Book Review: A Promised Land by Barack Obama
Say what you want about Obama, I liked him. I did not agree with everything that he did but I don’t have to. I feel the same about W. I once told a professor that Bush would have been interesting to meet for a beer. Too bad, he quit drinking! Recently, I have found myself thinking of Bush and Obama after watching a video of Bush welcoming the Obamas to the White House the day after Obama won the 2008 election. That speech harkens back to a Washington that still had its differences but treated each other with a modicum of kindness. Remember, the best way to stop a civil war is for both parties to lay down their arms, talk things out and start being nice to each other.
Reading Obama’s book, I was struck by a number of things. I always thought he was dignified and behaved in a manner well born. But reading what he went through, there was no honey moon. It was a race to survive from the first day in office. He began his presidency facing a national crisis. Sub-prime mortgages had led to the US economy crashing. While he was President-Elect, Obama worked with Bush to help slow the crisis. After taking the oath of office, he submitted a larger stimulus plan to Congress, which arguably kept the US economy from crashing. Then there was another crisis in Europe, and after that the Arab Spring. It seems for a large part of his presidency, Obama dealt with a string of crises.
The book is 701 pages of text. Within these pages, all of the characters from Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, Harry Reid, John Boehner, Hosni Mubarak, and Bibi Netanyahu are described in detail. There are others that are mentioned too. One In particular was John Edwards. Obama describes him as a skilled debater and expends little more in detail, thus dismissing him to the ash heap of his political career. It made me wonder if this was the president’s manner of showing disdain or perhaps even contempt for an unworthy opponent.
For those of us, who are students of American government, the book reinforces what we already know. A bill is passed in either the House of Representatives or the Senate, and then on to the president, who either signs it or vetoes it. But what is not clear from civics’ books is that the process of horse trading is tedious and being president is not a job for the faint of heart. As much as there is this myth of omnipotence, the president seems limited in possibility and constantly under duress. One of the most visible changes was Obama’s hair color. After reading this book, I understand why he was quick to go gray. For either four or eight years, whomever takes that job is always on call to assist in managing a series of never-ending crises both foreign and domestic. Even when they were on vacation, Obama was still briefed and still expected to make decisions.
A final point worth noting is that the book illuminates the sclerosis that has gripped Washington and American politics for more than 20 years. But it is not a book to read and lose hope. Obama does well in describing the enthusiasm his presidency inspired in people across the country. He writes of politicians on both sides who still behaved civilly to each other but he also shines a light on the craven attention-seeking anarchical elements of groups such as the tea party and a strain of rage and dishonesty embodied by Trump and his cadre of racists and nativists.
So is it worth reading? Yes! Read it. Disagree with him if you want. That’s fine. Obama, the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, is a good writer. His prose is approachable and he explains the complexities of his previous job well. Without flourish, his book offers a sober reflection on the one of the most criticized professions after parenthood.