He’ll be either 51 or 55, too young for retirement. Public speaker seems a bit passive. Run for senate? Practice law? Become a full time dad and househusband? I like option #3.
Write another book or two. Teach part-time. Pretty much what he did before he became President.
Regards,
Shodan
Somebody has to say it, so I will: “Go back to Kenya.” 
Bill Clinton was slightly younger than Obama when he was elected, and I think you could expect Obama to do some similar things: work on whatever global or largely nonpartisan issues are close to his heart, that kind of thing. Clinton has made a fortune on the lecture circuit and made a lot of money from his memoir; Obama’s already signed a book deal for his. I’m not sure he likes to hear himself talk quite as much as Clinton does and I am positive he doesn’t like to live it up as much, but he’ll do some public speaking. Once you’re done as president you’re generally done with electoral politics, so I wouldn’t expect him to run for any other office. I don’t think he ever practiced law very much and that would be a strange time to start.
He’ll suspend the Constitution and become General Secretary of the United Socialist States.
He was a US Senator before he became president and an Illinois State Senator before that, and a civil rights attorney and a Professor of Constitutional law before that.
After his Presidency, I would expect Obama to do much the same as Bill Clinton has. Write books, speak publicly and throw his weight behind international causes
I’m pretty much in agreement with Marley, though he’ll probably keep a higher profile than Clinton has since he (probably) won’t have anatomical details of his personal transgressions zipping about the internet.
Dark horse possibility: if succeeded by a Democrat, he MAY follow William Howard Taft’s example and serve on the supreme court. I kind of doubt it, though; I don’t think he wants to be tied to Washington so intensely.
Don’t you mean “Emir of The Islamic Republic of North America?”
I wonder if he has any ambition to become Secretary General of the UN. Not nearly as powerful as POTUS, but a charismatic global leader like Obama could re-define the institution and make it a lot more influential.
If he wants to, he could certainly become a university president or run a large non-profit like the NAACP. I’m sure that he’ll get offers from many universities and non-governmental organizations. (And another question is what will his wife do? She’s about as well-qualified as he is and would offer a similar amount of prestige for an organization.)
Says who?
Most ex-presidents go into a sort of semi-retirement. As others have said, he’ll probably write and give speeches. I imagine he’ll find some charitable causes he believes in and spend some time on those.
True, he doesn’t seem like the type to sit around in a rocking chair, but I doubt if he’ll need to launch a whole new career or anything.
That’s true that he won’t have that hanging over him. As far as the Supreme Court goes- who knows what the political climate will be like any time over the next decade, but I think it’s unlikely an ex-president would be nominated. The trend lately has been to nominate judges with as little record as possible so that record can’t be used against them. That doesn’t quite work for a former president. There’s also the pattern of nominating younger justices. The last four have been nominated at age 50 to 55, the idea being they could serve 30 years or so if they wanted. Obama might be in office until he’s 56 and I assume he’d want some time off if anything like this ever came up. But the idea of him serving with a few justices he nominated (two so far) and two he voted against is entertaining. That’s almost a sitcom right there.
People floated this talk about Clinton, too. It’s hard to imagine other countries wanting the U.S. to have that much sway in the UN.
Interesting thread. I’m thinking he’ll do what other Dem ex-presidents do: throw himself into his pet international cause–probably heading up some kind of global peace/love/understanding gig like The Elders and occasionally make a coincidental trip to Egypt or Iran or Mongolia where he’ll just happen to secure the release of some young CIA operatives who were captured when they blew their “innocent college-age hikers” cover. Unlike his predecessor, who successfully pissed off/alienated nearly every world leader he dealt with, I would expect Mr. Obama to frequently reap the rewards of not badgering & belittling his less financially & politically secure counterparts.
One idea nobodies posited: Chair the DNC.
I tend to think that he’s more likely than not to accept if a president who follows him nominates him, but I’m not sure he’d be nominated. He’s ambitious and has a real desire to be a mover and shaker in government-- you don’t run for President otherwise! It’d require a Democratic President and Senate to even have a prayer, and I wonder how likely that is in 2017. He’d have to leave office with high approval ratings, too, and in this polarized climate I think it’s unlikely. If he left at age 55 and wasn’t appointed for another four years, he’d be 59 or 60 before he put on the robes. That’s a little old for a SCOTUS appointment; presidents like to appoint young justices who will spend decades on the court. Sotomayor was 55 and Kagan was 50 when sworn in. I think he’s a little bit too polarizing* to get confirmed except in a very pro-Democratic year. I do think that he’d do a good job, though; he’s taught Constitutional law and he probably wouldn’t have concurred in Citizens United, which is enough for me to consider him further.
*A criticism of the current political climate, not Obama himself.
President Clinton will nominate him for the Supreme Court.
yyyyyyeeeaahhh…gonna have to say I’m hopin’ against parts of that sentiment. Unless they can find a loophole to get Slick Willie back behind the desk.
Isn’t there an unwritten rule that the Secretary-General cannot from the 5 permanent members of the Security Council (the US, UK, France, Russia, or China)?
Hopefully, enjoy residing in Chicago again in late winter of 2013.
Seriously? Hard to say. I find the political careers of past presidents fascinating.
If he sees a very strong Dem year coming and has a Dem Pres in office, I bet he gets the President to make his district’s congressman Secretary of Whogivesashit, runs for the House again and makes a big play to be speaker.
If there are at least 8 years of Republican administration(s) and congressional elections mostly favor the GOP, he fades into obscurity, as much as a former Pres can.
Yea, Bush I, Clinton and Bush II seem to all retired to careers of more or less uncontroversial international do-goodery. No one seems to leave the Presidency with a burning desire to jump back into the fray of domestic politics. I guess Clinton has remained active as a fundraiser and campaigner for his wife, but he doesn’t seem to be spoilering for any sort of official position.
There’s another Clinton you might have heard of.