This is the question Obama wants to ask every 2016 candidate

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last updated 28 December 2015

As President Obama prepares to enter his last full year in office, he is offering up some advice to the crowd of 16 candidates trying to take his place. In a recent interview with NPR's Steve Inskeep, Obama shared the one question he'd most want to pose to each candidate:

I might just ask somebody, why do you want to do this? And I suppose they'd give a cliché answer because that's what candidates do, but I will tell you as president, if you are interested just because you like the title or you like the trappings or you like the power or the fame or the celebrity, that side of it wears off pretty quick. At least it has for me.And what sustains me, what lasts, what makes me happy, proud, frustrated sometimes, is the recognition that if you want this job then you really need to love this country and have a very clear vision and idea of what it is that you want to do to help make this country work even better. [NPR]

Watch the clip below and check out more of Inskeep's wide-ranging interview with Obama here. Julie Kliegman

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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.