By Michael Dorstewitz
Friday, June 19, 2026
Today the Obama Presidential Center opened to the general public as a perfect testament to the administration of the 44th president: it’s ugly, divisive, overly expensive, and was built on a foundation of broken promises.
Towering some 220 feet above Chicago’s Jackson Park, the structure has variously been described as a “monolith,” “boulder in a park,” or the “Obamalisk” (a nod to its obelisk-like appearance).
It has been labeled Brutalist-esque, “cold and forbidding,” “brooding,” and compared to a “Klingon prison,” “sci-fi HQ,” “flak tower,” or “fortress” because of its massive, mostly windowless granite presence and angular heft.
Even Obama called it a “Death Star,” so its forbidding appearance wasn’t lost on him.
Although Obama’s appearance wasn’t ugly, his administration was as ugly as they come.
Almost from the day Barack Obama entered the White House, he turned nearly every incident into a racial issue. He did the same with his presidential center.
The first thing the public is confronted with upon entering the center is a section called “The Founding Contradictions.” It notes the famous phrase in the Declaration of Independence: “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
It then contrasts that statement with the fact that at the time the Declaration was signed, slavery was widespread in the colonies.
The implication is clear: that while the Founders talked a good game, they didn’t live up to their principles.
But the historical reality was that in nearly every corner of mid- to late 18th century world, slavery was the norm, and it had been that way since pre-Biblical times.
Slavery in the British Empire wasn’t banned until August 1, 1834, with the Slavery Abolition Act.
President Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, declaring that all enslaved people in the Confederate states were to be set free.
It was enshrined into the U.S. Constitution by the 13th Amendment, which abolished involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime. It was ratified on December 6, 1865, following the Civil War.
The initial estimates for the Obama Presidential Center were in line with other presidential libraries but quickly escalated. This makes it the most expensive presidential center or library built to date.
This is in keeping with his presidency. He nearly doubled the national debt during his eight years in the White House, from $10.627 trillion to $19.947 trillion—a rise of roughly $9.32 trillion (about 88%) over his two terms.
When the nearly $1 billion structure opened to the public today, contractors who worked on the project with good faith that they would be paid are expressing fears they may be stiffed. This includes minority-owned businesses.
RightLine News chief content officer Eric Daugherty reported: “Black contractors are FUMING at Barack Hussein Obama saying they have NOT EVEN BEEN PAID for the abomination of a ‘library’ set to open Friday in Chicago.”
An African American Contractors Association representative explained the problem: “So many of our Black contractors are complaining they have not got their money,” he said. “Contractors are already in bankruptcy. What they’re saying is, if it wasn’t for the fact that they worked on this Obama project, they would not be under this type of problem.”
The city of Chicago also received the middle finger.
In return for its “sweetheart” lease of a 19.3-acre section of Jackson Park for a one-time payment of $10, the Obama Foundation agreed to set up a $470 million endowment fund—a safety net to guard against a public bailout.
The foundation has deposited just $1 million into the reserve fund.
The top Obama Foundation officers, however, are among the highest paid in similar organizations, with its top three earning $745,000, $600,000, and $425,000 annually.
Same old Obama. Remember “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor,” and “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan”?
After Obama repeated that claim at least 37 times while promoting the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Politifact called it their 2017 “Lie of the Year.”
Nothing much has changed. Obama’s ego-enhancer is turning out to be a repeat of his presidency: it’s divisive, overly expensive, built on broken promises, and oh so ugly.
None of this should have surprised anyone.
