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Barack and Michelle Obama appeared on 60 Minutes last night. In the first segment, Steve Kroft interviewed Barack alone. Barack handled his inquisitor skillfully. That Barack has studied past presidents closely was evident in his comments. The segment with both Michelle and Barack underscored their strong relationship, their normalcy and their commitment to their kids.
The new favorite activity in Washington and elsewhere is speculation on who will be where in the new administration of Barack Obama. Some interesting lists and flowcharts have been developed.
-- MSNBC's First Read blog offers up their list of potential Cabinet members.
-- Then there's Paul Bedard's mysteriously sourced flowchart on Washington Whispers blog which will take a while to peruse.
-- CBS News published some speculation a few days ago in Brian Montopoli's article, "Breaking Down Obama's Cabinet Contenders".
After yet another story on how the Senate Dems were going to talk to Joe Lieberman about his standing in the Democratic Caucus and as a Connecticut resident, I felt compelled last week to call Senator Dodd's office and express my opinion that Lieberman had completely betrayed the Democrats and in no circumstances whatsoever did he deserve to retain a chairmanship or any position of standing within the Democratic Caucus. I ended the call with a statement on the order of "If there were any way to remove Joe Lieberman from office right now, I'd do it." Evidently I got loud enough to bring my daughter out of her room to comment on how strongly I felt about it.
When my husband walked in the door that evening, he started the conversation with "What do you think about Lieberman in the Senate?" Before I could reply, my daughter laughingly informed him that I'd already called Dodd's office. When I think that we could have had this man in the Senate instead, I am angry all over again at the Connecticut voters that allowed themselves to be taken in by Joe Lieberman.
Robert Greenwald and BraveNewFilms, among others, share my outrage and they've done something about it including creating a website, Lieberman Must Go, and compiling some video clips which underscore just why Lieberman no longer merits any consideration by Democrats.
They've compiled more information on Lieberman's record along with the phone numbers of the Democratic leadership who will be responsible for deciding his future in the Democratic Caucus. Do go check it out and make a call whether or not you live in Connecticut.
Kossack nutmegan's Dutch friend emailed:
You have given us hope in a way that only Americans can: against all odds.
That's the essence of why this election was so important to the world. This interview with Fareed Zakaria from July 2008 underscores the point. (transcript)
If the CNN video doesn't work for you, the Fareed Zakaria interview of Barack Obama is available on youtube: part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4
Obama's response to Zakaria's query about the problem of Islam demonstrates the thought, education and upbringing that our new President-elect brings to the table.
OBAMA: I think the problems of terrorism and groups that are resisting modernity, whether because of their ethnic identities or religious identities, and the fact that they can be driven into extremist ideologies, is one of the severe threats that we face.
I don't think it's the only threat that we face.
OBAMA: I think the problems of terrorism and groups that are resisting modernity, whether because of their ethnic identities or religious identities, and the fact that they can be driven into extremist ideologies, is one of the severe threats that we face.
I don't think it's the only threat that we face.
ZAKARIA: But how do you view the problem within Islam? As somebody who saw it in Indonesia ... the largest Muslim country in the world?
OBAMA: Well, it was interesting. When I lived in Indonesia -- this would be '67, '68, late '60s, early '70s -- Indonesia was never the same culture as the Arab Middle East. The brand of Islam was always different.
But around the world, there was no -- there was not the sense that Islam was inherently opposed to the West, or inherently opposed to modern life, or inherently opposed to universal traditions like rule of law.
And now in Indonesia, you see some of those extremist elements. And what's interesting is, you can see some correlation between the economic crash during the Asian financial crisis, where about a third of Indonesia's GDP was wiped out, and the acceleration of these Islamic extremist forces.
It isn't to say that there is a direct correlation, but what is absolutely true is that there has been a shift in Islam that I believe is connected to the failures of governments and the failures of the West to work with many of these countries, in order to make sure that opportunities are there, that there's bottom-up economic growth.
You know, the way we have to approach, I think, this problem of Islamic extremism, which is real and (ph) there, is we have to hunt down those who would resort to violence to move their agenda, their ideology forward. We should be going after al Qaeda and those networks fiercely and effectively.
But what we also want to do is to shrink the pool of potential recruits. And that involves engaging the Islamic world rather than vilifying it, and making sure that we understand that not only are those in Islam who would resort to violence a tiny fraction of the Islamic world, but that also, the Islamic world itself is diverse.
And that lumping together Shia extremists with Sunni extremists, assuming that Persian culture is the same as Arab culture, that those kinds of errors in lumping Islam together result in us not only being less effective in hunting down and isolating terrorists, but also in alienating what need to be our long-term allies on a whole host of issues.
This interview reflects just one facet of the support that Obama gathered together to win the presidency. Given his calm consideration of the challenges facing the US in the economy, in energy independence, in climate change response and the #1 domestic issue of health care, many anticipate Obama's thoughtful, informed, intelligent leadership in foreign policy and it brought such a reaction from around the world.
More world reaction in youtube videos here, here, and here. And from the University of Sydney on election day.
UPDATE: Kossack pensivepenguin has done a round-the-world survey of newspaper articles and editorials reviewing Obama's election and asking the question, "Where is our equivalent of Obama?" It's fascinating reading. Obama's impact may go well beyond his own initiatives by how the fact of his election changes how others look at democracy within their own countries.
Bill Ayers comments on the just completed campaign and the use of his name to create a false image with which to hammer Barack Obama. As the professor which he is, he goes on to draw some lessons from the experience.
In a robust and sophisticated democracy, political leaders--and all of us--ought to seek ways to talk with many people who hold dissenting, or even radical, ideas. Lacking that simple and yet essential capacity to question authority, we might still be burning witches and enslaving our fellow human beings today.
Maybe we could welcome our current situation--torn by another illegal war, as it was in the '60s--as an opportunity to search for the new.
Perhaps we might think of ourselves not as passive consumers of politics but as fully mobilized political actors. Perhaps we might think of our various efforts now, as we did then, as more than a single campaign, but rather as our movement-in-the-making. [...]
Yet hope--my hope, our hope--resides in a simple self-evident truth: the future is unknown, and it is also entirely unknowable.
History is always in the making. It's up to us. It is up to me and to you. Nothing is predetermined. That makes our moment on this earth both hopeful and all the more urgent--we must find ways to become real actors, to become authentic subjects in our own history. [...]
In this time of new beginnings and rising expectations, it is even more urgent that we figure out how to become the people we have been waiting to be.
The Obama campaign taught many people that it's possible to take their country's future into their own hands. It goes back to the premise behind the founding of the Democracy Cell Project which grew out of the Kerry-Edwards blogging community:
We can do amazing things when we choose to do so.
Yes We Can.
Newsweek has just published part 6 in "a seven-part in-depth look behind the scenes of the campaign, consisting of exclusive behind-the-scenes reporting from the McCain and Obama camps assembled by a special team of reporters who were granted year-long access on the condition that none of their findings appear until after Election Day."
You can start with whichever chapter you want and you'll find it fascinating. I started with ch. 6 and then went to ch. 5 and then back to ch. 1. Wherever you start, you'll go back to the rest to find out more about what makes our new President-elect tick and how he carried out his amazing campaign.
Kudos to Newsweek and the team of reporters who covered this.
From Chapter 1:
In the first quarter of 2007, Obama put the political world on notice when he raised $24.8 million, more money than any other Democrat except Hillary Clinton, and drew huge crowds at his early rallies. But he was a tentative, awkward presence in the endless Democratic debates through the spring and summer of 2007. He didn't really seem to have his heart in it; he appeared to lack the required, almost pathological drive to be president. The campaign strategist, David Axelrod, told Obama he worried that the candidate was "too normal" to run a presidential campaign, and Obama began wondering himself. He missed going to the movies and reading a book and playing with his kids. He worried about "losing touch" with "what matters." To a NEWSWEEK reporter he said, "I'm not trying to say that I'm some sort of reluctant candidate--obviously this is a choice I made. But there was some tension there in my own mind." [...]
[Axzelrod] liked Obama in part because he could see that the candidate was unusually intelligent (especially, in his experience, for a politician coming out of the Illinois Statehouse), and because Obama seemed uninterested in and unimpressed by the mindless tit-for-tat of modern political campaigning.
From Chapter 5:
Holder, a former deputy U.S. attorney general in the Clinton administration and an old Washington hand, was struck by Obama's half-open, half-inscrutable manner during the nearly eight hours of meetings they spent together going over potential veeps. Obama was diligent, bringing up small morsels of information hidden in the fat briefing books, and he acted like a law professor who calls on reluctant pupils ("I haven't heard from you," he'd say to anyone around the table who had been silent too long). A lot of politicians pretend to be inclusive; Obama actually was. But "at the end, you didn't know where he stood. When you got down to the final judgment, I had a sense, but I didn't have any kind of certainty." Holder thought Obama was being shrewd to not signal his intentions too clearly--since "people want to say what the boss wants to hear, and if they don't know, you'll get more honest advice."
From Chapter 6:
Never one to wing it, Obama studied for the three official presidential debates, scheduled for roughly once a week from late September to mid-October, as if he were taking the bar exam. [...]
At Obama's debate rehearsals, held repeatedly through the late summer and with increasing frequency and intensity in September, the role of McCain was played by Gregory Craig--the ace Washington lawyer dubbed as one of "the Kool-Aid boys" by a bemused Obama back in 2006. [...]
Obama's debate coach, Michael Sheehan, a veteran of many campaign psychodramas over the years, was struck by the senator's calmness. The candidate was always in control of his feelings. During one afternoon prep session, Obama begged off. "I'm a little tired and a little cranky," he told a roomful of aides. "I'm going to my room for a half hour and I'll be in better shape to work with." He reappeared 30 minutes later, ready for work. Obama was, as ever, self-possessed--his own best judge of his mood and strength. After a full-dress mock debate in the evening, when it was time to review the tape of his performance, Obama turned to Sheehan and said, "Michael, I'm tired." He was not complaining, Sheehan recalled; he was just being matter-of-fact. Nothing seemed to rattle Obama. He had a way of retreating into his own little world. During one of the debate preps, the lights blew, flickering on and off like a strobe light from the 1970s disco craze. Obama stood behind the podium, quietly singing the song "Disco Inferno," last popular in the heyday of "Saturday Night Fever."
Rahm Emanuel has inspired lots of words both inside and outside the beltway and with his acceptance today of the Chief of Staff position for Barack Obama, there will no doubt be more anecdotes about Rahm passed around. Articles about him invariably contain the words intense, driven, abrasive, and usually get around to effective, efficient, ruthless, take-no-prisoners and occasionally, foul-mouthed, profane, and loud.
The Washington Post and Rolling Stone both have lengthy articles about Rahm though they are dated and more recent articles usually note that having kids has mellowed Rahm a little. Rahm started with fund-raising for Mayor Daley "where he learned how to twist arms and knock heads."
Donors were used to giving $5,000 -- but Daley needed more. "Rahm took it up a notch," Daley's brother William recalled several years ago. "He told many of them they easily had the ability to give twenty-five grand." When contributors didn't pony up, Emanuel would tell them he was embarrassed that they'd offered so little and hang up on them. The shocked donor would usually call back and sheepishly comply. In thirteen weeks, the thirty-year-old raised $7 million -- an unprecedented sum at the time. His fund-raising skills eventually earned him a job in the Clinton campaign.
His work with the Clinton campaign led to a position in the Clinton White House which he eventually left and headed back home to Chicago where he ran for Congress in 2002.
His selection by Nancy Pelosi to head the DCCC during his second term as congressman demonstrates the vivid and effective impact he's had during his tenure in the House. The October 2006 Washington Post article notes his rapid rise with the following:
Pictures and video tell the story so powerfully. Though there are so many videos to be viewed, I think this one will stand in well for all the others. The people who spontaneously gathered in front of the White House serenaded the smiling police and security people with a rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner. The video quality isn't great but it more than makes up for it in enthusiasm. [via]
DemocraticLuntz was on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House and wrote this:
Thousands of young people, pressed against each other, not for a rock concert or a countercultural event, but to celebrate the end of our 8-year national nightmare and the election of the next President of the United States, Barack Obama.
The fervor there was not something I can adequately put into words, but I did find a 10-minute Youtube; while it's a poor substitute for being there, it's better than nothing.
The photographers were out in force Tuesday night and a number of news organizations and bloggers have put together compilations and slideshows that show all aspects of Tuesday night's historic celebration.
MSNBC has assembled 3 slide shows all of which are accessible here. The first is historic photos from Tuesday in Chicago and around the US, the second is photos of celebrants around the world and the third is of voters across the US casting their ballots in an amazing variety of locations.
International Newspaper Announcements - Zain put together a diary with photos of newspaper front pages from around the world announcing Obama's victory. Kula followed up the next morning with her regular Morning Reaction diary featuring photos, newspaper headlines and editorial excerpts from all over the country and the world. Al Rodgers put together an amazing set of photos as well.
The New York Times has a wonderful set of pictures that covers the arc of the campaign.
The NYT editor also slyly notes that "For a day, at least, newspapers were cool again." and presents a slideshow of newspaper buyers, sellers and readers on Nov. 5th.
Huffington Post has a number of slide shows including:
President Obama: Election Night Celebration (SLIDESHOWS)
Obama Victory Scenes: Grant Park Reacts (PHOTOS)
Obama Victory Reactions In The Media: Shock And Awe
President-Elect Obama's possible Cabinet and Administration choices
And there are many more here.
And many, many more here in the Yahoo News photo gallery collection of Election 08 photos.
And then there's hope ... the fuel of the Obama campaign ... so well summarized in this video, posted with thanks from the Obama video crew.
Remarks of President-Elect Barack Obama--as prepared for delivery
Election Night
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
Chicago, Illinois
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.
Here's the poll closing times tonight courtesy of the Swing State Project.
And while we wait for the election results, take a look at all the people who've worked over the last 20 months to make today happen.
And now it's off to do the last bit of GOTV for this election.
Happy Voting Day!
"Democracy is no easy form of government. Few nations have been able to sustain it. For it requires that we take the chances of freedom; that the liberating play of reason be brought to bear of events filled with passion; that dissent be allowed to make its appeal for acceptance; that men chance error in their search for the truth."Robert F. Kennedy, February 19, 1966
Get ready to sustain our democracy! Let's vote for the quiet heros caught in a perfect storm all across our country. Let's vote for our future and make our votes count.
From lawyer Adam B at Daily Kos
If you see something weird or discomfiting or arguably illegal going on at your polling place tomorrow, ...you've got two choices tomorrow as to where to phone in your information, and I'm going to advocate doing both. First off, there's Obama Voter Protection:
Call 1-877-US-4-OBAMA (1-877-874-6226) and let them know what problems you're seeing. If you can't get through, use this online form and/or call your local campaign HQ.
Alternately, or in addition, I strongly encourage you to call Election Protection, a nonpartisan organization:
- For immediate assistance, call the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline.
- To report problems to Election Protection's state teams through Twitter, use these guidelines.
- Track incident reports received through the hotline at OurVoteLive.org
- Keep an eye on voting issues as they are reported at the OurVoteLive Blog
- Follow breaking voting news and issues at the 866OurVote Twitter account
We all love being able to break news here about what we're seeing, but what matters most tomorrow is giving that information to people who can do something about it . And then ... wait, what are you doing at a computer in the first place on Election Day? Get out there. Do More Than Vote.
Senator Obama told us on a conference call the other night that we're on the five yard line, and we need to bring it into the end zone. He told us that he's proud of the work we're doing, and that we have to work hard for just a little bit longer -- that we have to keep going until the polls close on Tuesday night. If you're a volunteer, you know he's right, and as tired as we all are, this is not the time to slow down. If you're not a volunteer, you can still be part of this historic election. Do it now. It's not too late.
The ugliness of the McCain campaign has been discouraging to all of us. They've cheapened the political process, divided Americans, and damaged their own party. In the battleground states, misleading ads and mailers are flooding our airwaves and mailboxes. Republicans have thrown not just the kitchen sink at us, but a fake plumber, too.
So, our work is not done. We need to fight back against the smears and lies, and continue to let voters know how much better off we'll all be with a President who will bring all sides to the table to resolve our difficulties together.
Senator Kerry was out doing his part again yesterday morning on Meet the Press, recapping the reasons why Barack Obama is the right choice for the country.
If you're a volunteer, just hang in there a little longer. We need to get out the vote, and if we do, we're going to win this election.
We're on the five yard line. Our goal is in sight. If we keep going, we'll all be able to celebrate this victory together.
Cross-posted from KerryVision.net
It's a GOTV kind of day. Here's a little inspiration for you.
Time to get up and go.
This is from a commenter at Margaret and Helen's blog post for today and just adds onto Helen's advice for "undecided voters" which is priceless all by itself.
What if things were switched around?
- What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage following the debate, including an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?
- What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
- What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his college graduating class?
- What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?
- What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?
- What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
- What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?
- What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five? (The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the serious Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)
- What if Obama had trouble reading from a teleprompter?
- What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?
- What if Obama was the one who was known to publicly display a serious anger management problem?
You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected a reality, if the tables were turned, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?
This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative characteristics in another when there is a color difference.And, think of this - the candidates' educational backgrounds:
Barack Obama:
- Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations.
- Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude
Joseph Biden:
- University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
- Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)
John McCain:
- United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899
Sarah Palin:
- Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
- North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
- University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
- Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
- University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism
Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in the land as well as our standing in the world.You make the call.
Via WaPo's The Trail blog, comes this report of the late-night Florida rally with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
It goes along with this snippet of the rally that the Obama campaign has posted:
UPDATE: Found another snippet of Barack and Bill's appearance at The Daily Beast. My guess is that it goes first chronologically.
And if you had to miss it, here's the pre-recorded part of Obama's 30 min TV piece from last night.
I have a new favorite blog that I'm going to be checking in on, thanks to Sully. It's called "Margaret and Helen" by two women who met in college and have been friends for almost 60 years. Helen, who does most of the writing, puts it this way.
My name is Helen Philpot. I am 82 years old. My grandson taught me how to do this so that I could "blog" with my best friend Margaret Schmechtman who I met in college almost 60 years ago. I have three children with my husband Harold. Margaret has three dogs with her husband Howard. I live in Texas and Margaret lives in Maine.
This Thanksgiving Letter to the Family will give you an idea of Helen's writing style. I think thanksgiving dinner at Helen's house would be a lot of fun.
But Helen's fame has come about as a result of the 2008 campaign, specifically by McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate. Helen has some pretty concise opinions about Gov. Palin and she doesn't mince any words.
She is a weak, pathetic woman who thinks big hair, winking, baby talk and self deprecation is somehow becoming of a woman who wants to lead the free world. My god, where is Margaret Thatcher when you need her!
That's just a snippet from her first post on Palin and I'd add that Golda Meir and Indira Gandhi would have brushed Palin off their shoulders like the fluff she is.
If you've got the time I suggest that you go here and scroll to the bottom and read her posts in the order they were written starting with "Sarah Palin is a Bitch... there I said it." And do take the time to appreciate her choice of titles for specific posts. And I must add that Harold is a saint -- it's that or he has a great sense of humor. Maybe both.
I found myself laughing so hard I was afraid I'd wake other family members up. More bits of Helen's wisdom:
You just can't teach an old dog a new trick... even if you put lipstick on it. Change is needed. I know because I am a fat, old dog. For too many years I've been eating more pie than I should. Jenny Craig had me doing pretty good for a few years but eventually I started eating pie again. John McCain has been part of the Republican party in Washington for 26 years. It doesn't matter what he has been saying the last few months, eventually he's going to eat the party pie again. He's old. I'm old. That's what we do. We don't suddenly switch to salad.
