an essay on barack obama

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President Barack Obama

Barack Obama: Now Is the Greatest Time to Be Alive

When WIRED asked me to guest-edit the November issue, I didn’t hesitate. I know it’s the height of election season, and I happen to have a day job that keeps me pretty busy. But given the chance to immerse myself in the possibility of interplanetary travel or join a deep-dive conversation on artificial intelligence, I’m going to say yes. I love this stuff. Always have. It’s why my favorite movie of last year was The Martian . Of course, I’m predisposed to love any movie where Americans defy the odds and inspire the world. But what really grabbed me about the film is that it shows how humans—through our ingenuity, our commitment to fact and reason, and ultimately our faith in each other—can science the heck out of just about any problem.

I’m a guy who grew up watching Star Trek —and I’d be lying if I said that show didn’t have at least some small influence on my worldview. What I loved about it was its optimism, the fundamental belief at its core that the people on this planet, for all our varied backgrounds and outward differ­ences, could come together to build a better tomorrow.

I still believe that. I believe we can work together to do big things that raise the fortunes of people here at home and all over the world. And even if we’ve got some work left to do on faster-than-light travel, I still believe science and technology is the warp drive that accelerates that kind of change for everybody.

Here’s another thing I believe: We are far better equipped to take on the challenges we face than ever before. I know that might sound at odds with what we see and hear these days in the cacophony of cable news and social media. But the next time you’re bombarded with over-the-top claims about how our country is doomed or the world is coming apart at the seams, brush off the cynics and fearmongers. Because the truth is, if you had to choose any time in the course of human history to be alive, you’d choose this one. Right here in America, right now.

Matt Jancer

Boone Ashworth

David Nield

Scott Gilbertson

Let’s start with the big picture. By almost every measure, this country is better, and the world is better, than it was 50 years ago, 30 years ago, or even eight years ago. Leave aside the sepia tones of the 1950s, a time when women, minorities, and ­people with disabilities were shut out of huge parts of American life. Just since 1983, when I finished college, things like crime rates, teen pregnancy rates, and poverty rates are all down. Life expectancy is up. The share of Americans with a college education is up too. Tens of mil­lions of Americans recently gained the security of health insurance. Blacks and Latinos have risen up the ranks to lead our businesses and communities. Women are a larger part of our workforce and are earning more money. Once-quiet factories are alive again, with assembly lines churning out the components of a clean-energy age.

And just as America has gotten better, so has the world. More countries know democracy. More kids are going to school. A smaller share of humans know chronic hunger or live in extreme poverty. In nearly two dozen countries—including our own—­people now have the freedom to marry whomever they love. And last year the nations of the world joined together to forge the most comprehen­sive agreement to battle climate change in human history.

This kind of progress hasn’t happened on its own. It happened because people organized and voted for better prospects; because leaders enacted smart, forward-­looking policies; because people’s perspectives opened up, and with them, societies did too. But this progress also happened because we scienced the heck out of our challenges. Science is how we were able to combat acid rain and the AIDS epidemic. Technology is what allowed us to communicate across oceans and empathize with one another when a wall came down in Berlin or a TV personality came out. Without Norman Borlaug’s wheat, we could not feed the world’s hungry. Without Grace Hopper’s code, we might still be analyzing data with pencil and paper.

That’s one reason why I’m so optimistic about the future: the constant churn of scientific progress. Think about the changes we’ve seen just during my presidency. When I came into office, I broke new ground by pecking away at a Black­Berry. Today I read my briefings on an iPad and explore national parks through a virtual-­reality headset. Who knows what kind of changes are in store for our next president and the ones who follow?

That’s why I centered this issue on the idea of frontiers—stories and ideas about what’s over the next horizon, about what lies on the other side of the barriers we haven’t broken through yet. I wanted to explore how we get past where we are today to build a world that’s even better for us all—as individuals, as communities, as a country, and as a planet.

Because the truth is, while we’ve made great progress, there’s no shortage of challenges ahead: Climate change. Economic inequality. Cybersecurity. Terrorism and gun violence. Cancer, Alzheimer’s, and ­antibiotic-resistant superbugs. Just as in the past, to clear these hurdles we’re going to need everyone—policy makers and commu­nity leaders, teachers and workers and grassroots activists, presidents and soon-to-be-former presidents. And to accelerate that change, we need science. We need researchers and academics and engineers; programmers, surgeons, and botanists. And most important, we need not only the folks at MIT or Stanford or the NIH but also the mom in West Virginia tinkering with a 3-D printer, the girl on the South Side of Chicago learning to code, the dreamer in San Antonio seeking investors for his new app, the dad in North Dakota learning new skills so he can help lead the green revolution.

That’s how we will overcome the challenges we face: by unleashing the power of all of us for all of us. Not just for those of us who are fortunate, but for everybody. That means creating not just a quicker way to deliver takeout downtown but also a system that distributes excess produce to communities where too many kids go to bed hungry. Not just inventing a service that fills your car with gas but also creating cars that don’t need fossil fuels at all. Not just making our social networks more fun for sharing memes but also harnessing their power to counter terrorist ideologies and online hate speech.

The point is, we need today’s big thinkers thinking big. Think like you did when you were watching Star Trek or Star Wars or Inspector Gadget . Think like the kids I meet every year at the White House Science Fair. We started this event in 2010 with a ­simple premise: We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated but the winner of the science fair. Since then, I’ve met young people who are tackling everything from destroying cancer cells to using algae to produce clean energy to distributing vaccines to remote areas of the world—all before most of them can even vote.

And as I meet with these young ­people, I can’t help but wonder what might be next—what might happen at a White House Science Fair in five years or 20 years or 50 years? I imagine a student who grows an artificial pancreas right in front of the president—an idea that eventually eliminates waiting lists for lifesaving organs. I imagine the girls who discover a new fuel based on only sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide; the teenager who makes voting and civic activism as addictive as scrolling through your Twitter feed; the boy from Idaho who grows potatoes from a plot of soil brought back from our colony on Mars. And I imagine some future president strolling out on the South Lawn with a student who invented a new kind of telescope. As the president looks through the lens, the girl turns the telescope to a planet she just discovered, orbiting a faraway star at the very edge of our galaxy. Then she says she’s hard at work on another invention—one that will take us there someday.

These kinds of moments are closer than you think. My hope is that these kids—maybe some of your kids or grandkids—will be even more curious and creative and confident than we are today. But that depends on us. We must continue to nurture our children’s curiosity. We must keep funding scientific, technological, and medical research. And above all, we must embrace that quintes­sentially American compulsion to race for new frontiers and push the bound­aries of what’s possible. If we do, I’m hopeful that tomorrow’s Americans will be able to look back at what we did—the diseases we conquered, the social problems we solved, the planet we protected for them—and when they see all that, they’ll plainly see that theirs is the best time to be alive. And then they’ll take a page from our book and write the next great chapter in our American story, emboldened to keep going where no one has gone before.

This article appears in the November 2016 issue. Subscribe now .

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Barack Obama

By: History.com Editors

Updated: May 19, 2022 | Original: November 9, 2009

Barack Obama , the 44th president of the United States and the first African American president, was elected over Senator John McCain of Arizona on November 4, 2008. Obama, a former senator from Illinois whose campaign’s slogan was “Change we can believe in” and “Yes we can,” was subsequently elected to a second term over Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. 

A winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Obama’s presidency was marked by the landmark passage of the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare”; the killing of Osama bin Laden by Seal Team Six; the Iran Nuclear Deal and the legalization of gay marriage by the Supreme Court.

Barack Obama’s Early Life

Obama’s father, also named Barack Hussein Obama, grew up in a small village in Nyanza Province, Kenya, as a member of the Luo ethnicity. He won a scholarship to study economics at the University of Hawaii, where he met and married Ann Dunham, a white woman from Wichita, Kansas , whose father had worked on oil rigs during the Great Depression and fought with the U.S. Army in World War II before moving his family to Hawaii in 1959. Barack and Ann’s son, Barack Hussein Obama Jr., was born in Honolulu on August 4, 1961.

Did you know? Not only was Obama the first African American president, he was also the first to be born outside the continental United States. Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961.

Obama’s parents later separated, and Barack Sr. went back to Kenya. He would see his son only once more before dying in a car accident in 1982. Ann remarried in 1965. She and her new husband, an Indonesian man named Lolo Soetoro, moved with her young son to Jakarta in the late 1960s, where Ann worked at the U.S. embassy. Obama’s half-sister, Maya Soetoro Ng, was born in Jakarta in 1970.

Barack Obama’s Education

At age 10, Obama returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents. He attended the Punahou School, an elite private school where, as he wrote in his 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father , he first began to understand the tensions inherent in his mixed racial background. After two years at Occidental College in Los Angeles, he transferred to Columbia University in New York City, from which he graduated in 1983 with a degree in political science.

He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1991. While at Harvard, he became the first Black editor of the prestigious Harvard Law Review.

Barack Obama, Community Organizer and Attorney

After a two-year stint working in corporate research and at the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) in New York City, Obama moved to Chicago , where he took a job as a community organizer with a church-based group, the Developing Communities Project. For the next several years, he worked with low-income residents in Chicago’s Roseland community and the Altgeld Gardens public housing development on the city’s largely Black South Side. Obama would later call the experience “the best education I ever got, better than anything I got at Harvard Law School,” the prestigious institution he entered in 1988.

Obama met his future wife—Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, a fellow Harvard Law School grad—while working as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm Sidley Austin. He married Michelle Obama at the Trinity United Church of Christ on October 3, 1992.

Obama went on to teach at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2003.

Senator Barack Obama

In 1996, Obama officially launched his own political career, winning election to the Illinois State Senate as a Democrat from the South Side neighborhood of Hyde Park. Despite tight Republican control during his years in the state senate, Obama was able to build support among both Democrats and Republicans in drafting legislation on ethics and health care reform. He helped create a state earned-income tax credit that benefited the working poor, promoted subsidies for early childhood education programs and worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.

Re-elected in 1998 and again in 2002, Obama also ran unsuccessfully in the 2000 Democratic primary for the U. S. House of Representatives seat held by the popular four-term incumbent Bobby Rush. As a state senator, Obama notably went on record as an early opponent of President George W. Bush’s push to war with Iraq . 

During a rally at Chicago’s Federal Plaza in October 2002, he spoke against a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq: “I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars…I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U. S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences.”

The Obama Years: A Nine-Part Oral History

The former president and 24 other members of his administration weigh in on their proudest moments, their regrets and the belief that they left it all on the field.

Barack Obama’s Speech At the 2004 Democratic National Convention

When Republican Peter Fitzgerald announced that he would vacate his U.S. Senate seat in 2004 after only one term, Obama decided to run. He won 52 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary, defeating both multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull and Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes. After his original Republican opponent in the general election, Jack Ryan, withdrew from the race, the former presidential candidate Alan Keyes stepped in. That July, Obama gave the keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, shooting to national prominence with his eloquent call for unity among “red” (Republican) and “blue” (Democratic) states. It put the relatively unknown, young senator in the national spotlight.

