Obama's Last Press Conference

Washington (cnn)president barack obama wishes the united states to know this: he did the proper factor.

He can also harbor frustration or even anger that the state's polarization and the geopolitics of a risky international thwarted him in many approaches, but he won't spend his looming retirement stewing in regret.
In fact, the president made a case friday that his administration is a ancient fulfillment, no matter starting in a revolt of hopeful euphoria and ending, according to first girl michelle obama, with many individuals now living with out hope after the election of donald trump,
In his very last press conference of the year, the president justified his actions on problems ranging from the economic system to syria, and from the russia hacking scandal to the passage of obamacare -- a historical regulation now on borrowed time.
Obama may have a formal danger to say goodbye next month, but in a protracted -- and occasionally protecting -- look inside the white house briefing room, it became clean that at least in his personal thoughts his presidential legacy is already set.
"i am very pleased with the paintings i have accomplished. I suppose i am a higher president now than once I started," obama stated.
As he surveyed his  terms, obama did now not argue that he had usually been a success, however made a case that he had always had the pleasant of motives and that where he had failed it became regularly attributable to a loss of higher selections. He seemed purpose on setting his legacy -- with which he feels happy regardless of the surprise of an election result which traumatized democrats -- in what he sees as its right historical context.
Wherein obama confirmed dissatisfaction it become not with his personal file, but with the republicans who opposed him, the click who he believes overly reside in trivia and the coarsening of political tradition.
He brought best veiled complaint of trump, amid deepening tension among the president-choose and the white residence over the russia hacking scandal and his simplest real fury had been reserved for russian president vladimir putin.
And as the arena watches in helpless horror on the human carnage in aleppo, obama admitted he agonized over syria extra than another issue.
However he could not see anything he could have finished otherwise, no matter criticism that he need to have used military motion to oust president bashar al-assad or acted earlier and more forcefully to arm anti-authorities rebels.
"i always sense responsible," obama said. "there are locations around the world wherein terrible matters are happening and due to my workplace, because i'm president of the usa, i sense accountable. I ask myself every single day, 'is there some thing i ought to do that would save lives and make a difference and spare some infant who does not need to suffer?'"
But displaying the hard-headed realism that has infuriated critics, obama reasoned that handiest a large deployment by using an already exhausted american navy ought to have grew to become the tide. His simplest choice therefore become to apply international relations to stem the bloodletting.
"i can't claim that we had been successful. This is some thing that, as is true with loads of issues and problems round the sector, i must visit bed with each night time," obama stated. "but i maintain to consider that it turned into the right approach given what realistically we may want to get done."
Obama additionally rebuffed complaint that he had been gradual to respond to allegations of russian cybermeddling inside the presidential election.
"my primary challenge changed into making sure that the integrity of the election manner was no longer in any way damaged, at a time whilst whatever that changed into stated with the aid of me or everyone within the white residence might straight away be visible thru a partisan lens," obama defined.
He also said curtly that once he met putin in china in september he advised him to "cut it out" and pledged to hit russia in public and covert approaches before he leaves workplace on january 20.