by Obama Barack
I am forever indebted to those who served on my cabinet and staff, whose outstanding work and unswerving ability to stay hopeful made all the difference in advancing my administration’s agenda. A number of them have written their own books covering their time in the White House and the issues they worked on, and those accounts have proven to be excellent resources (and fascinating reads).
I’m grateful to the many former staff members and colleagues who took the time to offer their unique perspectives and personal memories as I sorted through my time in office and on the campaign trail, including Admiral Thad Allen, David Axelrod, Melody Barnes, Jared Bernstein, Brian Deese, Arne Duncan, Rahm Emanuel, Matt Flavin, Ferial Govashiri, Danielle Gray, Valerie Jarrett, Katie Johnson, Jack Lew, Reggie Love, Chris Lu, Alyssa Mastromonaco, Marvin Nicholson, Nancy Pelosi, Kal Penn, Dan Pfeiffer, David Plouffe, Fiona Reeves, Harry Reid, Christy Romer, Pete Rouse, Kathy Ruemmler, Ken Salazar, Phil Schiliro, Kathleen Sebelius, Pete Souza, Todd Stern, and Tommy Vietor. And a special thanks to those colleagues who generously read and offered expert feedback on portions of the manuscript: John Brennan, Carol Browner, Lisa Monaco, Cecilia Muñoz, Steven Chu, Tom Donilon, Nancy-Ann DeParle, Jon Favreau, Tim Geithner, Eric Holder, Jeanne Lambrew, Denis McDonough, Susan Rice, and Gene Sperling.
I’m grateful to Anne Withers and Mike Smith at the National Security Council for their review of the manuscript and to Bob Barnett and Deneen Howell of Williams & Connolly, who have been invaluable advisors on the legal front.
I am well aware of and deeply humbled by the hard work and good faith required of many people at Crown and Penguin Random House to put a book like this out, especially during the disruptions of a pandemic.
My gratitude begins with Markus Dohle, who championed the project from the beginning and has enthusiastically mobilized Penguin Random House resources across the globe to make this publication possible. Gina Centrello has been a skilled and steadfast partner, marshalling every department within Penguin Random House U.S. to ensure the book would be well published. Sincere thanks as well to Madeline McIntosh and Nihar Malaviya, whose commitment to this project, and patience as it took longer than anticipated, has been remarkable.
At Crown, the expertise and strategic planning of David Drake and Tina Constable has been essential at every stage. They have not only brought their creativity and insights to bear on publicity and marketing, but have worked hand in glove with their colleagues, my staff, and the foreign publishers of this book to orchestrate the publication process, which was at times dauntingly complex. Moreover, they have shown great respect for their author’s literary choices, even when it meant that one book unexpectedly became two. I feel fortunate that my book ended up in their capable hands.
Gillian Blake read the manuscript closely and made astute observations about both structure and content. Chris Brand’s vision of this book, as embodied in his designs—from the jacket to the photo inserts to the website—has been inspired. Lance Fitzgerald has sold rights to the book in twenty-four languages and counting, and has been a superb liaison to our U.K. counterparts and other international partners. Lisa Feuer and Linnea Knollmueller went the extra mile to make sure this book was manufactured on time and with craftsmanship and care, working miracles with printers and suppliers. Sally Franklin wrote and tore up innumerable schedules and kept everything on track even when that must have seemed impossible. Christine Tanigawa spent long nights poring over every word and semicolon to stamp out errors and make certain I had said what I meant to say. Elizabeth Rendfleisch ensured that the inside of the book was as handsome as the outside.
Thanks as well to the multitude of other people at Crown and Penguin Random House who pulled together and gave the book their utmost: Todd Berman, Mark Birkey, Tammy Blake, Julie Cepler, Denise Cronin, Kellyann Cronin, Amanda D’Acierno, Sue Dalton, Benjamin Dreyer, Skip Dye, Carisa Hays, Madison Jacobs, Cynthia Lasky, Sue Malone-Barber, Matthew Martin, Maren McCamley, Dyana Messina, Lydia Morgan, Ty Nowicki, Donna Passannante, Jennifer Reyes, Matthew Schwartz, Holly Smith, Stacey Stein, Anke Steinecke, Jaci Updike, Claire Von Schilling, Stacey Witcraft, and Dan Zitt. I’m grateful also to Maureen Clark, Jane Hardick, Janet Renard, Do Mi Stauber, and Bonnie Thompson for excellent copyediting, proofreading, and indexing; to Scott Cresswell for coproducing the audiobook; to Carol Poticny for first-rate photo research; and to North Market Street Graphics for their page-composition accuracy and willingness to work day and night.
Finally, I want to thank Elizabeth Alexander and Michele Norris-Johnson, two top-notch writers who also happen to be dear family friends, for offering their invaluable editorial insights—and for encouraging Michelle to keep putting up with me during the final, especially hectic months of writing and editing.
PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS
1Barack Obama’s maternal grandparents, Stanley Armour Dunham and Madelyn Lee Payne Dunham. (Obama-Robinson Family Archives)
2Young Barack Obama and his mother, Ann Dunham, on the beach. (Obama-Robinson Family Archives)
3Young Barack Obama. (Obama-Robinson Family Archives)
4Barack Obama’s father, Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. (Obama-Robinson Family Archives)
5Barack Obama and his mother, Ann Dunham. (Obama-Robinson Family Archives)
6Barack Obama’s half sisters, Maya Soetoro-Ng (left) and Auma Obama (right), with his mother, Ann Dunham, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. (Obama-Robinson Family Archives)
7Barack Obama with his mother, Ann Dunham (left), and grandmother Madelyn Lee Payne Dunham. (Obama-Robinson Family Archives)
8Barack Obama and Michelle Robinson at their wedding reception, Oct. 3, 1992, at South Shore Cultural Center in Chicago, IL. (Obama-Robinson Family Archives)
9Barack and Michelle Obama and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, at Sasha’s christening. (Obama-Robinson Family Archives)
10Barack Obama in Chillicothe, IL, during his U.S. Senate campaign, August 2004. (From Barack Before Obama by David Katz. Copyright © 2020 by David Katz. Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers)
11U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama of Illinois delivers the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, July 27, 2004, Boston, MA. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
12Barack and Michelle Obama after his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, July 27, 2004, Boston, MA. (From Barack Before Obama by David Katz. Copyright © 2020 by David Katz. Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers)
13Malia Obama watches her father, Barack Obama, during his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign, Aug. 2, 2004. (From Barack Before Obama by David Katz. Copyright © 2020 by David Katz. Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers)
14Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and daughters Malia and Sasha celebrate his Senate victory over Republican rival Alan Keyes, Nov. 2, 2004, Chicago, IL. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
15Sen. Barack Obama on Capitol Hill, Nov. 17, 2005. (Pete Souza/Chicago Tribune/TCA)
16Sen. Barack Obama and his chief of staff Pete Rouse. (David Katz)
17Sen. Barack Obama in his office on Capitol Hill, January 2005. (Pete Souza/Chicago Tribune/TCA)
18Sen. Barack Obama speaks to Congressman John Lewis (hand outstretched) outside the White House, Jan. 26, 2005. (Pete Souza/Chicago Tribune/TCA)
19Sen. Barack Obama visits a conventional weapons destruction facility in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Aug. 30, 2005. (Pete Souza/Chicago Tribune/TCA)
20Kenyans wait for the arrival of Sen. Barack Obama outside a hospital in Kisumu, Kenya, on Aug. 26, 2006. (Pete Souza/Chicago Tribune/TCA)
21Sen. Barack Obama arrives for a rally to announce his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president, Feb. 10, 2007, Old State Capitol, Springfield, IL. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
22Sen. Barack Obama celebrates with his daughter Sasha after a victory in a carnival game at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Aug. 16, 2007. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
23Sen. Ba
rack Obama greets supporters at a rally in Austin, TX, Feb. 23, 2007. (Scout Tufankjian/Polaris)
24Sen. Barack Obama leads supporters from a rally to U.S. senator Tom Harkin’s Annual Steak Fry in Indianola, IA, Sept. 16, 2007. (David Lienemann/Getty Images)
25Supporters wait to hear Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey at a rally at the Hy-Vee Conference Center in Des Moines, IA, Dec. 8, 2007. (Brian Kersey/UPI/Alamy Stock Photo)
26Campaign manager David Plouffe and Sen. Barack Obama backstage at the Democratic National Convention, Denver, CO, Aug. 28, 2008. (David Katz)
27Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama makes a speech in front of the Victory Column in Berlin, Germany, July 24, 2008. (Sebastian Willnow/DDP/AFP via Getty Images)
28Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain and Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama place flowers at the site of the former Twin Towers in New York, NY, Sept. 11, 2008. (Peter Foley/Reuters)
29President George W. Bush meets with congressional leaders, including the presidential nominees, in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Sept. 25, 2008, to discuss the financial crisis. Seated, from left: Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson, Rep. Spencer Bachus, Rep. Barney Frank, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, President Bush, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama. (Pablo Martínez Monsiváis/Associated Press)
30Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama hugs chief strategist and media advisor David Axelrod on day four of the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 28, 2008, Denver, CO. (Charles Ommanney/Getty Images)
31Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama at the University of Mary Washington during a rally in Fredericksburg, VA, Sept. 27, 2008. (From Barack Before Obama by David Katz. Copyright © 2020 by David Katz. Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers)
32Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama speaks at a rally under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO, Oct. 18, 2008. (David Katz)
33Barack Obama and his mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, on election night in Chicago, IL, Nov. 4, 2008. (From Barack Before Obama by David Katz. Copyright © 2020 by David Katz. Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers)
34Barack Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Sasha (left) and Malia, at Chicago’s Grant Park after his presidential victory, Nov. 4, 2008. (Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis via Getty Images)
35People gather around a transistor radio at the Lincoln Memorial to listen to Barack Obama give his election-night speech, Nov. 4, 2008. (Matt Mendelsohn)
36President-elect Barack Obama backstage at the U.S. Capitol before walking out to take the oath of office, Jan. 20, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
37Barack Obama’s hand lies on a Bible as he is sworn in as the 44th U.S. president by Chief Justice John Roberts in front of the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 20, 2009. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)
38President Barack Obama delivers his inaugural address at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 20, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