 In November 2004, Illinois delivered 70 percent of its votes to Obama (versus Keyes’ 27 percent), sending him to Washington as only the third African American elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction .

During his tenure, Obama notably focused on issues of nuclear non-proliferation and the health threat posed by avian flu. With Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma , he created a website that tracks all federal spending, aimed at rebuilding citizens’ trust in government. He partnered with another Republican, Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana , on a bill that expanded efforts to destroy weapons of mass destruction in Eastern Europe and Russia. In August 2006, Obama traveled to Kenya, where thousands of people lined the streets to welcome him. He published his second book, The Audacity of Hope , in October 2006.

2008 Presidential Campaign

On February 10, 2007, Obama formally announced his candidacy for president of the United States. A victory in the Iowa primary made him a viable challenger to the early frontrunner, the former first lady and current New York Senator Hillary Clinton , whom he outlasted in a grueling primary campaign to claim the Democratic nomination in early June 2008. 

Obama chose Joseph R. Biden Jr. as his running mate. Biden had been a U.S. senator from Delaware since 1972, was a one-time Democratic candidate for president and served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Obama’s opponent was long-time Arizona Senator John S. McCain , a Vietnam veteran and former prisoner of war who chose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. If elected, Palin would have been the nation’s first-ever female vice-president.

As in the primaries, Obama’s campaign worked to build support at the grassroots level and used what supporters saw as the candidate’s natural charisma, unusual life story and inspiring message of hope and change to draw impressive crowds to Obama’s public appearances, both in the U.S. and on a campaign trip abroad. They worked to bring new voters—many of them young or Black, both demographics they believed favored Obama—to become involved in the election.

A crushing financial crisis in the months leading up to the election shifted the nation’s focus to economic issues, and both Obama and McCain worked to show they had the best plan for economic improvement. With several weeks remaining, most polls showed Obama as the frontrunner. Sadly, Obama’s maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, died after a battle with cancer on November 3, the day before voters went to the polls. She had been a tremendously influential force in her grandson’s life and had diligently followed his historic run for office from her home in Honolulu.

On November 4, lines at polling stations around the nation heralded a historic turnout and resulted in a Democratic victory, with Obama capturing some Republican strongholds ( Virginia , Indiana) and key battleground states ( Florida , Ohio ) that had been won by Republicans in recent elections. Taking the stage in Chicago’s Grant Park with his wife, Michelle, and their two young daughters, Malia Obama and Sasha Obama, he acknowledged the historic nature of his win while reflecting on the serious challenges that lay ahead. “The road ahead will be long, our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there.”

Barack Obama’s First Term as President

Barack Obama was sworn in as the first Black president of the United States on January 20, 2009. Obama’s inauguration set an attendance record, with 1.8 million people gathering in the cold to witness it. Obama was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. with the same Bible President Abraham Lincoln used at his first inaugural.

One of Obama’s first acts in office was the signing of The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which he signed just nine days into office, giving legal protection in the fight for equal pay for women. To address the financial crisis he inherited, he passed a stimulus bill, bailed out the struggling auto industry and Wall Street, and gave working families a tax cut.

In the foreign policy arena, Obama opened up talks with Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela and set a withdrawal date for American troops in Iraq. He was recognized with a 2009 Nobel Peace Prize “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” and for his “vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.”

On March 23, 2010, Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as universal healthcare or “ Obamacare .” Its goal was to give every American access to affordable healthcare by requiring everyone to have health insurance, but then providing coverage for people with pre-existing conditions (a group that was previously often denied coverage) and requiring health insurance companies to spend at least 80 percent of premiums on providing actual medical services. 

On May 2, 2011,  Osama bin Laden , the mastermind of the September 11 Attacks , was captured and killed by Seal Team Six. No Americans were lost in the operation, which gathered evidence about Al-Qaeda .

Barack Obama’s Second Term as President

Barack Obama was re-elected for a second term in 2012, beating out Republican Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan. The 2014 midterm elections proved challenging, as Republicans gained a majority in both houses of Congress.

His second term was marked by several international events. In 2013, Obama came out strongly against the use of chemical weapons on civilians by Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, avoiding a direct strike on Syria when al-Assad agreed to accept a Russian proposal that it relinquish its chemical weapons.

Perhaps the defining moment of his international diplomacy was his work on the Iran Nuclear Deal , which allowed inspectors into Iran to ensure it was under the pledged limit of enriched uranium in return for lifting economic sanctions. (Obama’s successor, Donald Trump , withdrew from the deal in 2018.)

Another defining moment of Obama’s presidency came when the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage on June 26, 2015. Obama remarked on that day: “We are big and vast and diverse; a nation of people with different backgrounds and beliefs, different experiences and stories, but bound by our shared ideal that no matter who you are or what you look like, how you started off, or how and who you love, America is a place where you can write your own destiny .” 

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U.S. Presidents / Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. Campaign Speech

Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States—becoming the first African American to serve in that office—on January 20, 2009.

The son of a white American mother and a black Kenyan father, Obama grew up in Hawaii. Leaving the state to attend college, he earned degrees from Columbia University and Harvard Law School. Obama worked as a community organizer in Chicago, where he met and married Michelle LaVaughn Robinson in 1992. Their two daughters, Malia Ann and Natasha (Sasha), were born in 1998 and 2001, respectively. Obama was elected to the Illinois state senate in 1996 and served there for eight years. In 2004, he was elected by a record majority to the US Senate from Illinois and, in February 2007, announced his candidacy for president. After winning a closely fought contest against New York Senator and former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination, Obama handily defeated Senator John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee for president, in the general election.

Life In Depth Essays

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Chicago Style

Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. “Barack Obama.” Accessed April 25, 2024. https://millercenter.org/president/obama.

Professor of Political Science

Michael Nelson

Professor Nelson is the Fulmer Professor of Political Science at Rhodes College, a senior fellow of the Miller Center, and the senior contributing editor and book editor of the Cook Political Report. He is the author of multiple books on American politics and government.

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On January 14, 2009, the Obama Transition team released the first official portrait for President Barack Obama. The photograph was taken by Pete Souza, the newly announced official White House photographer. It was the first time that an official presidential portrait was taken with a digital camera.

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When President Barack Obama moved into the White House, it became livelier than it had been in decades. With Obama came,  from left , daughter Sasha, wife Michelle, daughter Malia, and mother-in-law Marian Robinson (not pictured).  This official family portrait was taken by Annie Leibovitz.

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Obama's lyrical, unsentimental and compelling memoir. In Horizontal format.

I’m Not Yet Ready to Abandon the Possibility of America

I wrote my book for young people—as an invitation to bring about, through hard work, determination, and a big dose of imagination, an America that finally aligns with all that is best in us.

The Atlantic is pleased to offer, below, an adapted and updated excerpt from former President Barack Obama’s new memoir, A Promised Land , which will be published on Tuesday by Crown. Yesterday, The Atlantic’ s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, sat down with President Obama to conduct the first interview for publication that he has given about the writing of his book, his time in office, and his analysis of the current political moment. The extensive interview will be posted on Monday. In the excerpt below, Obama writes about his undiminished belief in the American idea, and about the impetus to put his presidency down on paper.

At the end of my presidency, Michelle and I boarded Air Force One for the last time and traveled west for a long-deferred break. The mood on the plane was bittersweet. Both of us were drained, physically and emotionally, not only by the labors of the previous eight years but by the unexpected results of an election in which someone diametrically opposed to everything we stood for had been chosen as my successor. Still, having run our leg of the race to completion, we took satisfaction in knowing that we’d done our very best—and that however much I’d fallen short as president, whatever projects I’d hoped but failed to accomplish, the country was in better shape than it had been when I’d started.

For a month, Michelle and I slept late, ate leisurely dinners, went for long walks, swam in the ocean, took stock, replenished our friendship, rediscovered our love, and planned for a less eventful but hopefully no less satisfying second act. For me, that included writing my presidential memoirs. And by the time I sat down with a pen and yellow pad (I still like writing things out in longhand, finding that a computer gives even my roughest drafts too smooth a gloss and lends half-baked thoughts the mask of tidiness), I had a clear outline of a book in my head.

First and foremost, I hoped to give an honest rendering of my time in office—not just a historical record of key events that happened on my watch and important figures with whom I interacted but also an account of some of the political, economic, and cultural crosscurrents that helped determine the challenges my administration faced and the choices my team and I made in response. Where possible, I wanted to offer readers a sense of what it’s like to be the president of the United States; I wanted to pull the curtain back a bit and remind people that, for all its power and pomp, the presidency is still just a job and our federal government is a human enterprise like any other, and the men and women who work in the White House experience the same daily mix of satisfaction, disappointment, office friction, screwups, and small triumphs as the rest of their fellow citizens. Finally, I wanted to tell a more personal story that might inspire young people considering a life of public service: how my career in politics really started with a search for a place to fit in, a way to explain the different strands of my mixed-up heritage, and how it was only by hitching my wagon to something larger than myself that I was ultimately able to locate a community and purpose for my life.

I figured I could do all that in maybe 500 pages. I expected to be done in a year.

It’s fair to say that the writing process didn’t go exactly as I’d planned. Despite my best intentions, the book kept growing in length and scope—the reason I eventually decided to break it into two volumes. I’m painfully aware that a more gifted writer could have found a way to tell the same story with greater brevity (after all, my home office in the White House sat right next to the Lincoln Bedroom, where a signed copy of the 272-word Gettysburg Address rests inside a glass case). But each time that I sat down to write—whether it was to describe the early phases of my campaign, or my administration’s handling of the financial crisis, or negotiations with the Russians on nuclear-arms control, or the forces that led to the Arab Spring—I found my mind resisting a simple linear narrative.

Often, I felt obliged to provide context for the decisions I and others had made, and I didn’t want to relegate that background to a footnote or an endnote (I hate footnotes and endnotes). I discovered that I couldn’t always explain my motivations just by referencing reams of economic data or recalling an exhaustive Oval Office briefing, for they’d been shaped by a conversation I’d had with a stranger on the campaign trail, a visit to a military hospital, or a childhood lesson I’d received years earlier from my mother. Repeatedly my memories would toss up seemingly incidental details (trying to find a discreet location to grab an evening smoke; my staff and I having a laugh while playing cards aboard Air Force One) that captured, in a way the public record never could, my lived experience during the eight years I spent in the White House.

