Thursday, March 25, 2021
Book review: A promised land - Barack Obama
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.
Saturday, February 27, 2021
The US Election: will the EU win or lose?
The implications of a Joe Biden victory versus a second term for Donald Trump on the US-EU relationship will become clearer after this week. In its September report, UBS stated: “Most national elections are not global events, but the US election is one exception.”
“The less multilateral approach adopted by the US to tackling the world’s problems, from trade to geopolitics, has left Europe somewhat isolated,” UBS said. “Whatever path the US decides to take in the future will likely have important ramifications for US-Europe relations and their respective economic progress.”
The world’s largest wealth manager noted that the US election will have an effect on eurozone trade, since the US is the euro area’s single most important trading partner and accounts for 14% of all its exports.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to set punitive tariffs on European car exports, something deeply concerning especially for Germany’s powerful automotive sector. In 2018, he slapped duties of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminium.
If Trump were to win, “US-EU trade tensions will likely remain, but increased tariffs are unlikely in the near term,” UBS says, and he “is likely to keep pressure on the EU to support NATO” and be “less willing to work with Europe to engage with China.” Ultimately, it could lead to “increased fragmentation in global trade” the bank said.
If Biden wins, UBS believes it could lead to the easing of trade tensions, with steel tariffs potentially being overturned and threats towards the EU auto industry dwindling.
“However, the positive economic benefit of this [a Biden win] would be marginal, in our view,” UBS said. “Swift progress toward a US-EU trade deal appears unlikely.”
Donald Trump has fostered a confrontational relationship with many EU countries since his victory in 2016, with much of his aggression focussed upon Germany and its chancellor Angela Merkel, criticising her decisions to accept refugees fleeing the Syrian war, and Germany’s insufficient NATO contributions. Many German politicians have been vocal about the fact that under Trump, the transatlantic relationship has deteriated.
Another Trump victory could see more protectionism which would seriously harm EU companies — the European Union ran a €153bn surplus with the US in 2019.
Biden is the more appealing candidate for European companies. He (Biden) said that he would sign the US up to the Paris Climate Agreement again, after Trump withdrew from it in 2019. He has also indicated he would reverse Trump’s move to cut US funding to the World Health Organisation, stating in June this year that “it is essential to coordinating the global response during a pandemic, and the United States should be leading that response as we had in the past.”
But even if the Democratic candidate were to win, the transatlantic relationship may never be what it once was. "Everyone who thinks everything in the transatlantic partnership will be as it once was with a Democratic president underestimates the structural changes,” German foreign minister Heiko Maas told the German Press Agency in the Summer.
Hans Kundnani, a senior research fellow in the Europe Programme at Chatham House, likewise argues that the relationship between the US and Europe was faulty even before Trump came along. “The tendency among Atlanticists to idealise US policy towards Europe before Trump entered the White House obscures the pressures on the transatlantic relationship that were already evident prior to his run for the presidency in 2016,” Kundnani says in his analysis.
He suggests that the US’s increasing focus on China has meant European nations have come under pressure to take more responsibility for their own security. Kundnani says that even if Trump gets re-elected, “Europeans are unlikely to achieve ‘strategic autonomy’ but could in fact be more splintered, with France and like-minded member states pushing to create defence initiatives within the EU “while others such as Poland look to further bilateralise their security relationship with the US.”
Of course a victory for Europe may not play so well with No. 10, the Democrats have already said they will not look kindly upon a UK-US deal that negatively impacts the Good Friday Agreement. Biden stated that he wouldn’t allow peace in Northern Ireland to become a “casualty of Brexit”. Ultimately if there is a win for the EU, that doesn’t mean there will be a win for the UK. If the EU prevails after this election, it is safe to assume they will not be sharing their good fortune with the UK. Then again, that also goes both ways.
Whatever the outcome, a ‘new world’ will be upon us this week. Good luck America.
Book Review: A higher loyalty - James Comey
*Note from author: this blog was written on July 28th 2020*
Decency, ethics, morals, credibility and a sense of fairness (of what is legally right and morally right) are at the core of this book. James Comey, former Director of the FBI, delves deep into his experience and time witnessing leadership and talks about what being a great leader means for him. He draws sharp sketches of key players in three US administrations during his time as the country’s senior law enforcement officer and with his exposure to other great figures explains the different but captivating styles of leading. Of course, his detailed pictures of leaders allow us to draw our own conclusions about the last person he describes in the book (Trump) - someone he doesn’t consider to be a leader.
