Obama: Ferguson Gives Me ‘Great Urgency’ To Address Race Issues

Sunday on  NPR’s “Morning Edition,” host Steve Inskeep asked President Barack Obama if being the first black president stopped him from addressing race issue.

Obama said if Ferguson had flared up in his first term, he would have commented but now as his time is wrapping up he has a “great urgency to get as much done as possible.”

Obama said, “I think it’s fair to say that if, in my first term, Ferguson had flared up, as president of the United States, I would have been commenting on what was happening in Ferguson. Here’s one thing I will say is that I feel a great urgency to get as much done as possible. And, there’s no doubt that after over six and a half years on this job, I probably have an easier time juggling a lot of different issues. And, it may be that my passions show a little bit more. Just because I have been around this track for now for a while.”