Listen to the preface as it appears in the book, read by President Obama:

Beyond the struggle to put words on a page, what I didn’t fully anticipate was the way events would unfold during the more than three and a half years that have passed since that last flight on Air Force One. The country is in the grips of a global pandemic and an accompanying economic crisis, with more than 230,000 Americans dead, businesses shuttered, and millions of people out of work. Across the nation, people from all walks of life have poured into the streets to protest the deaths of unarmed Black men and women at the hands of the police. Perhaps most troubling of all, our democracy seems to be teetering on the brink of crisis—a crisis rooted in a fundamental contest between two opposing visions of what America is and what it should be; a crisis that has left the body politic divided, angry, and mistrustful, and has allowed for an ongoing breach of institutional norms, procedural safeguards, and the adherence to basic facts that both Republicans and Democrats once took for granted.

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This contest is not new, of course. In many ways, it has defined the American experience. It’s embedded in founding documents that could simultaneously proclaim all men equal and yet count a slave as three-fifths of a man. It finds expression in our earliest court opinions, as when the chief justice of the United States bluntly explains to Native Americans that their tribe’s rights to convey property aren’t enforceable, because the court of the conqueror has no capacity to recognize the just claims of the conquered. It’s a contest that’s been fought on the fields of Gettysburg and Appomattox but also in the halls of Congress; on a bridge in Selma, Alabama; across the vineyards of California; and down the streets of New York—a contest fought by soldiers but more often by union organizers, suffragists, Pullman porters, student leaders, waves of immigrants, and LGBTQ activists, armed with nothing more than picket signs, pamphlets, or a pair of marching shoes. At the heart of this long-running battle is a simple question: Do we care to match the reality of America to its ideals? If so, do we really believe that our notions of self-government and individual freedom, equality of opportunity and equality before the law, apply to everybody? Or are we instead committed, in practice if not in statute, to reserving those things for a privileged few?

From the January 2017 issue: My president was black

I recognize that there are those who believe that it’s time to discard the myth—that an examination of America’s past and an even cursory glance at today’s headlines show that this nation’s ideals have always been secondary to conquest and subjugation, a racial caste system and rapacious capitalism, and that to pretend otherwise is to be complicit in a game that was rigged from the start. And I confess that there have been times during the course of writing my book, as I’ve reflected on my presidency and all that’s happened since, when I’ve had to ask myself whether I was too tempered in speaking the truth as I saw it, too cautious in either word or deed, convinced as I was that by appealing to what Lincoln called the better angels of our nature I stood a greater chance of leading us in the direction of the America we’ve been promised.

I don’t know. What I can say for certain is that I’m not yet ready to abandon the possibility of America—not just for the sake of future generations of Americans but for all of humankind. I’m convinced that the pandemic we’re currently living through is both a manifestation of and a mere interruption in the relentless march toward an interconnected world, one in which peoples and cultures can’t help but collide. In that world—of global supply chains, instantaneous capital transfers, social media, transnational terrorist networks, climate change, mass migration, and ever-increasing complexity—we will learn to live together, cooperate with one another, and recognize the dignity of others, or we will perish. And so the world watches America—the only great power in history made up of people from every corner of the planet, comprising every race and faith and cultural practice—to see if our experiment in democracy can work. To see if we can do what no other nation has ever done. To see if we can actually live up to the meaning of our creed.

The jury’s still out. I’m encouraged by the record-setting number of Americans who turned out to vote in last week’s election, and have an abiding trust in Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, in their character and capacity to do what is right. But I also know that no single election will settle the matter. Our divisions run deep; our challenges are daunting. If I remain hopeful about the future, it’s in large part because I’ve learned to place my faith in my fellow citizens, especially those of the next generation, whose conviction in the equal worth of all people seems to come as second nature, and who insist on making real those principles that their parents and teachers told them were true but that they perhaps never fully believed themselves. More than anyone else, my book is for those young people—an invitation to once again remake the world, and to bring about, through hard work, determination, and a big dose of imagination, an America that finally aligns with all that is best in us.

This article is excerpted from Obama’s forthcoming book, A Promised Land .

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Book Reviews

Former president obama tells his story his way — and makes his case for history.

A Promised Land by Barack Obama Crown hide caption

A Promised Land by Barack Obama

In the spring of 2004, a young state legislator was driving home from a campaign event in rural Illinois when he got a phone call from Washington. A voice asked if he would be interested in giving the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention that summer in Boston.

"That I felt neither giddy nor nervous said something about the sheer improbability of the year I'd just had," that legislator now recalls in his new memoir, A Promised Land.

Back in 2004, Barack Obama took that opportunity to speak to the convention. "Let's face it," he began. "My presence on this stage tonight is pretty unlikely."

An improbable year? An unlikely presence? Obama was only beginning his high-speed elevator ride to the world stage. That night in Boston his voice, then still unfamiliar, was soon rising and ringing through the arena:

"There are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America — there's the United States of America."

Thereafter, Obama was "the guy who gave that speech." He got elected to the U.S. Senate that fall and people in Washington were asking when he would run for president.

He tells us in this memoir that he has only watched the video of that night in Boston once, and he points out flaws in his performance. That will impress some as stunning humility and strike others as "humble bragging" or downright disingenuousness.

The 44th president of the United States has always prompted extremes of reaction. Though his nature may be to seek consensus, he has tended to inspire partisan aspiration for some and equally intense resentment for others. His ascent thrilled millions but also stirred a countermovement that is still on the march.

One wellspring of that movement, of course, was electing Obama's successor. The publishers of A Promised Land surely knew they were launching this sure-to-be blockbuster in the month when President Trump would either be reelected or rejected by the voters. They knew the mountain of memories compiled in these 700 pages would appear in a certain light, or shadow, depending on the voters' verdict.

But this is more than Obama's answer to four years of Trump's rhetorical assaults and policy reversals. It is a continuation of the story that the "skinny kid with a funny name" had begun to tell well before the world was listening.

The man and the memoirist

Obama began his literary career a quarter century ago, recalling the struggles of his youth while still in his early 30s in Dreams From My Father . A second volume discussed his rising political ambitions a dozen years later when The Audacity of Hope presaged his first run for the White House .

Now, in A Promised Land, the man is approaching 60, recalling how his audacious dreams came true in 2008 and detailing the first 30 momentous months thereafter.

To a remarkable degree, the style of this latest retelling reflects the man we have seen over these years: Orderly, cautious, self-examining — yet eloquent in flashes so vivid that the world was immediately able to share something of his vision.

Or at least much of the world was able to. Reliving this history through Obama's eyes reminds us how differently others reacted to his rise — how offended they were when he drew vast crowds in Europe while still a candidate for president — collecting the Nobel Peace Prize just for getting elected .

Whatever one's feelings about this man, they are likely to be brought to the surface by this book. We hear his voice in every sentence, almost as if he were physically present and reading the book aloud.

For those who did not leap aboard the Obama bandwagon, much of his memoir will put them in mind of what put them off. To be sure, there were countless issues of policy on which to differ with the 44th president and many elements of his personality to judge for oneself. There were also, as he puts it, plenty of people who never got past being "spooked by a Black man in the White House."

But for those who felt the magnetism and power of the first African American president, at any point in his career, this book should rekindle some of that feeling of discovery. For the truly faithful, some of these pages may have to be read through tears.

Reviewing the history

Obama begins this account by briefly revisiting his rather aimless adolescence, but he moves swiftly on from college identity crises to community organizing in Chicago to Harvard Law School. Soon he is back in Chicago, meeting Michelle Robinson at a law firm, working and making a life in the boom years of the 1990s.

Embedded throughout this dense text are frequent valentines addressed to Michelle. We see her as a smart young lawyer, assessing the trainee who will become her husband. They are soon involved, friends as well as co-workers, then lovers as well as spouses. They marry and have two careers and two daughters but also work at remaining a romantic couple.

He runs for office, aiming too high the first time and losing. He meets David Axelrod (who will be "Axe" the rest of the way), a former newspaper reporter who has become a political consultant and understands Chicago's complex racial politics. Obama wins a seat in Springfield, then an improbable promotion to Washington.

Much of the first 200 pages suggests a Hollywood biopic, with a lot of soft focus and camaraderie and heart-warming music. We meet the campaign's inner circle — Axe, campaign manager David Plouffe, "Memo Master" Pete Rouse, spokesman Robert Gibbs and aide de camp Reggie Love — and all the other buddies who keep the candidate loose and focused, like the crew Shakespeare sketched around Prince Hal.

At one point, Obama retells how his innermost circle thrashed out the decision to run for president in 2008. Michelle makes no secret of her reluctance. She finally asks him why he has to run when Hillary Clinton and so many other Democrats are running who are better known and more experienced.

"I know," her husband replies, "that the day I raise my right hand and take the oath to be the president of the United States, the world will start looking at America differently. I know that kids all around this country — Black kids, Hispanic kids, kids who don't fit in — they'll see themselves differently too. ... And that alone ... that would be worth it."

Michelle relents with: "Well honey, that was a pretty good answer." It is only one of many times in the book that her devotion to her husband overcomes her deep aversion to politics. She appears often, not just to take a bow but to add her perspective and reveal what keeps her husband centered.

He also takes frequent opportunity to mention and share credit with the man he made his running mate back in the summer of 2008. From first reference forward, Joseph R. Biden Jr. is just "Joe."

Obama writes: "If I was seen as temperamentally cool and collected, measured in how I used my words, Joe was all warmth, a man without inhibitions, happy to share whatever popped into his head."

Biden reappears at crucial moments in the narrative, helping to sell the Senate on the Recovery Act and also on what swiftly came to be called Obamacare. He is there in foreign policy debates as well, often as a contrarian.

Governing as grinding

The campaign story has a happy ending. The rest of the book does not really have an ending at all. The author relives the first part of his presidency, recounting not so much a rise and fall as a battle against the unexpected and a struggle for equilibrium.

After the uplift of the throngs on Inauguration Day, we settle into the rhythm that will govern the bulk of the book — the relentless beat of governing. Much has to be done, many people must be met and accommodated. Meetings segue into more meetings. Nothing is ever easy, or really finished or quite what it seems.

As a writer, Obama manages to convey the grinding work of his first years in office without losing forward momentum. First, we see endless negotiations pull the economy back from the brink of a crash in early 2009, but it's a slog for the reader as it was for the policymakers. Then it's on to the Herculean efforts needed to haul the Affordable Care Act across the finish line in March 2010.

Along the way, Obama encounters united resistance from Republicans and dissatisfaction among Democrats. The economy survives the mortgage security and credit crisis, but big Wall Street banks and bankers are seen getting off easy. Health insurance is expanded, but without a "single payer" government system or a "public option" to choose one.

Obama gets to know the players in Congress, starting with the gruff and rough-edged Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate Democratic leader who urges his young star to run for president in 2008.

The cast of Obama intimates keeps expanding, including chiefs of staff Rahm Emanuel (later mayor of Chicago) and then William Daley (brother and son of Chicago mayors). There are Republican leaders in Congress such as John Boehner in the House and Mitch McConnell in the Senate, the latter looming up again and again for his strategies and tactics against nearly all Obama's initiatives and appointments.

