Obama

I have the book. I’m reading the book, although sandwiched between memoirs about Tuscany and the U.S. Grant biography. I ordered Obama from the great Bear Pond Books (Montpelier) on line. No Amazon. (I’m told I’m virtue signaling here)

Upon Obama's election in 2008, I committed to buy and read every book about him and his presidency. My mother did the same with JFK. She tells me I get the JFK collection in the will.

So the shelf grows. There is the memoir by the White House transcriber (fired by Trump), the speechwriter, the senior aides, and not one but two photographers.

I viewed the memoir book with trepidation. It's long. As a political junkie, I have read most of the stories before. And it's too heavy to read in bed, like Caro’s book on Robert Moses. And Obama writes long like he talks; in deliberative calibrated sentences. And lastly, I thought it would be cautious, intended to protect and enhance his legacy and reputation.

WRONG.

Reading this book is like reading a good poem, or listening to Lennon-McCartney at their best, or reading Springsteen’s words about the Jersey shore.

It is lyrical, flowing, smooth, like Obama himself. Heck - even the pages are smoother and silkier than most books. The whole experience is an elixir to the times. You can feel him writing in that southpaw longhand on yellow legal pads. It grew so long that he stopped in mid-administration. There’s a Part 2.

Sure we know most of the stories. Michelle doesn’t like politics. He worried about his kids. Played poker with the good 'ole boys in Springfield while serving in the state legislature. But Obama explores these issues in greater depth, which makes the historical weight of his campaign and his election - heavier.

Turns out Michelle REALLY didn't want him to run for president; that this was his last shot. A loss meant a career as a writer/lawyer. He takes us through the constant tension between the couple over his political career. She made her feelings clear to him and their friends. He had been a state senator, far away from their Chicago home, in Springfield during the week. She was at home with a baby and working.

He ran for Congress and was trounced. He kinda promised that was it. Then a U.S. Senate seat opened up. He had to go for it. The waters parted and he won big. Then immediately the water parted again, and everyone, from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to the woman on the street, told him to run.

There is a great scene in the book where Michelle tells him she is against it. It ends with a closed bedroom door, and Barack left outside.

"Did you say we?'' she said. “You mean you, Barack…This is your thing. I’ve supported you the whole time, because I believe in you, even though I hate politics. I hate the way it exposes our family. Now, finally, we have some stability…and now you tell me you’re going to run for president?’"

He said he’d only consider running if she was okay with it. "'If that’s really true, then the answer is no,' she shot back. 'God, Barack...when is it going to be enough?’"

The key moment in the presidential decision comes in a staff meeting when Michelle says, in front of others, “Why you Barack?’'

He is forced in front of his wife and staff, and friends to explain why he thinks he is better than Hillary Clinton and many others.

"I know that the day I raise my right hand and take the oath to be president of the United States, the world will start looking at America differently. I know that kids all around this country—Black kids, Hispanic kids, kids who don’t fit in—they’ll see themselves differently, too…and that alone…that would be worth it." She replied, "Well, honey…that was a pretty good answer."

Real.

And there, in a nutshell, is why Obama ran and why he won. As they said about basketball great Walt Frazier, he has ice water in his veins. He is a gambler, comfortable with risk. And he risked it all in 2008, not just the career, but the marriage too.

And there of course is the difference between the current Trumpism and the America that Obama and on our best days we believe in. A place of potential and possibility that can always be moving forward. Versus a 1958 view of convention and people in their places, playing their roles, not rocking the boat.

Obama, always imperfect, represents that ideal. We are currently engaged in a struggle over which of these views will emerge. For better and worse, we are married, just like Barack and Michelle, and we’d best figure it out.

Endnote

I still cannot understand Obama’s terrible record on pursuing journalists for publishing leaked information. He and his attorney general Eric Holder went after journalists. It was unforgivable and I have never seen him questioned about it. Something to get into down the line.