In a closing message designed to give the people of Flint the hope that they desperately need, President Barack Obama told the enraptured crowd at Northwestern High School that their children will be fine, and that they should not under any circumstances believe that their children are now doomed and that their lives are ruined.
To emphasize his point, Obama reminded the audience that it wasn’t that long ago, relatively speaking, when lead was still in paint. The president even joked that when he was a child he himself probably digested some paint chips with lead in it. He said this not to make light of the situation, but to point out that it’s not necessarily a foregone conclusion that all of Flint’s children who drank the water are now chained to a hopeless future.
“Flint, I’m not just here to say that I’ve got your back. I’m here to say that you’ve got power.”