But the principal irritants who get perhaps more attention than necessary are the stars of the conservative media subculture, such as Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and the prime-time stars of Fox News. Obama also contemplates the swelling power of populist sentiment on the right, from Sarah Palin as the vice presidential nominee in 2008 (Obama says that "she had no idea what the hell she was talking about") to the nascent Tea Party the following year and the surge of its acolytes in Congress after the midterms of 2010. Of Palin, Obama says: "Hers was a biography tailor made for working-class white voters who hated Washington and harbored the not entirely unjustified suspicion that big-city elites — whether in business, politics, or the media — looked down on their way of life."

The bulk of the book is a crisis-by-crisis recounting of Obama's first two years in office. He does not spare us, or himself, the controversies that studded those years. Some involve longstanding issues such as immigration, gay rights and abortion. Some involve Supreme Court decisions such as Citizens United , which pared back a century of campaign finance laws. We see Obama delight in appointing two Supreme Court justices, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.

We also visit the valleys between the peaks, spending somewhat less time there, as one might expect. Some seem relatively minor now, such as the firestorm over bringing Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other conspirators from the Sept. 11 attacks to New York for trial. We may have forgotten the fracas over the building of "an Islamic community center" and mosque near what was known as ground zero, the former site of the World Trade Center towers destroyed in those attacks. But these incidents still rankle Obama, who tells Emanuel: "If we can't speak out on something this basic, then I don't know what the point is of us being here."

To which Emanuel replies: "At the rate we're going, we may not be."

Which segues to the harsh dose of political reality Obama received in the midterm elections. The Democrats lost 63 seats in the House — their worst drubbing in 72 years. Obama devotes the ensuing chapter ("In the Barrel") to the travails of the lowest days of his first term.

They are all part of the catalog Obama seems to be keeping, like a scrapbook in his head.

Ending in suspense

Obama ends this volume (a second is in the works) with what might be called his greatest hit. The last chapter is about the hunt for Osama bin Laden that culminated in the raid that killed him in May 2011. We sit in on the tense hours as Obama and his national security team await word of the mission's fate. Here, as elsewhere, Obama shares credit with his people, in particular Adm. William McRaven, a former Navy SEAL who planned and conducted the strike.

We watch with the president and his national security team as live video shows the raid in real time. We hear McRaven and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta speaking in code: "Geronimo EKIA." Enemy killed in action.

Even as the final hours tick away before the mission launches, we see Obama put on his tux and attend the White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner, which he could not duck without raising suspicions.

At this late moment in the memoir, a character previously glimpsed in the shadows offstage is suddenly in the spotlight. It is Trump, the real estate man and reality TV star. Obama has mentioned him before, holding him responsible for stoking years of assault on his native-born American citizenship, the imaginary conspiracy of the "birthers."

On this night in 2011, with Trump a highly visible guest, Obama mocked the birther conspiracies and skewered a recent plotline from The Celebrity Apprentice. Cameras caught Trump barely cracking a smile amid the roars of laughter. It has been suggested since that Trump has not forgotten that night.

In truth, Obama was often lacerating in his humor at such dinners, ribbing his rivals at times but often finding the jugular as well. In this case, the target found a way to fire back.

The voice lingers

If you remember enjoying just listening to Obama talk, the cadences and content of what he said, you are likely to keep this volume handy for a long time. If you tend to tire of his lecturing style (he calls it his "droning on"), or his tendency to share what he knows with an air of knowing it's a lot, then you will find it easier to put down.

In his early months as president, there were certainly admirers who hung on his every word. But not a few White House correspondents squinted and squirmed through his early news conferences as his answers to questions became lectures.

Yet all presidential memoirs have value, even if they are far less candid than this one. They offer a unique view from the presidential mind and suggest at least some of the conflicts and contradictions that contend within that mind.

Even if what is revealed is only what the author wishes to reveal, it is an invaluable piece of the puzzle historians will struggle to put together from here forward. If it takes time and effort to take it all in, it's worth it.

NPR's Michel Martin will interview former President Barack Obama to air on Monday.

Essay on Barack Obama

Students are often asked to write an essay on Barack Obama in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Barack Obama

Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Hawaii. His parents were from Kansas and Kenya. He was raised by his mother and grandparents.

Obama studied at Occidental College before transferring to Columbia University. Later, he graduated from Harvard Law School.

Political Career

Obama served in the Illinois State Senate from 1997 to 2004. In 2004, he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

In 2008, Obama became the first African American president of the U.S. He served two terms, focusing on healthcare, economy, and foreign policy.

250 Words Essay on Barack Obama

Introduction.

Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, holds a unique place in history as the first African-American to hold the office. His presidency, from 2009 to 2017, was marked by significant policy shifts and a distinct leadership style.

Political Ascendancy

Obama’s political journey began in Illinois, where he served as a State Senator from 1997 to 2004. His charisma, eloquence, and pragmatic approach to politics catapulted him to national prominence following his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. In 2008, he was elected President, promising hope and change.

Domestic Policy

Obama’s domestic policy was marked by progressive reforms. The Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare”, was a landmark legislation that aimed to overhaul the American healthcare system. His administration also championed the cause of same-sex marriage, culminating in its legalization nationwide in 2015.

Foreign Policy

In foreign policy, Obama sought to ‘reset’ relations with Russia and extend an ‘open hand’ to Iran. His administration was also responsible for the operation that led to the death of Osama bin Laden. However, his handling of the Syrian Civil War and the rise of ISIS drew criticism.

Obama’s presidency was transformative, marked by significant policy achievements and substantial challenges. His tenure was a testament to the power of inclusive leadership, and his enduring popularity underscores his impact on American society. As scholars continue to evaluate his legacy, Obama remains a compelling figure in contemporary politics.

500 Words Essay on Barack Obama

Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, served two terms from 2009 to 2017. Born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, he is a significant figure in American history as the first African-American president. His presidency was not merely a symbolic victory for racial equality, but it was also marked by significant policy achievements and challenges.

Early Life and Career

Born to a Kenyan father and an American mother, Obama’s multicultural upbringing shaped his worldview. He graduated from Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. Before his political career, Obama worked as a community organizer in Chicago, a role that deeply influenced his political philosophy.

Obama’s political career began in the Illinois State Senate in 1997. His charismatic keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention catapulted him into the national spotlight, leading to his election as a U.S. Senator later that year. His meteoric rise continued with his successful presidential campaign in 2008, where his message of hope and change resonated with many Americans.

Obama’s presidency was marked by significant legislative accomplishments. The Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as “Obamacare,” extended healthcare coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. His administration also oversaw the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” enabling openly gay individuals to serve in the military.

However, Obama’s presidency was not without controversy. His use of drone strikes in the Middle East, the handling of the 2008 financial crisis, and the surveillance practices of the National Security Agency were subjects of intense debate.

Post-Presidency

Since leaving office, Obama has remained active in public life. He established the Obama Foundation to inspire and empower future leaders. He has also published a memoir, “A Promised Land,” providing an in-depth account of his presidency.

Obama’s legacy is complex and multifaceted. His presidency represented a significant step forward in American racial equality. His policy achievements, particularly in healthcare, have had a substantial impact on American society. However, his foreign policy decisions and handling of economic crises have also drawn criticism.

In conclusion, Barack Obama’s presidency was a watershed moment in American history. His life and career embody the complexities and contradictions of American society. As the first African-American president, he broke significant racial barriers. His policy achievements and controversies have left a lasting imprint on the American political landscape. His story serves as an inspiration and a cautionary tale about the challenges of leadership in a diverse and divided society.

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Barack Obama

The 44 th president of the United States, Barack Obama is the first Black American who has been elected to the Oval Office. He served from 2009 until 2017.

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Quick Facts

Early life and family, marriage to michelle obama and daughters, illinois political career, 2008 presidential election and inauguration, first term as u.s. president, second term as u.s. president, notable speeches, life after the presidency, how tall is obama, books and grammy, movies about obama.

1961-present

Who Is Barack Obama?

Barack Obama was the 44 th president of the United States and the first Black commander-in-chief. He served two terms, from 2009 until 2017. The son of parents from Kenya and Kansas, Obama was born and raised in Hawaii. He graduated from Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was president of the Harvard Law Review . After serving on the Illinois State Senate, he was elected a U.S. senator representing Illinois in 2004. In 2009, Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize . He and his wife, Michelle Obama , have two daughters, Malia and Sasha .

FULL NAME: Barack Hussein Obama II BORN: August 4, 1961 BIRTHPLACE: Honolulu, Hawaii SPOUSE: Michelle Obama (1992-present) CHILDREN: Malia and Sasha ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Leo

Barack Hussein Obama II was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu to Barack Obama Sr. and Ann Dunham. He has six half-siblings, including half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng who he grew up with.

Obama’s Parents

Obama’s father, Barack Obama Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya. Obama Sr. grew up herding goats in Africa and eventually earned a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya and pursue his dreams of going to college in Hawaii.

Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, was born on an Army base in Wichita, Kansas, during World War II. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dunham’s father, Stanley, enlisted in the military and marched across Europe in General George Patton ’s army. Dunham’s mother, Madelyn, went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, the couple studied on the G.I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program, and after several moves, ended up in Hawaii.

While studying at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Obama Sr. met fellow student Ann Dunham. They married on February 2, 1961, and Barack II was born six months later. As a child, Obama did not have a relationship with his father. When his son was still an infant, Obama Sr. relocated to Massachusetts to attend Harvard University and pursue a doctorate degree. Obama’s parents officially separated several months later and ultimately divorced in March 1964, when their son was 2. Soon after, Obama Sr. returned to Kenya.

In 1965, Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, a University of Hawaii student from Indonesia. A year later, the family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, where Obama’s half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng was born in 1970. Several incidents in Indonesia left Dunham afraid for her son’s safety and education, so at the age of 10, Obama was sent back to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents. His mother and half-sister later joined them.

Obama struggled with the absence of his father, whom he saw only once more after his parents divorced when Obama Sr. visited Hawaii for a short time in 1971. “[My father] had left paradise, and nothing that my mother or grandparents told me could obviate that single, unassailable fact,” he later reflected. “They couldn’t describe what it might have been like had he stayed.”

Life in Hawaii

While living with his grandparents, Obama enrolled in the esteemed Punahou School. He excelled in basketball and graduated with academic honors in 1979. As one of only three Black students at the school, he became conscious of racism and what it meant to be African American.

Obama later described how he struggled to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage with his own sense of self: “I noticed that there was nobody like me in the Sears, Roebuck Christmas catalog... and that Santa was a white man,” he wrote. “I went into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror with all my senses and limbs seemingly intact, looking as I had always looked, and wondered if something was wrong with me.”

Obama’s Half-Siblings

Obama’s family includes six half-siblings located around the world. He shares a mother with half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng and has five paternal half-siblings.