Well written and detailed, he gives those of us who have less understanding of the structure of either the FBI or the control the president has, a better, deeper and broader understanding of it and its key personnel. For example, the Director of the FBI does not answer to the president, but to the Attorney General. FBI Directors usually have a tenure of 10 years in office, ensuring no political bias between parties goes on. One of Comey’s overriding missions is the long-term safeguarding of the FBI’s independence from being caught up in the middle of the Washington cross-fire and to rebuild public trust in it. But there’s also an implicit hope that Trump, whom he describes as a “forest fire”, will finally pay the penalty for obstructing justice.
Comey’s memoir of his tenure as the shortest-serving of the FBI’s six directors was an international, headline-grabbing event. In the book he is methodical in his approach in describing the events leading up to and after the 2016 election: the story of the intertwined mess of Hillary Clinton’s email investigation, Russia’s unprecedented attack on the election and his firing by President Trump.
The only reason anyone is able to read Comey’s book is because of the shock election of Donald Trump, a character who is mentioned only late in the book but whose presence looms on nearly every page. “We are experiencing a dangerous time in our country, with a political environment where basic facts are disputed, fundamental truth is questioned, lying is normalised, and unethical behaviour is ignored, excused or rewarded,” Comey writes on the book’s opening page.
Comey is a man who has profound respect for law and justice, and has a loathing of bullies. He is a student and practitioner of ethical leadership. He is a deeply reflective person. The New York Times said “He is what Saul Bellow would call a first-class noticer”. Yes, he tries to make himself look good by talking about his noble motives, but he is using himself as a template for good leadership, and when he compares Trump against this, he found Trump didn’t measure up.
He may have lost his position, but he has gained a long-lasting legacy of decency and fairness. My biggest takeaways from the book were; firstly, the undeniable need for fair and trustworthy leadership, in any role. If you are a manager of a small village store or the representative for a major political office, if you do not have the trust or the ability to connect with your staff, you will not succeed in helping yourself or them. Secondly, it is to trust your own instincts and to not give in. Comey was put in many situations where his beliefs and morals would be compromised in the shadow of those more powerful. They would have undoubtedly made his life easier if he had ‘gone along’ with them, but, it proved the importance of ethical leadership and inevitably a Higher Loyalty to the values of his institution which he held so strong.
My favourite quotation from the book was, “Ethical leaders do not run from criticism, especially self-criticism, and they don’t hide from uncomfortable questions. They welcome them."
I have no hesitation in giving this book five out of five stars. As lockdown continues to grant me the extra time to read into subjects I couldn’t squeeze in before, I thought I would share my thoughts on it and hope you have enjoyed it or found it useful.
From Watergate to COVIDgate – how my weekends have changed my perception of certain key events.
*Note from author: this blog was written on the 6th May 2020.*
This pandemic has brought about changes to all aspects of our lives – not least how we use our time. My weekends are no longer a time to meet friends or go to events but have become, courtesy of my uncle who is a Doctor of History, a series of history lessons.
One of my biggest hobbies is learning about American political history and why certain events in the US continue to shape the modern world.
This weekend's 'history lesson' was about the Presidency of Richard Nixon. He has the distinction of being the first president to resign and the first to attempt to ignore the first amendment’s ‘freedom of speech’ by trying to 'take down' publications which were publishing the Pentagon Papers in the 70's and investigating the Watergate scandal.
Nixon's failures were the stuff of dark tragedy: uneven judgement and a deeply suspicious character verging on delusional, combined with great political gifts and considerable vision for the Republican party. He not only opened up U.S. relations with China but also reached an important arms-limitation agreement with the Soviet Union. He supported a number of progressive domestic policies, including the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. He also ordered the important desegregation of schools. But the drama of Nixon concludes with his resignation under a cloud of wrongdoing. For obstructing the investigation of a petty crime committed by some of his own campaign operatives—an attempt to break into the Democratic National Headquarters. Nixon's name and reputation will forever be linked with one word: Watergate. Yet even before this scandal, he tried to abuse his power and operate above the law. He attempted to discredit the leakers of the Pentagon Papers, taking The Washington Post, The New York Times and other newspapers to the supreme court, completely undermining the First Amendment. The courts sided with the publishers and held that the government had no right to invoke the newspapers for publishing excerpts of the papers.
It seems Nixon was always fighting an ‘invisible enemy’, something Donald Trump said of this pandemic. What they both exhibit is a leadership that falls short during a crisis and a reluctance to hold their hands up when they have made mistakes. In Nixon's case, he blamed the press for uncovering his own administration's political secrets about the Vietnam war. Trump on the other hand has blamed The World Health Organisation among many others instead of openly admitting he didn't prepare America for a Pandemic.
One of these presidents was undone by mishandling a situation, the other most likely will be. As historian Tariq Ali said, “History rarely repeats itself, but its echoes never go away.”
Spectacle
