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I hope people tune into the grand openin because it's going to be a celebration not just of the center opening but of this community and the work of so many public servants, many of whom will be there to help make this country better. Hopefully, it will be a reminder for people of what's possible when we come together and are able to get past some of our divisions and work for a common purpose. That was former President Barack Obama sharing HIS HOPES FOR THE OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER. THE DEDICATION AND GRAND OPENING CEREMONY FOR CHICAGO'S NEWEST LANDMARK TAKES PLACE LATER THIS MORNING, KICKING OFF A FULL WEEKEND OF CELEBRATIONS AND FESTIVITIES OVER THE JUNETE HOLIDAY.
FORMER PRESIDENTS BIDEN, BUSH AND CLINTON ARE ALL EXPECTED TO ATTEND. THERE ARE ALSO GOING TO BE SEVERAL HIGH-PROFILE IT'S A LOT OF HOME MUSICIANS INCLUDING BRUCE SPRINGSTEIN, CHRISTINA AGUILERA AND STEVE WONDER. THE 19th ACRE CAMPUS WE'LL ALSO BE HOME TO A PUBLIC LIBRARY, A PLAYGROUND, A CAFE AND A RESTAURANT, COMMUNITY SPACES AND OF COURSE, A MUSEUM. LET'S BRING IN RIGHT NOW THE CEO OF THE OBAMA FOUNDATION, VALERIE JARRETT. VALERIE, CONGRATULATIONS. I KNOW THIS IS A DAY YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO FOR A VERY LONG THEM AT THE SAME TIME.
YOU GOT THAT RIGHT, JOE. WELCOME TO THE OPENING OF THE OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER. YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR THE ROOT SPAN REHEARSING IN A THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. I'M GOING TO WELCOME PEOPLE WHETHER THEY CAME FROM ACROSS THE STREET OR AROUND THE WORLD TO OUR CELEBRATION TODAY. IT'S GREAT. VALERIE, BEFORE WE GET INTO THE REMARKABLE, CENTER THAT YOU'VE HELPED OVERSEE THE DEVELOPMENT, THE BUILDING OF AND ALSO THE REMARKABLE FESTIVITIES THAT ARE GOING TO GO ON TODAY.
JUST A JOYFUL CELEBRATION. REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTS WE CAN'T SHY AWAY FROM WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW. DONALD TRUMP, WE PLAYED A CLIP OF THE CURRENT PRESIDENT ATTACKING BARACK OBAMA'S OBAMA DEAL, IRAN DEAL WHICH OF COURSE THE COUNTRY WAS FAR MORE STINGY THAN WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE MOU RIGHT NOW, FAR MORE I'M JUST CURIOUS YOUR THOUGHTS AS YOU SEE ALL OF THIS PLAY OUT. AND ALSO, JUST THE DREADFUL SPECTACLE THAT TOOK PLACE ON THE WHITE HOUSE LAWN WHERE THE FIRST LADY WAS VICIOUSLY ATTACKED AND REPUBLICANS DIDN'T COME OUT AND ATTACK THE PRESIDENT OR THE EVENT IS THE WAY I THINK MOST AMERICANS WOULD HAVE IN THE PAST.
WELL, JOE, I THINK THAT'S PART OF WHY THIS CAMPUS IS SO SPECIAL, IS THAT THIS IS A PLACE OF HOPE. IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO REMIND PEOPLE, NOT JUST OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S WE TALK ABOUT HIS LEGACY DURING HIS TIME IN OFFICE, WHICH WE DO, BUT ALSO WE BEGIN WITH THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. WE TALK ABOUT THE ZIG-ZAGS OF THE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY THAT BRINGS US TO THE CURRENT DAY. AND WHAT'S CLEAR IS THAT OUR UNION IS NOT YET PERFECTED, BUT WE ALL HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE GLORIOUS TASK OF CONTINUING TO IMPROVE THAT'S WHAT'S WRITTEN UP ON THE SIDE OF OUR MUSEUM BUILDING. THAT'S WHAT'S IN OUR HEARTS.
RATHER THAN FOCUSING ON WHAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT TODAY, WE ARE TRYING TO PREPARE THE CHANGE MAKERS FOR TOMORROW. PEOPLE WITH GOOD VALUES THINGS THAT ARE ABOUT RESPECT AND COMPASSION AND EMPATHY AND GOODNESS OF SPIRIT, WHICH I BELIEVE, WE BELIEVE, IS STILL DEEP IN THE HEARTS OF MOST AMERICANS. AND THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO BRING OUT AND THAT'S WHAT I'VE SEEN FROM THE FOLKS WHO COME IN AND TOURED OUR CENTER DURING OUR PRE-OPENING, PEOPLE TREAT EACH OTHER WITH RESPECT. THEY APPRECIATE THE ZIGZAGS OF HISTORY, AND I THINK THEY LEAVE A LITTLE MORE HEARTENED THAT THEY CAN IMPROVE OUR COUNTRY.