According to Oprah Daily , he has maintained a warm and close relationship with half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng. The two grew up together and both graduated from the Punahou School. “He took his job as big brother seriously,” she said of Obama. “Our mother divorced my father, and our grandfather died. So he really ended up being the man of the house.” Soetoro-Ng campaigned for Obama in both the 2008 and 2012 elections, and the two have shared family vacations in Indonesia and Christmases in Hawaii.

Obama’s oldest paternal half-sibling, Malik Obama, was born in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1958, and the two didn’t meet until 1985. Malik told the Associated Press in 2004 he served as the best man at Barack’s wedding and vice versa. However, Malik notably criticized Obama’s presidency in 2016 and announced his support for Republican candidate Donald Trump in that year’s election. He attended the third presidential debate as Trump’s guest.

Barack’s other half-siblings include:

• Half-sister Auma Obama, born 1960 in Nairobi. She and Barack met for the first time when they were in their 20s in Chicago.
• Half-brother Mark Okoth Obama Ndesandjo, born in Nairobi in 1965. He and Barack have met several times following their 1988 introduction in Kenya.
• Half-brother David Ndesandjo, born in 1967. Although it’s not clear when, he died in a motorcycle accident, according to Politico .
• Half-brother George Hussein Onyango Obama, born in 1982 in Kenya. Barack has only spoken to his youngest half-brother a few times.

Obama entered Occidental College in Los Angeles in 1979. After two years, he transferred to Columbia University in New York City, graduating in 1983 with a degree in political science.

After his undergrad studies, Obama worked in the business sector for two years. He moved to Chicago in 1985, where he worked on the impoverished South Side as a community organizer for low-income residents in the Roseland and the Altgeld Gardens communities.

It was during this time that Obama, who said he “was not raised in a religious household,” joined the Trinity United Church of Christ. He also visited relatives in Kenya and paid an emotional visit to the graves of his biological father, who died in a car accident in November 1982, and his paternal grandfather.

“For a long time, I sat between the two graves and wept,” Obama wrote. “I saw that my life in America—the Black life, the white life, the sense of abandonment I’d felt as a boy, the frustration and hope I’d witnessed in Chicago—all of it was connected with this small plot of earth an ocean away.”

Returning from Kenya with a sense of renewal, Obama entered Harvard Law School in 1988. The next year, he met with constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe. Their discussion so impressed Tribe that when Obama asked to join his team as a research assistant, the professor agreed. In February 1990, Obama was elected the first Black president of the Harvard Law Review . He graduated magna cum laude with his juris doctor from Harvard Law School in 1991.

In 1989, while still in law school, Obama joined the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin as a summer associate. There, he met Michelle Robinson, a young lawyer who was assigned to be his adviser. Initially, Michelle refused to date Barack, believing that their work relationship would make the romance improper. However, she relented not long after, and the couple fell in love.

On October 3, 1992, he and Michelle were married. They moved to Kenwood, on Chicago’s South Side. Barack and Michelle welcomed two daughters several years later: Malia , born in 1998, and Sasha , born in 2001. The couple has stated that their personal priority is their children. The Obamas tried to make their daughters’ world as “normal” as possible while living in the White House, with set times for studying, going to bed and getting up.

After law school, Obama returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer with the firm of Miner, Barnhill & Galland. He also taught constitutional law part-time at the University of Chicago Law School between 1992 and 2004—first as a lecturer and then as a professor—and helped organize voter registration drives during Bill Clinton ’s 1992 presidential campaign.

Obama’s advocacy work led him to run for and win a seat in the Illinois State Senate as a Democrat in 1996. During his years as a state senator, Obama worked with both Democrats and Republicans to draft legislation on ethics, as well as expand health care services and early childhood education programs for the poor. He also created a state earned-income tax credit for the working poor. As chairman of the Illinois Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee, Obama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases after a number of death-row inmates were found to be innocent.

In 2000, Obama made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives seat held by four-term incumbent candidate Bobby Rush. Undeterred, he created a campaign committee in 2002 and began raising funds to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 2004. With the help of political consultant David Axelrod, Obama began assessing his prospects for a Senate win.

Illinois Senator

Encouraged by poll numbers, Obama decided to run for the open U.S. Senate seat, vacated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald. In the 2004 Democratic primary, he defeated multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull and Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes with 52 percent of the vote.

That summer, he was invited to deliver the keynote speech in support of John Kerry at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. Obama emphasized the importance of unity and made veiled jabs at the George W. Bush administration and the diversionary use of wedge issues.

After the convention, Obama returned to his U.S. Senate bid in Illinois. His opponent in the general election was supposed to be Republican primary winner Jack Ryan, a wealthy former investment banker. However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June 2004 following public disclosure of unsubstantiated sexual deviancy allegations by his ex-wife, actor Jeri Ryan. That August, diplomat and former presidential candidate Alan Keyes accepted the Republican nomination to replace Ryan.

In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70 percent of the vote to Keyes’ 27 percent, the largest electoral victory in Illinois history. With his win, Obama became only the third African American elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction.

Sworn into office on January 3, 2005, Obama partnered with Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana on a bill that expanded efforts to destroy weapons of mass destruction in Eastern Europe and Russia. Then, with Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, he created a website to track all federal spending. Obama also spoke out for victims of Hurricane Katrina, pushed for alternative energy development, and championed improved veterans’ benefits.

In February 2007, Obama made headlines when he announced his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. He was locked in a tight battle with then-U.S. senator from New York Hillary Rodham Clinton . On June 3, 2008, Obama became the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee after winning a sufficient number of pledged delegates during the primaries.

He campaigned on an ambitious agenda of financial reform, alternative energy, and reinventing education and health care—all while bringing down the national debt. Because these issues were intertwined with the economic well-being of the nation, he believed all would have to be undertaken simultaneously.

On November 4, 2008, Obama defeated Republican presidential nominee John McCain , 52.9 percent to 45.7 percent, in the popular vote and won election as the 44 th president of the United States. A historic victory, Obama would soon be the first Black president in the nation’s history.

Obama’s inauguration took place on January 20, 2009. When he took office at age 47, Obama inherited a global economic recession, two ongoing foreign wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the lowest-ever international favorability rating for the United States. During his inauguration speech, Obama summarized the situation by saying, “Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious, and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.”

First 100 Days and Nobel Peace Prize

Obama coaxed Congress to expand health care insurance for children and provide legal protection for women seeking equal pay. A $787 billion stimulus bill was passed to promote short-term economic growth in the face of the Great Recession. Housing and credit markets were put on life support, with a market-based plan to buy U.S. banks’ toxic assets. The government made loans to the auto industry, and new regulations were proposed for Wall Street.

Obama cut taxes for working families, small businesses, and first-time home buyers. The president also loosened the ban on embryonic stem cell research and moved ahead with a $3.5 trillion budget plan.

Obama undertook a complete overhaul of America’s foreign policy. He reached out to improve relations with Europe, China, and Russia and to open dialogue with Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba. He lobbied allies to support a global economic stimulus package. He committed an additional 21,000 troops to Afghanistan and set an August 2010 date for withdrawal of nearly all U.S. troops from Iraq. (Obama was an early opponent of President George W. Bush’s push to invade Iraq as part of the “war on terror” initiative, saying at an October 2002 rally: “I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars.”)

In more dramatic incidents, Obama ordered an attack on pirates off the coast of Somalia and prepared the nation for a swine flu outbreak. He signed an executive order banning excessive interrogation techniques and ordered the closing of the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba within a year—a deadline that ultimately would not be met.

In recognition of his administration’s early work, the Nobel Committee in Norway awarded Obama the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

Affordable Care Act

Obama signed his signature health care reform plan, the Affordable Care Act, into law in March 2010. The new law prohibited the denial of coverage based on preexisting conditions, allowed citizens under 26 years old to be insured under parental plans, provided for free health screenings for certain citizens, and expanded insurance coverage and access to medical care to millions of Americans.

Casually known as “Obamacare,” the hallmark legislation faced strong opposition from Congressional Republicans and the populist Tea Party movement even after its passage. In October 2013, a dispute over the federal budget and Republican desires to defund or derail the Affordable Care Act caused a 16-day shutdown of the federal government.

The rollout of the reforms were initially bumpy. October 2013 saw the failed launch of HealthCare.gov, the website meant to allow people to find and purchase health insurance. Extra technical support was brought in to work on the troubled website, which was plagued with glitches for weeks. The health care law was also blamed for some Americans losing their existing insurance policies, despite repeated assurances from Obama that such cancellations would not occur.

The legislation has faced numerous challenges in court and wound up at the U.S. Supreme Court three times. In June 2012, the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, which required citizens to purchase health insurance or pay a tax. In a 5-4 decision, the court said that the health care law’s signature provision fell within the taxation power granted to Congress under the Constitution.

In the summer of 2015, the Supreme Court upheld part of the Act regarding health care tax subsidies. Without these tax credits, buying medical insurance might have become too costly for millions of people.

The latest Supreme Court decision about the Affordable Care Act began in 2017 when Congressional Republicans dropped the individual mandate tax penalty to zero. Texas and 17 other Republican states quickly sued to strike down the Affordable Care Act, mainly based on their opposition to its individual mandate. A Texas federal judge ruled in favor of the suit, saying that because there was no longer a tax, the law was unconstitutional.

The case was sent to an appeals court. A final ruling came in June 2021 when the U.S. Supreme Court voted , 7-2, to uphold the Affordable Care Act on the grounds that the objecting states were not required to pay anything under the mandate provision and thus had no standing to bring the challenge to court. As of January 2023, nearly 15.9 million Americans were insured through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace.

Killing Osama bin Laden

On April 29, 2011, Obama approved a covert operation in Pakistan to track down infamous al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden , the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks who had been in hiding for nearly 10 years. On May 2, an elite team of U.S. Navy SEALs raided a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and, within 40 minutes, killed bin Laden in a firefight. There were no American casualties, and the team was able to collect invaluable intelligence about the workings of al-Qaeda.

The same day, Obama announced bin Laden’s death on national television. “The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al-Qaeda,” Obama said. “As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not—and never will be—at war with Islam.”

Repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

In 2011, Obama signed a repeal of the military policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which prevented openly gay troops from serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. He became the first president to voice support for same-sex marriage in May 2012.

2012 Reelection and Second Term Priorities

As he did in 2008, during his campaign for a second presidential term, Obama focused on grassroots initiatives. Celebrities such as Anna Wintour and Sarah Jessica Parker aided the president’s campaign by hosting fundraising events.

In the 2012 general election, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden faced Republican opponent Mitt Romney and his vice-presidential running mate, U.S. Representative Paul Ryan . On November 6, 2012, Obama won a second term as president, capturing more than 60 percent of the Electoral College.

