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The most valuable lesson I learned about speechwriting from my former boss, first lady Michelle Obama, is this: Say something true.

The first, most foundational question any speaker should ask is not, What will make me sound smart, or witty, or powerful? or What does the audience want to hear?

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It is: What is the deepest, most important truth I can tell at this particular moment? From her frank comments on race and gender over the years, to her remarks on the campaign trail last fall, every speech Michelle Obama gave was her answer to that questionand audiences appreciated it. Amid the bland, calculated language that has become the dialect of modern politics (We need to support hardworking middle-class American family values!), genuine words stand out and have a special kind of power to move and inspire.

During this past election, however, other national leaders took a very different approach. The pacifist priest, Father Daniel Berrigan, once described it well when he spoke of the danger of verbalizing my moral impulses out of existence. Its that moment when we try to drown out an inconvenient truth with a flood of words: explanations, rationalizations, justificationsanything to assuage our addled conscience and quiet that inner moral voice telling us things we do not wish to hear.

Members of Donald Trumps party saw that he lied with impunity, lashed out at the smallest provocation and took pleasure in demeaning and humiliating others. They acknowledged that certain statements he made were racist and misogynistic. And they clearly suspected that he was dangerously unfit for the presidency. Yet rather than voicing what they felt in their gut to be true about him, they chose to verbalize it away, helping legitimize his candidacy for the most powerful job on Earth.

Examples included: I need to support my partys nominee. We cant let Hillary Clinton win. Ill vote for him, but I wont endorse or defend him. I wont un-endorse him, but I wont campaign for him.

Perhaps they thought he could not win. Perhaps they thought he could not do that much damage if he did. Both of these assumptions have now been proven wrong. Yet, many of these individuals still seem to be talking themselves out of telling the truth about who Trump is and how he behaves.

Just consider their responseor lack thereofto his travel ban. Many Republican politicians surely realized the shocking cruelty of closing our doors to Syrian families whove been vetted for up to two years and who are fleeing a bloodbath. They must have been troubled by the stunning incompetence with which this executive order was drafted and executed. And they almost certainly heard the warnings from experts that it presents a serious threat to our national security. Yet, only a small minority of Republicans in Congress have dared to speak out against it.

Save for a few notable exceptions, Trumps bizarre and disturbing comments defending Russian President Vladimir Putin on Fox News received a similarly tepid response. Ditto for his false claim that 3 million to 5 million undocumented immigrants voted for Clinton. Ditto for his glaring financial conflicts of interest. Ditto for his attacks on our judiciary. The list goes on and on.

We cannot know for sure what is going through the minds of those who have been silent or have responded meekly to such appalling words and actions from the president who is now the standard-bearer for their party. Some might agree with him, but for those who dont, we can guess it may be something like this: A number of my constituents like Trump, so I better keep my mouth shut. I dont want to anger the president because he could make my life difficult. Hardly anyone else in the party is sticking their neck out about any of this, so that must mean its OK to stay quiet. This is just the price we have to pay to move our agenda forward.

Such words are cyanide for moral courage. They are the enemy of integrity, compassion and common sense. When we say never again this is precisely what we meanthat we must never again talk over or talk away the truths we need to speak to, and about, those who misuse power.

During her time as first lady, whether reacting to videotaped boasts about sexual assaultIt is cruel. Its frightening. And the truth is, it hurtsor urging us to go high when they go low, Michelle Obama showed us what it means to speak such truths. She verbalized her moral impulsesperiod.

To be sure, our former first lady is neither a Republican nor a politician. It may be far more costly for Republicans to do as she did with respect to a president from their own party, particularly one known to take revenge on those who oppose him. But Trumps vision for our nation is such a radical departure from what many of them have claimed to stand for, and his character and temperament so obviously unsuited to the presidency, that political expediency and party loyalty are shamefuland dangerousexcuses for staying silent.

Those who have the courage to resist Trump may be rewarded by constituents who appreciate their honesty. Or they may be primaried by his supporters and lose their seats. Given that history is generally not kind to those who ignore the dictates of their consciences at times like this, either outcome would likely be better than their current acquiescence.

A small number of clear-eyed folks like Senator Ben Sasse seem to understand this and have spoken the truth about Trump forcefully and consistently from the very beginning. Its time for all decent Republican leaders to do the same.

Sarah Hurwitz is a fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University. She served as the chief speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama from 2010-2017.

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What Would Michelle Obama Do? - Politico

Nothing says Happy Birthday, Barack Obama like a threatened government shutdown.

That's what a pair of South Side Democrats are up to with their proposal to make the 44th president's birthday a paid state holiday.

Reps. Andre Thapedi and Sonya Harper have introduced identical bills in the Illinois House that would celebrate Obama's birthday Aug. 4 by closing state offices for the day. Banks also could opt to close.

The intent is to honor the nation's first African-American president, who catapulted from the Illinois General Assembly to the U.S. Senate to the White House, scoring a Nobel Peace Prize along the way. Yes, Obama has made Illinois proud. Yes, he is worthy of public tribute. We're sure there will be many.

