"Where Is Barack Obama?/The most popular American, whose legacy is the primary target of Donald Trump, has, for now, virtually disappeared from public life."

Gabriel Debenedetti (in New York Magazine) asks the question that perhaps you, like me, have been wondering about.

How did the most ubiquitous man in America for eight years virtually disappear?... He has mostly opted out of liberal America’s collective Trump-outrage cycle. Though he reads the Times and other newspapers, he doesn’t follow daily Trump developments on Twitter or watch television news. He is upset by the administration’s actions, and he’s confided to friends that what worries him most is the international order, the standing of the office of the presidency, the erosion of democratic norms, and the struggles of people who are suddenly unsure of their immigration status or the future of their health-care coverage. Still, in conversations with political allies, Obama insists that today’s domestic mess is a blip on the long arc of history and argues that his own work must be focused on progress over time — specifically on empowering a new generation of leaders. He says his legacy is not what concerns him. (“Michelle and I are fine,” he tells those who ask about it.) And while he often says he misses the day-to-day work of fixing people’s problems, he has even less patience for day-to-day politics than he did as president.

In fact, in private conversations, Obama rarely mentions Trump at all.... One of Obama’s friends repeatedly described the former president as newly “Zen-like,” a striking descriptor given that Obama’s impossible calm has been a hallmark of his entire time on the national stage. To those who’ve known him longest, his confidence in the decision not to wade back into the political muck is the product of the same hyper-self-aware posture he’s had since childhood, growing up straddling worlds and then writing a book about himself in his 30s....

He's aloof. That was always the case. That's kind of what we liked about him, those of us who liked the man who — in my observation — is considered the most likable person to become famous in our lifetime. We're just experiencing the full dimension of coolness. It's not always to your liking, even if you were one of those people who really liked it.



But I think Obama should be allowed to eat his waffle, go to restaurants and be left in peace, write his books, experience down time, and stay out of the fray. He may seem political useful, but that's because he's avoiding being used, and that's exactly what he should do.

ADDED: That waffle video won't work in the embedded form. You can click through and see it at YouTube, but for a workable embed, here's Obama eating noodles in Vietnam with Anthony Bourdain: