What Obama should do next

Barack Obama will soon be out of a job. Granted, he'll be an ex-chief executive of the United States – a nice addition to anyone's CV – but where does he go from there?

In a humorous video that premiered at his final White House correspondents' dinner back in April and then made the rounds on social media, the president speculated on his retirement options following the November election. Obama is seen phoning the Washington Wizards NBA team to inquire about any coaching vacancies and later sits down with one-time Republican adversary John Boehner to enjoy a screening of Toy Story.

Well, let me suggest something on a more serious level. My advice, if the soon-to-be former US president is listening, is that he should crack open a history book and study the case of John Quincy Adams.

Unlike Obama, Adams was born with an unquestioned sense of family entitlement. His father, John Adams, helped draft the Declaration of Independence and served with Thomas Jefferson and George Washington in the First Continental Congress. The elder Adams was also posted to Europe as a special envoy of the revolutionary American government and went on to become the second president of the United States in 1797.

As a result of his father’s extraordinary career, John Quincy Adams lived for much of his youth in Paris, Amsterdam, St Petersburg, and London. The experience served him well when he returned to the US. In 1824, after a contentious presidential contest that makes this year’s Trump v Clinton showdown look like a playground spat, he was selected as the country’s sixth commander-in-chief.

So where’s the lesson for President Obama in all this?

Simple. What distinguishes John Quincy Adams from every other US president is the job he pursued after leaving the White House. Instead of launching himself on the 19th-century equivalent of the elder statesmen schmooze circuit, Adams sought election to the US House of Representatives.

After getting thumped by Andrew Jackson in his bid for re-election in 1828, Adams remained in Washington for two months – not the two years envisioned by President Obama – before returning to his hometown of Quincy, Massachusetts. But retirement bored Adams, so he listened to his neighbours and resumed his political career by running for Congress in 1830.

Before relenting, however, Adams set two conditions that no contemporary candidate could ever contemplate: he would never campaign for his constituents’ votes and he would follow his conscience at all times. This time, the people endorsed him.

Despite the downgrading of his job description, Adams was delighted. “No election or appointment conferred upon me ever gave me so much pleasure,” he wrote in his diary.

As a member of the lower chamber of the US national assembly, Adams cried out against the Mexican war, battled the infamous “gag rule”, which prevented any discussion of petitions against slavery, and championed the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution.

So there's plenty a newly elected Congressman Obama might accomplish. Of course, after leaving office Obama might also want to pursue his primary interest, the law. Here, too, Adams is a role model. In 1841, he argued successfully before the US supreme court to win freedom for slave mutineers aboard the Spanish ship Amistad – an event that became the subject of a 1997 Steven Spielberg film no less, with Adams portrayed by the Academy Award-winning actor Anthony Hopkins.

By the time of his death in 1848, John Quincy Adams had enjoyed a remarkable post-presidential career distinguished by nine terms in Congress. Adams usually voted in the minority and embraced unpopular causes – just as a future Representative Obama is likely to do if Donald Trump is victorious and carries the House with him.

Boston native Steve Coronella has lived in Ireland since 1992. His new column collection Entering Medford – And Other Destinations is now available from the Amazon Kindle Store.