Obama officially began his second term on January 21, 2013, when U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office. In his second inaugural address, Obama called the nation to action on such issues as climate change, health care, the federal deficit, and marriage equality. Although he made progress on some of these fronts, he also faced waning public support—his approval rating hit a low of 38 percent in September 2014, according to a Gallup poll —and a divided government, when Republicans controlled both houses of Congress for the final two years of Obama’s administration.

NSA Wiretapping Controversy

In June 2013, after Edward Snowden shared confidential government documents with journalists, the news broke that the National Security Agency’s surveillance program was much broader than American citizens knew. Obama defended the NSA’s email monitoring and telephone wiretapping during a visit to Germany that month. “We are not rifling through the emails of German citizens or American citizens or French citizens or anyone else,” he said. Obama stated that the program had helped stop roughly 50 threats.

However, the president suffered a significant drop in his approval ratings, to 45 percent, partially due to the revelations. In October 2013, German Chancellor Angela Merkel revealed that the NSA had been listening in to her cell phone calls. “Spying among friends is never acceptable,” Merkel told a summit of European leaders.

ISIS Airstrikes

In late summer 2013, Obama was unsuccessful in his attempts to persuade Congress, and the international community at large, to take military action against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad , who had used chemical weapons against his country’s civilians. But there was interest in combatting the self-proclaimed Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, which had seized large portions of Iraq and Syria and conducted high-profile beheadings of foreign hostages.

In August 2014, Obama ordered the first airstrikes against the Islamic State on targets in Syria, though the president pledged to keep combat troops out of the conflict. Several Arab countries joined the airstrikes against the extremist group. “The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force,” Obama said in a speech to the United Nations. “So the United States of America will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death.”

Efforts to dismantle the Islamic State have continued after Obama’s presidency. As recently as April 2023, a top ISIS leader was killed in an airstrike. However, U.S. airstrikes have also been responsible for a large civilian death toll. As of December 2021, more than 1,400 people have died, according to military officials. Outside watchdog organizations, like Airwars, estimate the number of casualties could be as many as several thousand.

Iran Nuclear Deal and Other Foreign Diplomacy

In September 2013, Obama made diplomatic strides with Iran. He spoke with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the phone, which marked the first direct contact between the leaders of the two countries in more than 30 years.

This groundbreaking move by Obama was seen by many as a sign of thawing in the relationship between the United States and Iran. “The two of us discussed our ongoing efforts to reach an agreement over Iran’s nuclear program,” reported Obama at a press conference.

In July 2015, Obama announced that, after lengthy negotiations, the United States and five world powers had reached an agreement with Iran. The deal allowed inspectors entry into Iran to make sure the country kept its pledge to limit its nuclear program and enrich uranium at a much lower level than would be needed for a nuclear weapon. In return, the United States and its partners removed the tough sanctions imposed on Iran and allowed the country to ramp up sales of oil and access frozen bank accounts. That year, Obama also traveled to India and reached a civilian nuclear agreement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that opened the door to U.S. investment in India’s energy industry.

Elsewhere, Obama moved to reestablish diplomatic ties with Cuba in December 2014. He and Cuban President Raul Castro announced the normalizing of diplomatic relations between the countries for the first time since 1961. The policy change came after the exchange of American citizen Alan Gross and another unnamed American intelligence agent for three Cuban spies. However, the long-standing U.S. economic embargo on Cuba, instituted by President John F. Kennedy , remained in effect. On March 20, 2016, Obama became the first sitting American president to visit Cuba since 1928, as part of his larger program to establish greater cooperation between the two countries.

Just prior to the trip, on March 10, 2016, Obama met at the White House with newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the first official visit by a Canadian leader in nearly 20 years.

Obama’s Climate Change Policies

In August 2015, the Obama administration announced the Clean Power Plan, a major climate change policy that included the first national standards to limit carbon pollution from coal-burning power plants and called for more renewable energy from sources like wind and solar power. Ultimately, the plan never took effect after facing backlash and lawsuits from business groups, companies, 27 states, and Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell , who was then the Republican minority leader. In February 2019, the Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, to block the plan by putting a hold on regulations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, mostly from coal power plants. That June, the Clean Power Plan was replaced by with the Affordable Clean Energy rule .

Obama also worked to respond to climate change on the global level. In November 2015, he was a primary player in the international COP21 summit held outside of Paris that resulted in the Paris Climate Agreement. The agreement requires all participating nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit the rise of global temperatures and also to allocate resources for the research and development of alternative energy sources.

Obama pledged that the United States would cut its emissions more than 25 percent by 2030. On October 5, 2016, the United Nations announced the Paris Climate Agreement had been ratified by a sufficient number of countries—including China and the United States, the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases—to allow it to take effect starting on November 4, 2016. But on June 1, 2017, President Donald Trump made good on his campaign promise to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement.

Supreme Court Nominees

During his presidency, Obama filled two seats in the Supreme Court: Sonia Sotomayor , who was confirmed in 2009 and is the court’s first Hispanic justice, and Elena Kagan , who was confirmed in 2010. Both justices were confirmed under a Democratic-majority Senate.

After the unexpected death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016, Obama once again had an open Supreme Court seat to fill. In March, the president held a press conference at the White House to present 63-year-old U.S. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Merrick Garland as his nominee for replacing the conservative stalwart. Garland was considered a moderate “consensus” candidate.

Garland’s nomination was immediately rebuffed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and others in the Republican Party. They stated their intention to block any nominee put forward by Obama, fearing that such a confirmation would tip the balance toward a more liberal-leaning court. Garland was never granted a Senate confirmation hearing, and the seat sat empty until April 2017 when Neil Gorsuch , nominated by President Donald Trump, was confirmed.

Last Days in Office and Presidential Legacy

On January 19, 2017, Obama’s last full day in office, he announced 330 commutations for nonviolent drug offenders. The presidents granted a total of 1,715 clemencies, including commuting the sentence of Chelsea Manning , the U.S. Army intelligence analyst who was sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking classified information to WikiLeaks.

Over the course of his administration, Obama led the country away from financial catastrophe as the Great Recession gave away to market stability and a declining unemployment rate. He expanded the country’s diplomatic relations, and the Affordable Care Act marked the biggest health care expansion since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid. Although he made inroads on immigration reform through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the United States continues to face a broken immigration system.

Obama also struggled to enact the gun control measures he hoped for, such as universal background checks and the resurrection of the federal ban on sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Some of the mass shootings during his time include at Sandy Hook Elementary School (20 children and six adult fatalities) in Connecticut; an Aurora, Colorado movie theater (12 fatalities); a historically Black church in Charleston, South Carolina (9 fatalities); and a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida (49 fatalities).

Ever the optimist, Obama shared these parting words at his last press conference with the White House press corps:

“I believe in this country. I believe in the American people. I believe that people are more good than bad. I believe tragic things happen. I think there’s evil in the world, but I think at the end of the day, if we work hard and if we’re true to those things in us that feel true and feel right, that the world gets a little better each time. That’s what this presidency has tried to be about. And I see that in the young people I’ve worked with. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

2010 State of the Union

On January 27, 2010, Obama delivered his first State of the Union speech. During his oration, Obama addressed the challenges of the economy, proposed a fee for larger banks, announced a possible freeze on government spending in the following fiscal year, and spoke against the Supreme Court’s reversal of a law capping campaign finance spending.

Obama also challenged politicians to stop thinking of reelection and start making positive changes. He criticized Republicans for their refusal to support legislation and chastised Democrats for not pushing hard enough to get legislation passed.

He also insisted that, despite obstacles, he was determined to help American citizens through the nation’s current domestic difficulties. “We don’t quit. I don’t quit,” he said. “Let’s seize this moment to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and to strengthen our union once more.”

2015 State of the Union

In his 2015 State of the Union address, Obama declared that the nation was out of recession. “America, for all that we’ve endured; for all the grit and hard work required to come back... know this: The shadow of crisis has passed,” he said. He went on to share his vision for ways to improve the nation through free community college programs and middle-class tax breaks.

With Democrats outnumbered by Republicans in both the House and the Senate, Obama threatened to use his executive power to prevent any tinkering by the opposition on his existing policies. “We can’t put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street, or re-fighting past battles on immigration when we’ve got to fix a broken system,” he said. “And if a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, I will veto it.”

2016 State of the Union

On January 12, 2016, Obama delivered what would be his final State of the Union address. Diverging from the typical policy-prescribing format, Obama’s message for the American people was centered around themes of optimism in the face of adversity, asking them not to let fears about security or the future get in the way of building a nation that is “clear-eyed” and “big-hearted.”

This did not prevent him from taking thinly disguised jabs at Republican presidential hopefuls for what he characterized as their “cynical” rhetoric, making further allusions to the “rancor and suspicion between the parties” and his failure as president to do more to bridge that gap.

Farewell Address

On January 10, 2017, Obama returned to his adopted home city of Chicago to deliver his farewell address. In his speech, Obama spoke about his early days in the Windy City and his continued faith in the power of Americans who participate in their democracy.

He called on politicians and American citizens to come together despite their differences. “Understand, democracy does not require uniformity,” he said. “Our founders quarreled, and compromised, and expected us to do the same. But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity—the idea that for all our outward differences, we are all in this together; that we rise or fall as one.”

Obama also appealed for tolerance along racial and ethnic lines and curbing discrimination:

“After my election, there was talk of a post-racial America. Such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic. All of us have more work to do. After all, if every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and undeserving minorities, then workers of all shades will be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves.

“If we decline to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don’t look like us, we diminish the prospects of our own children—because those brown kids will represent a larger share of America’s workforce. Going forward, we must uphold laws against discrimination... But laws alone won’t be enough. Hearts must change.”

He quoted Atticus Finch, the main character in Harper Lee ’s To Kill a Mockingbird , asking Americans to heed the fictional lawyer’s advice: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

Obama concluded his farewell address with a call to action: “My fellow Americans, it has been the honor of my life to serve you,” he said. “I won’t stop; in fact, I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days. But for now, whether you are young or whether you’re young at heart, I do have one final ask of you as your president—the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago. I am asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change—but in yours.”

After leaving the White House, the Obama family moved to a home in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, D.C., to allow younger daughter Sasha to continue school there.

Obama embarked on a three-nation tour in late fall 2017, meeting with such heads of state as President Xi Jinping of China and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India.

National Portrait Gallery

On February 12, 2018, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery unveiled its official portraits of Barack and Michelle. Both rendered by African American artists, Kehinde Wiley’s work featured Barack in a chair surrounded by greenery and symbolic flowers, while Amy Sherald’s portrait of the former first lady depicted her in a flowing dress, gazing back at viewers from a sea of blue.

Netflix Content and Podcasts

In May 2018, Barack and Michelle finalized a multi-year deal with Netflix to create exclusive content for the streaming service through their production company, Higher Ground. The fruits of the collaboration first appeared with the August 2019 release of American Factory , an Oscar-winning documentary about the 2015 launch of a Chinese-owned automotive glass factory in Dayton, Ohio, and the clash of differing cultures and business interests.

