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Ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary, former President Barack Obama spoke about why he still holds hope for America's future, joining former presidents Joe Biden, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton in reflecting on the milestone. The four former presidents each spoke individually with TODAY journalist Jenna Bush Hager in an exclusive interview on Tuesday (April 21).
When speaking with Obama, Bush Hager asked whether he still felt hope for the nation, given that the message of ‘hope’ was one of the major cornerstones of his 2008 presidential campaign.
“The first time I was on the national stage and I talked about hope, I reminded people hope is not blind optimism,” Obama said. “And obviously we’re going through some uncertain times, but when you look at the sweep of American history, we’ve gone through rough patches. And we tend to come out on the other side of them stronger.”
Obama went on to say that he is “confident” that the nation can have another successful 250 years if we work together as citizens in a responsible democracy and seek to resolve our differences peacefully and legally.
“Remember what’s best in us. The basic principle upon which this country was founded, which is we don’t have rulers, we don’t have kings, or monarchs, or aristocracies. We have citizens,” Obama said.
In Bush Hager’s conversations with Clinton and Biden, both former presidents highlighted the strengths of democracy they believed would endure in the nation’s distant future.
“The country will survive as much by the process, by the freedom to speak, the freedom to vote, the freedom to be active in politics as by any particular issue,” Clinton said.
“We’re the most unique country in the world,” Biden said. “Most unique country in the world in the sense that we really do think democracy is dictated by the rule of the Constitution. And we do believe and we act, we do well, that all men are created equal.”
Finally, in Bush Hager’s conversation with Bush — her father — he focused on civic participation as a crucial element in preserving democracy, and called for all Americans to recognize how “fortunate” they are to be part of a nation that allows citizens to make a difference in their own lives and the lives of others.
“Study our history so you have a better sense for what the future will be like. And be a citizen, not a spectator,” he said. “See, one of the beauties of this country is that there are thousands and thousands of citizens who volunteer on a daily basis to help somebody in need. They’re often not heralded, but they make a huge difference, one person at a time.”
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