WE ALL HAVE THAT'S WHERE OUR FOCUS IS. AND HERE COME THE ROOTS. OH, YEAH, I HEAR THEM. VALERIE, I'VE BEEN FOLLOWING THIS VISION BEING CARRIED OUT. IT'S JUST INCREDIBLE. AND WHAT IT OFFERS TO the community, the library, the connection with the Chicago Public Library. There's a playground, a sledding hill, the museum, community spaces, a lot of interaction with the Chicago I'M CURIOUS, FIRST OF ALL, ANY THEMES OF THE OPENING DAY THAT YOU'D LIKE TO TOUCH ON AND IF YOU COULD TALK ABOUT WHAT THE VISION WAS FOR THIS AND IF IT HAS BEEN IT'S NOT A LITTLE BIT OF THE CAMPUS AND COMPLETED.
YES, I'M SO GLAD YOU DESCRIBED THE CAMPUS BECAUSE ON A PERSONAL NOTE, I GREW I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A MAJOR INVESTMENT IN THE I USED TO RIDE MY BIKE THROUGH THIS VERY PARK AS A CHILD AND I OFTEN SAW THE DISINVESTMENT ON THE SOUTH SIDE COMPARED TO THE NORTH SIDE SO THE FACT THAT the Obama's chose this location to make a major investment in the city that I love. And the themes are all about, won't surprise you, hope. It's about ordinary people who are working TOGETHER AND BELIEVE IN THIS COUNTRY AND LOVE THIS COUNTRY. DON'T ALWAYS AGREE ON EVERY SINGLE ISSUE BUT CAN WORK TOGETHER TO DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS.
OUR COUNTRY IS FULL OF THAT RICH HISTORY AND WE WANT TO TELL THAT HISTORY, TO REMIND PEOPLE NOT JUST OF WHAT THE OBAMA'S ACCOMPLISHED, BUT ALL OF THE PEOPLE UPON WHOSE SHOULDERS THEY STAND, ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO THEY WORKED WITH VERY HARD DURING THOSE EIGHT YEARS TO TRY TO IMPROVE OUR I THINK IT IS A LOT OF HARD WORK LEFT TO DO. VALERIE, AS YOU KNOW, WE LIVE IN A COUNTRY THAT HAS BEEN SERIOUSLY DIVIDED IN THE RECENT PAST. COULD YOU SPEAK A little about the concept, the reality of three former presidents arriving today in Chicago to celebrate Barack Obama's library.
One of the presidents is a Republican, George W. Bush, and the theme of cohesion among people who once fought each other politically showing up for this event. Could you talk about that just a bit? I'm so glad you mentioned that because as I have said many times President Bush was so cooperative with our administration coming in during the transition. I had the privilege of co-chairing President Obama's transition and so I saw how willing his team was to brief us on every single issue even if we disagreed with them they wanted us to start and hit the ground running. And in the Oval Office we have a complete
replica of the Oval Office inside of the museum. IT WAS ALL ABOUT, I WISH YOU WELL, I'M ROOTING FOR YOU. I KNOW YOU LOVE OUR COUNTRY. YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A LOT OF FOLKS THAT ARE PUSHING AND PULLING IN ALL DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, BUT JUST KNOW I'M ROOTING FOR YOU. SO WE'RE SO HONORED THAT PRESIDENT AND LAURA BUSH WOULD COME TODAY TO JOIN US IN THIS CELEBRATION. AND I WILL SAY THROUGHOUT THE ADMINISTRATION, ANY TIME WE CALLED PRESIDENT BUSH, WHETHER IT WAS TO HELP WITH THE HAITI RELIEF FUND OR ANY ISSUE, HE WAS RIGHT THERE BEING SUPPORTIVE BECAUSE HE LOVES THIS COUNTRY.
THERE YOU GO. THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT. CEO OF THE OBAMA FOUNDATION, VALERIE JARENT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING ON THE SHOW. WE CAN'T WAIT TO GET THERE. AND I WANT TO TOUR WITH YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING ON THIS MORNING. AND TODAY AT 11 O'CLOCK EASTERN MS NOW WILL BE LIVE FROM CHICAGO FOR THE GRAND OPENING OF THE OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER. AND TOMORROW NIGHT, MICHELLE NORRIS HOSTS A SPECIAL BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK INSIDE THE CENTER FEATURING EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS WITH THE FORMER PRESIDENT, former first lady michelle obama and members of their inner circle again that's today starting