The Obamas helped produce the 2020 documentary Crip Camp , which was nominated for best documentary feature at the 2021 Academy Awards. Higher Ground’s children’s series Ada Twist, Scientist and We the People each won awards at the inaugural Children’s and Family Emmy Awards in 2022.

Higher Ground has expanded into podcasts, including Renegades: Born in the USA —a series of conversations between Barack and musician Bruce Springsteen about life, music, and their love for America.

Barack Obama Presidential Center

In May 2015, the Barack Obama Foundation announced plans to construct the Barack Obama Presidential Center on the South Side of Chicago. The complex would be home to a Chicago Public Library branch, a museum, as well as office and activity spaces for the foundation.

In July 2016, Jackson Park was selected as the host site. Construction began in August 2021, and a groundbreaking ceremony was held the following month with Barack, Michelle, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot all in attendance.

The project has been the subject of two lawsuits from volunteer nonprofit Protect Our Parks, which claimed the city and state of Illinois violated their public trust obligations to protect pubic land in approving the project. They were dismissed by a federal judge in 2019 and 2022, respectively.

The project is expected to be completed by 2025 , according to the Obama Foundation.

Barack Obama Presidential Library

In September 2021, the Barack Obama Presidential Library announced plans to employ a virtual model with records available online, making it the first fully digital presidential library. According to the library, around 95 percent of the Obama administration’s Presidential records were born digital, including photos, documents, tweets, and emails.

According to White House documents , Obama’s physician measured him at 6 feet 1.5 inches tall during a 2016 physical exam.

Obama published his autobiography, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance , in 1995. The work received high praise from literary figures such as Toni Morrison . It has since been printed in more than 25 languages, including Chinese, Swedish and Hebrew. The book had a second printing in 2004 and was adapted for a children’s version. The audiobook version of Dreams , narrated by Obama, received a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word album in 2006.

His second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream , was published in October 2006. It hit No. 1 on both the New York Times and Amazon’s best-seller lists.

The first volume of Obama’s presidential memoirs, A Promised Land , was released in November 2020.

Obama is one of the world’s most recognizable basketball enthusiasts. He played during his youth and for the junior varsity and varsity teams at the Punahou School, winning a state championship with the team in 1979.

Unsurprisingly, Obama became a fan of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls during his time living in Chicago. He appeared in The Last Dance , a 2020 documentary profiling Michael Jordan ’s career and final championship season with the Bulls in 1997-98.

Obama was known for playing pickup games during his first presidential campaign and throughout his presidency, with opponents including NBA and WNBA players. According to GQ , Obama also had a basketball-themed 49 th birthday party and invited stars like LeBron James , Chris Paul , Kobe Bryant , Carmelo Anthony , Magic Johnson , and Bill Russell to play for a group of wounded veterans at Washington’s Fort McNair.

Obama also became famous for filling out NCAA men’s and women’s tournament brackets every year in a segment for ESPN called “Barack-etology.” He correctly picked the men’s March Madness champion only once during his presidency: the University of North Carolina Tarheels in 2009.

In 2021, Obama joined NBA Africa as a strategic partner to help promote the league’s community efforts throughout the continent.

Other Hobbies

Obama has said he grew up a huge comic book fan and was particularly fond of Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian . He also told students at a 2015 virtual field trip that some of his favorite books included The Hardy Boys , Treasure Island , The Hobbit , and The Lord of the Rings .

As for movies and TV, Obama has cited the first two Godfather movies as his top films, and classics like Casablanca (1942), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) among his favorites . Obama is a fan of the HBO drama The Wire , as well as Mad Men , Entourage , Downton Abbey , House of Cards , and The Knick . According to a 2013 article , he is also a Star Trek fan and enjoyed watching live sports at the White House and aboard Air Force One. In addition to the NBA’s Bulls, Obama is also a fan of Chicago’s MLB team the White Sox.

In terms of music, Obama told Rolling Stone in 2008 he had “probably 30” Bob Dylan songs on his iPod. He also said he listens to The Grateful Dead; Earth, Wind and Fire; Elton John ; and The Rolling Stones. However, his favorite artist of all-time is Stevie Wonder .

Obama isn’t totally old school; he follows contemporary media and releases a yearly list of his favorite books music and television from the prior 12 months.

Barack and Michelle’s first date in Chicago was the focus of the 2016 romantic drama film Southside With You ; Parker Sawyer played Barack.

That same year, Netflix released the film Barry about Obama’s time at Columbia University.

In August 2021, HBO released the documentary series Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union in conjunction with the former president’s 60 th birthday.

• Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but those values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism—these things are old.
• We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what’s in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense.
• Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who’s willing to work.
• No single individual built America on their own. We built it together. We have been, and always will be, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all; a nation with responsibilities to ourselves and with responsibilities to one another.
• We are a nation that endures because of the courage of those who defend it.
• I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars.
• So don’t let anyone tell you that change is not possible. Don’t let them tell you that standing out and speaking up about injustice is too risky. What’s too risky is keeping quiet. What’s too risky is looking the other way.
• Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law—for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.
• I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting.
• It is easier to start wars than to end them.
• We don’t quit. I don’t quit. Let’s seize this moment to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and strengthen our union once more.
• It’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.
• What Washington needs is adult supervision.
• When Trayvon Martin was first shot, I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.
• You’ve shown us, Boston, that in the face of evil, Americans will lift up what’s good. In the face of cruelty, we will choose compassion.
• If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.
• My job is not to represent Washington to you, but to represent you to Washington.
• Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.
• Hope—hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation.
• If we aren’t willing to pay a price for our values, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all.
• Yes, we can. Yes, we can change. Yes, we can.
• And where we are met with cynicism and doubt and fear... we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of the American people in three simple words—yes, we can.

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Barack Obama’s Biography and Political Leadership Essay

Introduction.

The forty-fourth President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, Jr., was regarded as one of the world’s top leaders. He was the country’s first African American president. The main reason why many see him as an inspiration is that he was the first person of color to hold the office of president, but there is so much more to him and what he accomplished for our nation. Obama overcame and realized his aim of serving as president of the United States despite being undervalued due to his color and many other factors. The biographical information will be offered in this essay, together with an explanation of why he was regarded as a good leader.

There were not many mixed-race households like those that Barack is growing up in Hawaii. Barack graduated from Harvard Law School and Columbia University after leaving Hawaii for college. Obama began working as a community organizer in Chicago following his college graduation. There, he first met Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, whom he would later wed (Ikediugwu). Malia, born in 1998, and Natasha, also known as Sasha, who was born in 2001, were the couple’s two daughters (Ikediugwu). In 1996, Barack was chosen to represent Illinois in the state senate, a position he held for eight years (Ikediugwu). Obama was elected to the US Senate from Illinois in 2004 with an unprecedented margin of victory. Obama announced his presidential bid in February 2007 (Ikediugwu). Hillary Rodham Clinton, a former US first lady, and senator from New York at the time, lost a tight election to Obama for the Democratic Party. McCain, the Arizona senator at the time, lost to Obama in the presidential election of 2008 (Ikediugwu).

Obama had many difficulties as soon as he came to office. The economy was in a recession, and George W. Bush’s administration, which preceded Obama’s, had started a contentious “bail-out” plan to provide financial relief to struggling financial institutions. Obama had to deal with international issues while American troops were still fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. How Obama ended the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq was unpopular with many former presidents. Obama worked with Congress during his first two years in office to strengthen the economy, pass a law reshaping health care, and withdraw 75% of the US military from Iraq (Ikediugwu). Obama spent significant time and political energy arguing with the Republicans on taxes, budgets, and the deficit when the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in 2010 (Ikediugwu). Obama used his second administration to focus on passing legislation for immigration reform and gun control after winning his second election in 2012 (Ikediugwu). Obama was unable to accomplish one of these. After his second term expired on January 20, 2017, Obama then left his presidency 2017 (Ikediugwu).

Today’s leaders possess the necessary knowledge and abilities, but many lack the necessary behaviors. Barack Obama reportedly has an appealing personality, which has helped him draw domestic and international attention. This quality served him well during the campaign since it made it easier for him to win over supporters—some of his detractors could not help but admire him—and inspire them to take action to support the greater good. His entire campaign served as a textbook example of establishing trust with almost every American citizen eligible to vote, connecting with him effectively, and winning his support (Ikediugwu). Moreover, for this reason, he easily won both the 2008 and 2012 elections (Ikediugwu). He also spoke to a big audience more effectively than any other leader. He is regarded as one of the best orators in American presidential history who can hold an audience’s attention. Furthermore, because of his close ties to the black community and his ability to speak on racial issues without seeming to be speaking primarily for black people.

Barack Obama is a leader of the highest caliber because he can effectively communicate with any individual, organization, or audience, regardless of background, age, ethnicity, or gender. He deserves all the kudos for being a model citizen who has mastered the art of communication in this regard. Barack Obama was a role model for good leadership, not just among Americans but also among citizens from other countries.

Ikediugwu, Ogechukwu A. “The Hero, Barack Obama, and His Uniqueness: A Study of the Audacity of Hope.” Journal of Language, Technology & Entrepreneurship in Africa 10.1 (2019): 163-186.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Essay on President Barack Obama

Introduction

Barack Obama is the 44 th  president of the United States of America (US). He a president for two terms. He was the first black president of the US. “Yes, We Can,” a slogan known by many individuals worldwide, became a trademark for Barack Hussein Obama during his election campaigns. He has had various achievements throughout his life, both as a president and even after his presidency. Obama has taken part in driving democracy both in the US and the globe at large. He is held in high prestige by various individuals across the globe due to his leadership qualities. Barrack Obama has had a unique and worth emulating life faced with various challenges and hardships. His story from his time of birth to now is worth sharing.

Family and Personal Life

Barack Hussein Obama II was born on August 4, 1961, in Hawaii. (Feinstein, 2008). The mother of Barack Obama, Ann Dunham, and his father, Barack Obama Sr., encountered as students at the University of Hawaii. Ann Dunham is from Hawaii, while Obama Sr. is from Kenya. Barack Obama Sr. was born and raised in Kenya. He was a top student who eventually got a grant to go and have his education in the US. Ann Dunham was initially from Washington and Kansas, Texas, but later went to Honolulu. Ann Dunham and Obama Senior encountered in a Russian linguistic lesson at the University of Hawaii, and their love blossomed, which led to their marriage the following year. In pursuit of knowledge, Obama Sr. went to Harvard University when Barack Hussein Obama II was just two years old. Shortly after, Barack Obama Sr. and Ann Dunham divorced (Dunham, 1942). Ann Dunham remarried Soetoro, an Indonesian International student, and gave birth to Maya (Dunham, 1942). Barack Obama Hussein II spent most of his life in Jakarta, where he lived with his mother, stepfather, and half-sister. Obama received a Christian education as he studied in both government-run schools and catholic private schools. He later moved to Hawaii in 1971 to stay with his grandparents and mother after her mother divorced Soetoro (Dunham, 1942). Barack Obama’s grandparents are Stanley Armour Dunham, Madelyn Dunham, Habiba Akumu Obama, and Hussein Onyango Obama.