39President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama walk on Pennsylvania Avenue during the inaugural parade in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
40President Barack Obama sits in the Oval Office on his first day in office, Jan. 21, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
41President Barack Obama walks down the colonnade at the White House with his daughters, Malia (left) and Sasha, Mar. 5, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
42President Barack Obama with White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel during the White House staff picnic, June 26, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
43President Barack Obama with advisors at an economic meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Mar. 15, 2009. Participants include NEC director Larry Summers, Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner, CEA chair Christina Romer, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and senior advisor David Axelrod. (Pete Souza/The White House)
44President Barack Obama with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid backstage before his town hall meeting in Henderson, NV, Feb. 19, 2010. (Pete Souza/The White House)
45President Barack Obama hugs First Lady Michelle Obama in the Red Room of the White House, with senior advisor Valerie Jarrett, Mar. 20, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
46President Barack Obama runs down the East Colonnade with the family dog, Bo, Mar. 15, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
47President Barack Obama tours the Pyramids and the Sphinx in Egypt on June 4, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
48Palestinians watch a television broadcast of President Barack Obama’s speech in Cairo, at their home in the southern Gaza Strip, June 4, 2009. (Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)
49President Barack Obama talks with Justice Sonia Sotomayor before her investiture ceremony at the Supreme Court, Sept. 8, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
50President Barack Obama meets with Denis McDonough, NSC chief of staff, at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, NY, Sept. 23, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
51(From left) Japanese prime minister Taro Aso, Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, President Barack Obama, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, British prime minister Gordon Brown, French president Nicolas Sarkozy, German chancellor Angela Merkel, Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, and head of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso at the G8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy, on July 8, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
52President Barack Obama and deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes in the Oval Office, May 21, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
53President Barack Obama and members of the American delegation, including (from left) national security advisor General Jim Jones, undersecretary for political affairs Bill Burns, and NSC senior director for Russian affairs Mike McFaul, meet with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at his dacha outside Moscow, Russia, July 7, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
54President Barack Obama leads his daughter Sasha through the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, July 6, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
55President Barack Obama coaches Sasha’s basketball team with help from personal aide Reggie Love in Chevy Chase, MD, Feb. 5, 2011. (Pete Souza/The White House)
56President Barack Obama jokes with press secretary Robert Gibbs and personal aide Reggie Love (right), Oct. 26, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
57President Barack Obama reads in the Rose Garden of the White House, Nov. 9, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
58President Barack Obama greets a young visitor in the Oval Office, Feb. 5, 2010. (Pete Souza/The White House)
59Bob Dylan shakes President Barack Obama’s hand following his performance at a concert in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 9, 2010. (Pete Souza/The White House)
60At Dover Air Force Base in Dover, DE, Oct. 29, 2009, President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder (far right) attend a ceremony for the dignified transfer of eighteen U.S. personnel who died in Afghanistan. (Pete Souza/The White House)
61President Barack Obama delivers a speech on Afghanistan at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY, Dec. 1, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
62President Barack Obama greets Cory Remsburg while visiting wounded warriors at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, MD, Feb. 28, 2010. (Pete Souza/The White House)
63President Barack Obama greets U.S. troops at a mess hall at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, Mar. 28, 2010. (Pete Souza/The White House)
64Presidential advisors, including (from right) Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; defense secretary Robert Gates; veterans affairs secretary Eric K. Shinseki; Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs; and G
eneral David Petraeus, commander, U.S. Central Command, listen to President Barack Obama’s speech on Afghanistan at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY, Dec. 1, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
65President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama talk with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, before they depart Winfield House in London, England, May 25, 2011. (Pete Souza/The White House)
66President Barack Obama with Chinese president Hu Jintao at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Nov. 17, 2009. (Feng Li/Getty Images)
67President Barack Obama and Jon Favreau, head speechwriter, edit a speech on healthcare in the Oval Office, Sept. 9, 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)
68President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and senior staff react in the Roosevelt Room of the White House as the House passes the healthcare reform bill, Mar. 21, 2010. (Pete Souza/The White House)
69President Barack Obama embraces Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius (left) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after signing the Affordable Care Act, Mar. 23, 2010. (Pete Souza/The White House)
70President Barack Obama is briefed at the U.S. Coast Guard station in Venice, LA, May 2, 2010, about the situation along the Gulf Coast following the BP oil spill. Participants include U.S. Coast Guard commandant Admiral Thad Allen (seated at left), Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and EPA administrator Lisa Jackson (far right). (Pete Souza/The White House)