But why is the default gesture in Springfield yet another paid day off for state employees? Why should we salute Obama's service by closing the courts, the driver's license bureaus and other agencies? Why should taxpayers be tapped for millions of dollars in lost productivity?

Obama's birthday would be the state's 13th paid holiday. Quick, can you name the other 12? Do your plans for Lincoln's birthday that's observed Monday have anything to do with Lincoln? Do you plan to celebrate Presidents Day (Feb. 20) by shopping for a new car or mattress? What would you consider an appropriate way to spend a holiday dedicated to Barack Obama? Going to a White Sox game does not count.

To put things in perspective: The Illinois Chamber of Commerce surveys businesses every year about the holidays they provide their employees. This year, employers are granting an average of 8.1 paid holidays plus 2.9 paid personal days, for a total of 11. That's down from a combined 11.7 days the previous two years.

Many states sync their holiday calendars with the federal government, which has 10 paid holidays. Others are more generous: Hawaii observes Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Day, King Kamehameha I Day, and Statehood Day among a total of 14. Texas workers get 17 paid holidays, including Confederate Heroes Day, LBJ's birthday, San Jacinto Day and Texas Independence Day.

Some states keep the calendar uncluttered by doubling up on holidays. Alabama celebrates Martin Luther King and Robert E. Lee on the same day (Jan. 16 this year). George Washington and Thomas Jefferson share Feb. 20, but Jefferson Davis gets his own holiday (June 5) and Confederate Memorial Day is April 24. Lincoln isn't mentioned. Virginia honors Lee and Stonewall Jackson in January, but Washington is the only one of eight Virginia-born presidents to merit a state holiday.

Some states are so flexible with holidays that the original intent is all but lost. This year, Indiana will observe Lincoln's birthday on Nov. 24, better known as Black Friday. Georgia will honor Washington on the day after Christmas.

Over in the Illinois Senate, there's a compromise bill that would add Aug. 4 to the list of commemorative dates officially celebrated by the state. "Barack Obama Day" would honor the legislator-turned-senator-turned-president who "dedicated his life to protecting the rights of Americans and building bridges across communities."

No, it wouldn't be a holiday. But there are other, better ways to honor Obama: Register to vote. Fly the flag. Write your congressman. Make a contribution to a charity of your choice. Bake a cake, sing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" and talk to your kids about what they can do to lift up their community. An excellent way to do that would be to (gulp) volunteer your services. The opposite of a day off with pay.

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Boardand onFacebook.

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Better ways to honor Obama than adding another state holiday - Chicago Tribune

After a long period of withdrawal from the public eye, Organizing for Action, the political group that grew out of Barack Obama's first presidential campaign, is ramping back up for the Trump era with a focus on defending the Affordable Care Act and training grassroots organizers, officials tell NBC News.

Had Hillary Clinton won the presidency, OFA was likely headed for a wind-down. But with Trump in the White House, the relaunched OFA will claim a spot in the increasingly crowded marketplace of groups looking to fight the new president's agenda.

OFA has hired 14 field organizers in states home to key senators as part of its campaign to defend Obama's signature healthcare law. To run that campaign, the group hired Saumya Narechania -- the former national field director at Enroll America, which worked to sign people up for Obamacare -- and a deputy campaign manager.

Jennifer Warner is returning to the group as national organizing director after running Democrats' coordinated campaign in Ohio last year. And former Clinton campaign spokesperson Jesse Lehrich has joined OFA as its communication director.

The rest of the group's leadership is largely remaining intact, with former Obama 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina and former White House aide Jon Carson as co-chairmen, Katie Hogan as executive director, Jack Shapiro as director of policy and campaigns and Aaron Buchner promoted to chief of staff.

What role Obama himself will play remains unclear.

OFA is looking to expand into other issue areas as well, like climate change and gun control, and is exploring the possibility of launching a program to recruit and train people to run for office. But it is unlikely to get directly involved in electoral campaigns, according to OFA.

For now, it's focused on planning events ahead of the congressional recess later this month, when members of Congress will hold events in their district. Organizers are hoping to produce more moments like the one at Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz' town hall Thursday night when he was confronted by angry constituents.

OFA has gone through several iterations since it first launched in 2009, all of which faced criticism from Democrats who felt it detracted from other party efforts while accomplishing little.

Those concerns have become more public after an election loss in which many Democrats feel their forces were too fractured and poorly coordinated, and that Obama neglected his duties to maintain and build party infrastructure.

"OFA should fold into the [Democratic National Committee]. Having two organizations is redundant, and dilutes and confuses the mission. Given the urgency of the moment, we need laser-like focus, with clear lanes and cohesion, not duplication," former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm told Politico this week before the new contours of the group were announced.

Defenders say OFA has learned from its experiences and that its activities will not directly compete with other organizations, even though it will continue to raise money from both large and small donors that fund other progressive and Democratic organizations as well.

Instead, OFA says it can fill a niche that will benefit the progressive movement as a whole by nurturing a broad base of grassroots organizers and working with other groups to mobilize voters on specific issues.

