed different, but he's just another money-grubbing politician Sydney Morning Herald/AU, Apr 28, 2017, Anne Summers
Et tu, Barack? That was my reaction when I heard the news that former US President Barack Obama has agreed to a speaking gig on Wall Street for which he will be paid $US400,000 ($535,000).
Not bad coin in anyone's language. It's twice what Bill Clinton commanded when he went on the post-presidential speaking circuit. It's in addition to the $US200,000 annual pension, plus lifetime free healthcare Obama gets for having been President. It's on top of the $US65 million he and wife Michelle are reported to have negotiated for their book deal with Penguin Random House.
And it's not like he was hard up to start with. He reported an adjusted income of $US477,383 in 2015 and, just during the eight years he was in Washington, he earned $US15.6 million in royalties from his wonderful books Dreams From My Father, Audacity of Hope and Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters.
This man does not need the money.
But what he does need is for us to continue to believe in him, to learn from him and, above all, to continue to respect him. And more than ever, we need him. We need him to stand above the chaotic fray of Trumpian politics and help us see clearly what is in jeopardy, what must be preserved, how we can save our ideals and our polity.
This one seemingly greedy act has put all that in jeopardy.
He's no different from all the others. Just another money-grubbing politician.
I can scarcely believe it. I certainly don't want to.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/barack-obama-seemed-different-but-hes-just-another-moneygrubbing-politician-20170427-gvu4c4.html
