WASHINGTON — Finally unburdened by worries about running for another election, President Obama is acting different these days.
Second-term Obama is noticeably quicker to speak his mind and get personal on subjects he once avoided. His schedule at times ignores concerns about "optics," Washington-speak for what voters might perceive.
On Friday, for example, the president delivered an unexpectedly personal, and at times off-the-cuff, speech in Chicago about the root causes of urban violence. The famously reserved president spoke bluntly about the Kenyan-born father whom he barely knew, and his wayward high school days in Hawaii.
"I wish I had had a father who was around and involved," he said.
In the past, Obama typically wove the uplifting version of his personal narrative — raised by a single mother, loved by doting grandparents — into his campaign message. He rarely admitted to having "issues," as he did in Chicago.
Then, over the Presidents Day weekend, Obama headed to Florida for a golf outing with the guys. The president stayed in an exclusive resort near West Palm Beach, Fla., and hit the course with several friends and high-power donors, plusTiger Woods. The president's wife and two daughters, meanwhile, jetted west to ski in Aspen, Colo.
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