"There are important progressive organizations that mobilize supporters around key issues of the day and OFA has great partnerships with many of them," Lehrich said in an email. "OFA fills a unique role by investing in organizing to build a lasting and successful progressive movement. We're bringing in thousands of new people who have never been engaged before, connecting them to a nationwide grassroots network, providing them with cost-free training, and empowering them to apply those skills to make change in their communities."

It's a humbler vision for a group that once, paradoxically, tried to raise a grassroots army it could command at will to push Obama's agenda through Congress.

The narrower focus has, for instance, led OFA to stay out of confirmation battles over Trump's cabinet nominees and the dozen other fights liberal groups are engaged in at any given moment.

OFA says more than 1,800 people have applied to its Spring Community Engagement Fellowship, a six-week training program, two-thirds of whom have not previously been involved with OFA.

And the group has teamed up with Indivisible, a buzzy newcomer to the progressive movement, to offer organizing training that began Thursday night with a video conference. A combined 25,000 people have registered to participate in those trainings, OFA said.

To defend Obamacare, the group says it has planned 400 health care-focused events in 42 states this year with partners that include mainline liberal groups, like the Center for American Progress and Planned Parenthood, as well those from the progressive wing, like MoveOn.org.

OFA says 20,000 people have used their tool to call senators' offices to urge them not to repeal Obamacare and says one million supporters have already taken action with OFA.

The goal is to further hinder the already stalling momentum around repeal the Affordable Care Act.

For instance, OFA helped get Obamacare supporters to flood townhalls for Florida Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis, Illinois GOP Rep. Peter Roskam, and California Rep. Tom McClintock, which lead to national news coverage about anti-repeal backlash.

Obama himself has no legal affiliation with the non-profit organization that for years housed the valuable email list, which it only turned over to the DNC in 2015.

But Obama brand is still strong among Democratic donors and rank-and-file voters alike, and OFA is a natural home for any political activity Obama may wish to take. That affiliation -- it's one of only two groups listed on his post-presidential website -- guarantees OFA toehold in the progressive movement, no matter what criticism it may face.

An Obama spokesperson did not respond to a request for clarification about how the former president plans to engage with the group.

Read more:
Obama-Aligned Organizing for Action Relaunches for Trump Era - NBCNews.com

Barry O'Bomber is back and taking NBA superstars to the cup.

A German gaming personality has put out an NBA 2K video with former president Barack Obama starring as a digital player. Dressed in a No. 44 Charlotte Hornets uniform, Obama drives to the basket, dabs and dunks on players like Carmelo Anthony.

"Hello, fellow ballers," the Obama video game doppleganger says in Nyke Faller's video, "most of you know me as the President of the United States of America. But I am no longer. And for that reason it is time for me to pursue my true passion: basketball."

Though Obama's playing for the Hornets, there are some hometown Chicago touches in the video. A poster in the background of one early scene features the Bulls head logo with the words "Windy City" underneath, and Obama's wearing a pair of Air Jordan 1's.

The "Chicago" colorway, of course.

plthompson@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @_phil_thompson

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Video game turns Barack Obama into the Baller in Chief - Chicago Tribune

Former President Barack Obama wasnt kidding when he said he and wife Michelle Obama would get back to work soon after their post-White House vacation in the British Virgin Islands.

Less than one month after leaving office, the Obamas have signed Washington, D.C., attorneys Robert Barnett and Deneen Howell to manage contract negotiations with potential publishers for the former president and Mrs. Obamas respective books, Kevin Lewis, a spokesman for the former president, says in a statement to PEOPLE.

With an eye on the equally lucrative speakers circuit, the Obamas also announced on Friday that they have selected the Harry Walker Agency to coordinate speaking engagements. The heavyweight agency also manages Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, Al Gore and Barbara Walters.

There are not yet any dates set for the speaking opportunities or the book releases, says a source close to the Obamas. As another person involved in the process put it, We are just launching on the adventure.

These two new ventures come on top of the work the former First Couple are expected to pursue at the Obama Foundation. As the former president put it at the end of last year: With respect to my priorities when I leave, it is to build that next generation of leadership; organizers, journalists, politicians. I see them in America, I see them around the world, 20-year-olds, 30-year-olds who are just full of talent, full of idealism. And the question is how do we link them up? How do we give them the tools for them to bring about progressive change? And I want to use my presidential center as a mechanism for developing that next generation of talent.

In Barnett the Obamas are getting a super-lawyer with a long record of landing big book deals for the biggest authors, especially in politics. Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, former first ladies Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy are just a few of the names in Barnetts portfolio.

Both of the Obamas books are expected to be very successful.While this will be Mrs. Obamas first time writing a memoir, former President Obama already has two bestselling books under his belt: 1995sDreams from My Father and2006sThe Audacity of Hope.

The news comes just one week after the Obamasreturned home from vacation to settle in to their new rental mansionin Washington, D.C. They had spent 10 days atVirgin Group founderSir Richard Bransons private island retreat, where Obama reveled in kitesurfing and beach time.

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Barack and Michelle Obama Take First Steps Toward Next Chapter: Memoirs and Speeches - PEOPLE.com