A Promised Land is the third novel by Barack Hussein Obama, a memoir touching on his childhood, college years, introduction to politics and of course, the start of his presidency.
During his three terms as a United States Senator for Illinois from 1997 to 2005, and his presidency from 2008 to 2017, many saw Obama as an academic and charismatic leader. A potential peacemaker. But history and presidencies don’t run in a straight line, they zigzag in lefts and rights. Obama had many highs to liberals, and questionably many lows to conservatives. Many Democrats saw him as a bridge for America’s internal struggles, although he could be seen as a temporary plaster for a very deep wound, and many Republicans saw him as a threat to traditional values. With the rise of social media influence, and right-wing media power, Obama and his team ultimately became a gift to those who didn’t share their vision for America. They exploited liberal ideals and his administration’s weaknesses and found a way to regain power. This memoir provides answers for those who questioned his decisions, and nostalgia for those who miss his character.
There is never an election where everyone is happy or feels represented, but certain qualities are essential to a leader, especially those who lead the ‘free world.’ In 2008 when Obama became president, I remember my mum saying, “This is history in the making.” And she wasn’t wrong. Obama was the first African American president, a president to succeed in passing a healthcare bill and successfully oversaw the finding and killing of the world’s most wanted man, and a leader who saw America out of its worst economic disaster in decades. In just his first term.
Apart from being a hefty memoir, this is one of the few books I would not only read but like to listen to. This memoir was arguably the most anticipated book of 2020. Usually, presidents don’t waste any time with releasing a presidential memoir after their departure from the White House, but Obama was patient. Some argue this was a political move, releasing it the year of the re-election campaign of Donald Trump, but you cannot argue with its stature. Over 750 pages long, Obama delves deep into the behind the scenes of his journey to the White House and the challenges that met him and his family along the way.
Obama is a great writer, and the prose proves that throughout the book. His perspective is more political than personal, but occasionally he shines a light on the difficulties on persuading his family to enter into politics. His style of writing shows an essence of nostalgia when speaking of his daughters’ early lives and life at home with his mother and grandparents in Hawaii and in Chicago with Michelle. It is clear that Obama is a storyteller, and that echoes in the vast number speeches when he was president; from his Cairo speech in his early years in office, to how America can move forward in light of divisions. When describing places and people his language is very vivid. Describing a trip to the Great Wall of China, he writes “The day was cold, the wind cutting, the sun a dim watermark on the grey sky, and no one said as much as we trudged up the steep stone ramparts that snaked the mountain’s spine.” But Americans do not vote for a president based on their writing skills, as Andrew Jackson’s campaign pushed in 1828 “vote for Jackson who can fight, not John Quincy Adams who can write.” But, after four years of Trumpisms through various divisive tweets, and a source as to which he could freely devalue the Democrats, I think many appreciated a former president’s wisdom on the page. Trump exploited Twitter to gain momentum for his thinking, whereas the Democrats at this point were only just starting to see the benefit of it.
The book starts, naturally, going over elements of his childhood which he thought shaped him into the man who won and occupied the White House. His mother, a care-free and intelligent single mother, saw the importance of seeing different cultures and purposes and introducing her children to them. America has the distinction of being one of the most populous multi-cultured countries in the world, but that territory comes with challenges. America (along with many other western countries) historically treated those who weren’t white with different privileges and rights than those who are. Living in America will not introduce you to and show you the cultures of the world it seemed to Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, so she wanted to take her children with her to experience and explore those cultures which America typically didn’t celebrate.
Obama writes of his very loving childhood in Hawaii, spending much of his time with his grandparents. He describes Hawaii as a place where “slicing through turquois waves is a birth right.” It is sometimes hard to relate to politicians anywhere in the world, especially in terms of their family or personal life, but Obama is honest in his tender but sometimes tense relationship with his wife in the early years of his career. He writes of his personal life in a somewhat melancholy way – his literacy vision is not romanticised.
Throughout the novel, he is very thoughtful. Whether that’s reminiscing of the economic crisis and meeting G20 leaders or reacting to his supreme court nomination, Sonia Sotomayor. His thoughtfulness goes as far to be highly critical of his decision making and capabilities, “the fear came from the realisation that I could win.” And his turbulent relationship with the GOP. Mitch McConnell, the now senate minority leader for the United States senate, made headlines when he expressed his wish to make Obama a “one term president” when he was the senate majority leader. This created a very divisive atmosphere throughout the Obama administration with the rivalry we now see between the republican party and the democrats, arguably one of the most non-bipartisan eras in American history, something the Biden administration has been met with recently with the passing of his COVID stimulus package, with no votes from the GOP.
When Obama speaks of various policies, his inner academic comes alive. Every challenge or problem he ran into during office he described with a vast context and gave the reader a mini history lesson. For example, the evolution and history of the senate filibuster, the involvement of Theodore Roosevelt in healthcare and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Each problem was met with a long explanation of his decision making and the ultimate outcome. When going down the policy rabbit hole, he manages to keep readers engaged and still turning pages. In terms of foreign policy, he entered office under the expectation that he would be a peacemaker, due to his speech in 2003 condemning the Iraq war. But Obama found himself torn between idealism and pragmatism, “turns out avoiding war is harder than getting into one.” He was prepared to withdraw American soldiers in Iraq but needed to do something about Afghanistan. He had names around him persuading and swaying his decision making from one side to the other, most notably Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. His administration was a mix of individuals who favoured military requests, and those who saw the importance of reducing American involvement in overseas crisis’.
He speaks of those in his administration with most admiration. An individual who was an opponent, and then a colleague, Hillary Clinton makes many appearances during the memoir. He describes in detail their quiet, but respected rivalry during the 2008 presidential primary in the Democratic party, but then their close working relationship when Hillary was appointed his Secretary of State. He described her as having “hawkish instincts” when it came to military decisions, but never shied away from praising her political skills. He speaks of his close relationship with Reggie Love, a political aid to Obama and former basketball player. He touched on their many moments of playing cards on air force one as a chance of down time in-between important meetings and the significance of having friendship and informal moments within the administration.
Although many people will look at Obama’s time in office as historic and worthy of praise in certain areas, he verges on a self-deprecating tone, not always acknowledging his hard work. When receiving the Nobel Peace Prize he said “for what?” but he never had his moments of introspection, he viewed his decisions and challenges from the vantage point of the present, allowing readers to be securely in the moments he is describing.
When reading multiple reviews of the memoir, the line that resonates with me the most was Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for the New York Times when she described Obama as a “man who was watching himself watch himself.” He seemed dissatisfied with many decisions, a sceptic of his own roles and achievements. But it is a trait that many leaders need. The ability to question and challenge yourself, even holding the highest of powers, and seeking the possibility of creating perfection when serving your country and serving others is hard. Many leaders have flaws, and as Obama spoke of Michelle’s various reactions to his ideas “it’s like you have a hole to fill. That’s why you can’t slow down.” Everyone has flaws. But Obama has a gracious way of describing and accepting his.
The story will continue in the second addition of his memoir, where I expect him to be reflecting on the 2016 election, and the events that have followed. Obama was undoubtedly a strong political heavyweight, but a piece of propaganda the idealogue’s of the Republican party used that arguably gave America the results of the 2016 election.
Obama had his imperfections, but also his gifts. Like many, I miss his decency and charisma but also his urge to give diplomacy the chance to succeed.
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