On the final debate:
Well, I thought it was a good debate. My hats off to Bob Shieffer... and my blouse too if he plays his cards right. (Just don't tell my husband.) But who the hell is Joe the Plumber? Seriously. What the hell was that all about? Joe the Plumber? Joe Six Pack? The new McCain strategy seems to be banking on a lot of guys named Joe with a beer in one hand and a pipe wrench in the other. Is this a political campaign or a dating service for the Palin women?
Anderson Cooper has a fan:
I was just watching CNN and I couldn't believe what I heard. Even if McCain loses this election, many in the Republican party will see Governor Moose Meat as the candidate who almost saved McCain. In other words, it wasn't her fault - he would have been nothing without her. The reporter then took that to a horrifying conclusion - Palin in 2012.
Has everybody gone mad? Dear Lord she is like a cockroach. We'll never be rid of her! I tell you after the scare of that report my hair went from a lovely silver, just like that sweet Anderson Cooper's, to stark white... completely devoid of color (my hair not Anderson Cooper).
About those clothes:
What really gets my goat is that I could have put that same wardrobe together at JC Penny for about $300 with enough money left over for a piece of pie and coffee. Are you telling me THAT is the best they could do with $150,000?
Beverage alert -- swallow before reading. This one is in response to a letter she received asking advice on how to talk to the letter-writer's grandparents who are refusing to vote for an African-American.
But remember we grew up in a different time. We grew up during a time when this country didn't understand the depths of its hatred. Don't blame them. They don't know any better. It is a part of who they are. But if they ignore you, you have my permission to do what I do when Harold doesn't listen to me. Put laxatives in their pudding.
There's more. Do look for her "New Rules" and hang onto your panties. She said it first. And do be careful about drinking and eating while you're reading. You're likely to to burst out laughing unexpectedly. Don't say you weren't warned.
Helen, you're my new hero.
This video clip from the Washington Times helps illustrate why Barack Obama is doing better than conventional wisdom suggested he would do in West Virginia.
Patrick Powell who is featured in this video was one of a number of voters that Washington Times reporter Christina Bellantoni wrote about in her article, "Hard times in Barrackville are hurting McCain".
Patrick Powell is an unlikely Obama voter, and said he doesn't even like the man. His wife is frustrated that Mrs. Clinton didn't win, and his good friend blasts Mr. Obama as unpatriotic and refusing to recognize the American flag.
But all three of them say they won't be voting for Mr. McCain.
"There's no hope for West Virginia," said Mr. Powell, who is 40, unemployed and unable on his wife's Applebee's wages to afford costly medicine for regular violent seizures that have left him with deep scrapes and scabs on his hands and face.
So much for the common wisdom on white small town voters in Appalachia. I'd say that Mr. Powell demonstrated a pretty thorough understanding of what's at stake. If you haven't watched the video, do so. Mr. Powell is impressive. David Brooks should take a lesson or two.
Bellantoni also wrote a blog post about how they identified Barrackville and a couple elements that she had wanted to cover but didn't have time to follow up on.
The Guardian has put together a fascinating assortment of interviews of people from Obama's past that is well worth reading. For those who haven't read either of his books, this is an excellent synopsis though it doesn't replace his introspection on his relationship with his mom and his grandparents.
Schoolfriends remember his love for comic books, basketball and teasing the girls. A former boss recalls him as a young man running a community project in Chicago. A fellow senator remembers being beaten by him at poker. Gifted student, quiet persuader, charismatic speaker, loyal friend... We speak to the people who knew Barack Obama best, revealing an intimate, often touching, portrait of a man on the brink of greatness.
Interviewees included are:
- Indonesia 1969: Rully Dasaad
Hawaii 1975: Tony Peterson
Los Angeles 1980: Margot Mifflin
Chicago 1980s: Auma Obama
Chicago 1985: Gerald Kellman
Jakarta 1980s: Julia Surakusuma
Harvard 1989: Larry Tribe
Illinois 1996: Senator Terry Link
London 2008: David Lammy
Ron Howard and his friends, Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler, got together to do a couple very unique endorsements of Obama.
