Film: The End: Inside the Last Days of the Obama White House
Archivist’s welcome for
Film: The End: Inside the Last Days of the Obama White House
Tuesday, January 17, at 7 p.m.
McGowan Theater, Archives I
Good evening, and welcome to the William G. McGowan Theater at the National Archives. I’m David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, and I’m pleased you could join us this evening.
And special thanks to our partner for tonight’s program—CNN Films.
Before we get to tonight’s film and discussion, I want to let you know about two programs coming up this week and next.
At noon tomorrow and Thursday, January 18 and 19, we’ll show a selection of films from our motion pictures holdings. The program is called “From the Vaults: Presidential Inaugurations” and will focus on historical inaugural events.
Next Wednesday, January 25, at noon, author Nate Jones will be here to tell us about his new book, Able Archer 83: The Secret History of the NATO Exercise That Almost Triggered Nuclear War.
To learn more about these and all of our public programs and exhibits, consult our monthly Calendar of Events in print or online at Archives.gov. There are copies in the lobby—along with a sign-up sheet so you can receive it by regular mail or email. You’ll also find brochures about other National Archives programs and activities.
Another way to become more involved with the National Archives is to become a member of the National Archives Foundation. The Foundation supports the work of the agency, especially its education and outreach programs. Pick up your application for membership in the lobby or join online at archivesfoundation.org.
Whenever the White House turns over from one Presidential administration to another, it’s natural to look back over the preceding four or eight years and make some immediate assessments. Tonight we are privileged to see a premiere screening of a new film about the outgoing Obama administration, with first-hand views from White House insiders.
In time, records created by the people appearing in the film—and on our stage—will end up in a Barack Obama Presidential Library, one of a network of Presidential libraries run by the National Archives and Records Administration.
The future Obama Library, like its 13 predecessors, will preserve the records of the events of the past eight years—the highs and the lows—and the evolution of policies that affected the nation and the world.
Franklin Roosevelt started the Presidential library system 75 years ago, on the principle that Presidential papers are an important part of the national heritage and should be preserved and available to the public.
Each library since then has operated on the same basis, and the National Archives and Records Administration ensures that Presidential records in the future will be similarly preserved and available.
It is now my pleasure to welcome to the stage Jeff Zucker, president of CNN Worldwide, to introduce the film and set the scene for us. He has been the president of CNN since 2013, and oversees all of CNN's businesses, including the CNN US television network, CNN International, HLN, all of CNN's digital properties, and Great Big Story.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Jeff Zucker.