Former President Barack Obama was named the 2017 winner of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award on Thursday for carrying on his fellow Democrat’s legacy.
“President Kennedy called on a new generation of Americans to give their talents to the service of the country,” Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy, said in a statement. “With exceptional dignity and courage, President Obama has carried that torch into our own time, providing young people of all backgrounds with an example they can emulate in their own lives.”
Caroline Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg, will present Obama with the award May 7 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.
“Humbled to be recognized by a family with a legacy of service,” Obama said in his official Twitter account.
The award is presented annually by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation to public servants who have made courageous decisions of conscience without regard for the personal or professional consequences. It is named for Kennedy’s 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “Profiles in Courage.” The book tells the stories of eight U.S. senators who risked their careers by taking principled stands for unpopular positions.
“Faced with unrelenting political opposition, President Obama has embodied the definition of courage that my grandfather cites in the opening lines of ‘Profiles in Courage’: grace under pressure,” Schlossberg said. “Throughout his two terms in office, he represented all Americans with decency, integrity, and an unshakeable commitment to the greater good.”
Obama is being recognized for “his enduring commitment to democratic ideals and elevating the standard of political courage in a new century,” the foundation said, citing the expansion of health care options for millions, restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba and leadership on an international climate change agreement.
The award has been given out annually since 1989. Last year’s winner was Democratic Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Obama is the third former U.S. president to earn the award, joining Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush. Other winners include U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., former Ukraine President Victor Yushchenko and former U.S. Rep. Carl Elliott Sr., D-Ala.
(AP)
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6 Responses
What a heap. Of sheer. by Kennedy’s grandson! Obama eight years were full of false promises with more rhetoric with fancy speeches and promises with very little to show for it , if any. This is an honor to one of theis own – a liberal left wing politician! There is an ongoing dispute as to who was the worst president to lead this binational since WWII – Cartwr or Obama!!!!
Can you not post a picture of this monster the masquerade is over!!!!
Talk about arrogance. They deserve each other.
I would agree that the decisions Mr. Obama made were courageous, as most of them were opposed by a large percentage of sensible Americans.
But I cannot agree that they were made for “the greater good” unless “greater” means the greater Muslim world. They were certainly not made for the good of the American people as a whole.
Actually, I’m not sure how courageous they were either, given that many details of key decisions he made were withheld from the American people until they were voted on and agreed to. Only then did the sordid details begin to be revealed.
So, in the end, they were neither courageous nor for the greater good.
A legacy as a community organizer doing the deed of Satan himself.
And after Barry got a Nobel, does any of it matter?
I think Im going to throw up!