A Promised Land

Barack Obama has written many books over the years. Dreams from My Father was published in 1995 as he embarked on an Illinois Senate campaign. The Audacity of Hope published in 2006 communicated Obama’s beliefs following his rise to stardom at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Change We Can Believe In, published in 2008, was a manifesto for his presidential campaign. All of these books served a political purpose. A Promised Land, published 4 years after the end of his second term, is the first book by Obama that isn’t trying to advance a cause. It is a reflection but also a justification of Obama’s time in office.

The book starts off retreading familiar ground for those who have read his other books. Chapter 1 covers his childhood in Hawaii to law school at Harvard. It has my favorite quote.

Enthusiasm makes up for a host of deficiencies

Chapter 2 describes his courtship to Michelle, foray into the Illinois state senate, and failed run for the House of Representatives. Chapter 3 describes his successful run for the Senate and his legendary speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Chapter 4 describes his decision to run for President. “Part 2: Yes We Can” is where the new territory begins.

• Part 2 covers his campaign.
• “Part 3: Renegade” covers the early days of his presidency.
  • In Chapter 10, Obama chooses his cabinet.
  • Chapter 11-13 focus on recovering from the Great Recession.
• “Part 4: The Good Fight”.
  • Chapter 14 covers Obama’s first G20 summit.
  • Chapter 15 covers the Obama’s adjustments to the War on Terror from the Guantanmeno Bay detection center (Gitmo) to a tour of the Middle East.
  • Chapter 16-17 covers the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
• “Part 5: The World as It Is” focuses on foreign policy.
  • In Chapter 18, Obama reviews Stanley McChrystal’s Afghanistan plan.
  • Chapter 19-20 covers relations with Iran and Russia and China.
  • Chapter 21 covers climate change.
• “Part 6: In the Barrel”.
  • Chapter 22 covers the sluggish recovery, the Euro crisis, and financial reform.
  • The first half of Chapter 23 covers the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The second half covers McChrystal’s firing, their failure to close Gitmo, and the upcoming midterm elections,
  • Chapter 24 covers a trip to India and the lame duck session.
• “Part 7: On the High Wire” covers conflicts in the Middle East—Palestine-Israel, the Arab Spring, Libya intervention, and the killing of Osama bin Laden.

A more detailed summary is available here.

A Promised Land is an illuminating book. Obama goes into great detail to describe the experience of becoming and being President: what it’s like to campaign, the toll it exacted on his family, how it felt to be elevated as a symbol, the pressure of making life and death decisions. While I wasn’t surprised at how Obama described becoming President, being President of the United States is much different than I expected. Many of the book’s 229,632 words are devoted to staffing decisions. Being President is about the ceremony as much as the day to day practicalities. The Presidency is scrappy¹. And for all the information and planning and debate that happens, being President sometimes comes down to gusto and guts.

A story I’ll never forget comes from the 2009 UN Climate Change Summit or the Copenhagen Summit. The leaders of the China, Brazil, India, and South Africa were holding a meeting to hide from Obama and wait out the conference. Obama’s team learns of this and crashes the room they were having a meeting in. In a 2 minute speech, Obama threatens to blame them for the failure of the summit unless they agree to their proposal. After a pause, the leaders read the American proposal. On the spot, they agree to the proposal conditional on some changes. Immediately, Obama headed back to the Europeans to get them to agree to the requested changes. Out of all this chaos, came the Copenhagen Accord which led to the Paris Accord.

Obama is a gifted writer and well-versed reader. A Promised Land is full of literary allusions.

My supporters lack all conviction, while my opponents are full of passionate intensity.

Chapter 11, an allusion to The Second Coming

All the sound and fury around Dodd-Frank signified nothing more than the usual Washington scrum

Chapter 22, an allusion to MacBeth

The book provides background information for everything. New characters always come with a description of their appearance. References to historical events are always come with a summary of the historical event. The book drags in places where Obama over-explains.

The memoir also defends the less popular parts/mistakes of his presidency. Obama justifies not going after the bankers responsible for the Great Recessions by arguing that it would require a violence to the social order that would outweigh the benefits. Obama criticizes anti-Bush protesters protesting against Gitmo on the day of his inauguration, a policy that he himself was against. In general, Obama comes off as a more moderate candidate than his campaign message of hope and change implied. Obama is often unwilling to challenge the status quo to push for more radical reform.

Yet, Obama also never stops believing in the possibility of progress in America or wavers in his vision for a more equal, just nation. He reflects on the meaning of his time in office. He is unafraid to kill to protect the country he loves, even invading another nation to kill the man responsible for thousands of American deaths.

I look forward to the remainder of Obama’s presidential memoirs.