This is a biography of Barack Obama. It took me months and months to read it. There is a lot of slogging through the minutiae of Chicago politics. More than I ever wanted to know or learn. I skimmed and it still took me forever to finish it.

The big headline grabber when the book was released was that the relationship with Michelle overlapped the very serious and heated relationship with someone named Sheila. It is implied and stated that President Obama knew that to get the black vote mobilized for him, he needed to marry a black woman. It was as pragmatic as that in this book.

The author won a Pulitzer Prize for a book about Dr. Martin Luther King, so he is a sympathizer to everything Obama stands for.

Where do I come out after reading this?

I liked the early Barack Obama more than I thought I would. He reminded me of my charming and disarming nephew. He was lovable and funny, at times. At some point, he fell in love with his own image and that is what doomed his presidency.

And it isn't me, the book here says that it was a failed presidency. I don't think it was as bad as his predecessor, but it was bad in a lot of ways.

The author is very critical of Valerie Jarrett, who has been recently in the news again. One of his downfalls was (according to this author) keeping sycophants like her around in the White House and not listening to sound advice from others.

I do give President Obama credit for getting the ball rolling on healthcare. He pushed for it and he rolled it. If the politicians in power now do nothing, it is not his fault there. I think he tried. The author, on this point, is more critical of him than I am.

I think he is a charming and engaging fellow, is President Obama. I totally disagree with his treatment of law enforcement and his disrespect for the military. But, I think if we met, we would get along fine.

I respect him and I respect the office he held. The book here was tedious in the Chicago detail, but he is still an interesting person who is and was much more likable than I thought at the time.

I am sort of glad I read this, but I would not recommend it as it was tedious and time-consuming. I like President Obama better now than I did before, though. I cannot fully explain why, maybe it's time and distance that's done it.

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Created May 30, 2018 at 9:47am • Submit your own review...