Barack Hussein Obama and Michelle Robinson met in 1989 at Sidley Austin, a Chicago law firm, in June 1989 (Consulting Editor: Michael Nelson, 2016). Obama was working as a summer associate. Robinson was Obama’s adviser for three months while at the firm, and she attended many social groups with him. However, she initially turned down his marriage proposal, but later, in 1991, they got engaged and married the following year on October 3 (Consulting Editor: Michael Nelson, 2016). Michelle had a miscarriage that led to her using vitro fertilization that led to the birth of Malia Ann in 1998 and in 2001, Natasha (Sasha) was born (Consulting Editor: Michael Nelson, 2016). Obama is Chicago’s White Sox fan, and he flung out the primary pitch in the 2005 ALCS while a statesman (Weiland, 2017). He did his official primary arena at the All-Star Game having a White Sox jersey on. He is also a Chicago Bears soccer supporter in the NFL, although as a teenager, he was a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Obama is a basketball player and was a participant of his high school basketball squad. He uses his left hand.

Barack Hussein Obama started his early education at Punahou School, a prestigious preparatory school in Honolulu, in 1979 (Wallenfeldt, 2021). He earned his bachelor’s grade in 1983, in political science at Columbia University in New York City after moving from Occidental College in Los Angeles. Obama was an intelligent student, which caused his professors to influence him to take his educations seriously. Barrack Obama loved reading and was most intrigued by William Shakespeare, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Toni Morrison (Wallenfeldt, 2021). Barrack Obama worked for a while as an author and editor for Business International Corporation based in Manhattan (Wallenfeldt, 2021). He later worked as a community organizer in 1985 after relocating to Chicago.

After three years, Barrack Hussein Obama II returned to Harvard Law School and, later in 1991, graduated with magna cum laude (Wallenfeldt, 2021). He later served at the Harvard Law Review, making him the first African American to do so. Obama later relocated to Chicago and was involved with the Democratic party. He participated in Project Vote, which resulted in many people registering as voters, and it led to Bill Clinton’s victory in Illinois and the presidency in 1992 (Wallenfeldt, 2021). Obama undertook the project which also led to the election of the first Black American female to the United States Congress. Through this period, he searched for multiracial identity through the lives of his late father and kin in Kenya, resulting in the writing and publishing of his first volume, “Dreams from My Father” (Obama, 2007). Barrack Hussein Obama II functioned as a civil rights advocate and educated constitutional law at the University of Chicago.

Political Life

Barack Hussein Obama started his political profession in 1996 and was voted to the Illinois Senate, where he played a vital role in the passing of various legislations that “tightened campaign finance restrictions, expanded health insurance to low-income families, and changed criminal justice and welfare laws” (Wallenfeldt, 2021). Later, he was voted to the United States Assembly in 2004, and in the Senate, he defeated Republican Alan Keyes (Nelson, 2016). Obama rose to prominence in July 2004 by delivering the important speech at the Democratic National Convention during his drive for the presidency of the US (Nelson, 2016). He presented the American people with the idea that all Americans were related to surpassed politics, culture, or geographic divisions. The speech that he delivered furthered his unknown memoir to the top of the seller’s list, and this saw him becoming prominent in his party that led to him taking office the following year. His fame further grew and caught international attention when in 2006, he traveled to Kenya to see his father’s home. The various events made Barack Hussein Obama famous amongst everyone. Obama later published his book “The Audacity of Hope,” which talked about his vision for the United States of America (Obama, 2007). The book gained popularity and ended up becoming a best seller.

Obama, later in 2008, at Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, declared his candidature for the Democratic Party’s presidential recommendation (Wallenfeldt, 2021). Obama’s appeal, zealous eloquence, and promise to improve the political structure moved many Democrats, particularly the young and the minority supporters. Obama defeated Sen. Hillary Clinton on January 3, 2008, in the first primary nominating competition held in the Iowa caucus (Nelson, 2016). Barack Hussein Obama further won significant votes in Ohio and Texas in early March that led to the slowing down of the momentum of Clinton. Despite his delegate lead, Obama was defeated in Pennsylvania and Indiana two weeks later (Wallenfeldt, 2021). However, he easily won the North Carolina primary that saw him extending his lead over Clinton. Clinton won many superdelegates who later defected to Obama after seeing him win many states. Ensuing the last contests in Montana and South Dakota on June 3, the figure of delegates promised to Obama exceeded the overall required, and Obama clinched the Democratic nomination (MacAskill & Goldenberg, 2017). The nomination made Obama the first Black American to be chosen for president by any main political party. Obama then faced Sen. John McCain from the Republican party. McCain had claimed that Obama was inexperienced for the senate job earlier. Therefore, Obama decided to choose Joe Biden, a veteran Delaware senator with a strong track record in international policy, to be his vice-presidential running mate (Wallenfeldt, 2021).

The contest between Obama and McCain was a costly one. However, due to public support, he forewent federal funding for his movement, and instead, he received huge amounts of money from small donations and internet donations (MacAskill & Goldenberg, 2017). The vast fundraising enabled him to have an edge in advertising his campaigns and establishing extensive grassroots in the regions that were critical battlegrounds, ones that had always gone, Republican. There were various ideological battles between the two presidential candidates, with McCain claiming the need for the US to wait for complete triumph in Iraq while Obama called for a rapid removal of most battle militaries from Iraq and reforming the tax policy that would provide more liberation to lower and middle-income supporters (Wallenfeldt, 2021). Weeks before the election, an economic disaster caused by the September failure of central US banks and financial institutions gave Obama an edge against McCain as he blamed it on the Republican free-market policies implemented during George W. Bush’s eight-year presidency ((Nelson, 2016).

Obama proceeded to win the presidency with more than 53% of the general vote and 365 electoral ballots, and this saw him keeping all the states won by John Kerry in 2004 and also gaining few ones such as Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia, that were previously carried by the Republicans (Wallenfeldt, 2021). After his victory, Obama resigned from the Congress, and he took the pledge of office on January 20, 2009, to become the 44 th  president of the US.

Barack Hussein Obama II announced his reelection campaign on April 4, 2011, in a audiovisual called “It Begins with Us.” He then proceeded to the Federal Election Commission to fill the election papers (BBC News, 2012). Being the reigning president, Obama vied unchallenged in the Democratic Presidential primary election, where he managed to secure the 2778 agreement delegates required to triumph the Democratic nomination on April 3, 2012 (BBC News, 2012). During the Democratic National Pact in North Carolina, Bill Clinton, officially designated Obama and Joe Bidden as contenders for the president and vice president, respectively, for the Democratic Party. Mitt Romney, previous governor of Massachusetts, and Paul Ryan, representative of Wisconsin, were their primary opponents. Obama received 332 electoral votes on November 6, 2012, which were more than the required electoral votes for reelection (BBC News, 2012). Such a win made Obama become the first Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to triumph many of the prevalent votes two times. After his reelection, he told his supporters and volunteers that their choice was solely based on him concentrating on helping the country instead of himself. He was excited to reach out to and collaborate with leaders from both parties in the coming weeks and months.

Achievements During His Presidency

Barack Hussein Obama II had many achievements while he was the president. Various notable achievements left a mark in the hearts of every citizen of the United States.

LGBT rights

On October 1, 2011President Barack Obama argued that “Every single American — gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual, transgender — every single American deserves to be treated equally in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of our society. It’s a pretty simple proposition.” (Office of the Press Secretary, 2016). Barack Obama fought for the equivalent civil rights of every American citizen, despite who they are or who they love. Obama ensured that equal rights prevailed through his progress in equality in thwarting intimidation and hatred against LGBT Americans. Obama, together with the congress, approved and signed into rule on October 2009 the Mathew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law which prevented attacks on individuals based on individual’s real or apparent sexual alignment or gender individuality (Office of the Press Secretary, 2016). Obama also issued a directive in June 2009 supporting LGBT health that gave same-sex domestic partners benefits. The initiative by Obama led to the Office of Personnel Management increasing state aids for same-sex cohorts of state staffs and also allowing them to apply for long-term care cover (Office of the Press Secretary, 2016). Obama directed the Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure that all the hospitals getting Medicare or Medicaid funds to permit visit rights for LGBT patients and ensure that HHS respects the rights of the LGBT patients when it comes to medical decision-making. President Barack Obama also in July 2014, signed an Executive Order that prohibited the discrimination of employees or applicants for employment founded on their “race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin” by the state contractors (Office of the Press Secretary, 2016).

Health Care Reform

President Barack Obama improved access to health care by eliminating lifetime and annual limits on insurance coverage. He also ensured that the health care plans cover children up to 26 (“Improving Health for All Americans,” 2017). Obama prohibited the retroactive cancellation of policies. Obama also expanded Medicaid to individuals whose incomes were under 133% of the federal deficiency level with unparalleled federal backing (“Improving Health for All Americans,” 2017). He also established employer responsibility where the employers must cover for their employees’ health or pay a certain fee to help in the coverage.

Furthermore, Obama simplified the suitability and the registration necessities in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (“Improving Health for All Americans,” 2017). Obama also advanced Biomedical Research to Improve the Health Outcomes of American Citizens by launching the Precision Medicine Initiative to improve health and how we eradicate diseases. Barack Hussein Obama ensured that Health Care and Exposure were within your means by establishing financial aid, ensuring that families that could not afford health coverage are helped by purchasing the coverage through state and federal marketplaces (“Improving Health for All Americans,” 2017). He also improved the answerability, competence, and the value of maintenance by creating innovative transparency necessities and a “star evaluation” structure for hospitals, nursing homes, Medicare Advantage strategies, and doctors to give clients info connected to value and cost (“Improving Health for All Americans,” 2017).

Foreign Policy

Obama worked together with Russia to build a fruitful diplomatic initiative, supported with joint permissions, which swayed Iran to halt its enhancement of bomb-grade uranium (Unger, 2016). The compromise made by Obama ensured a drive-in halting or decelerating Tehran’s development towards manufacturing nuclear weaponries. Obama also reduced the figure of military in Iraq and Afghanistan, which reduced economical dollars expended in military interventions. Obama also extricated the US from a long period of unsuccessful Cuba rules in 2015-2016 (Unger, 2016). The collapse of Venezuelan oil revenue was shifting economic and diplomatic realignments that saw Obama using his executive expert to reestablish diplomatic kindred with Cuba by staying in the island in March 2016 (Unger, 2016).

Death of Osama bin Laden

President Barack Obama on May 2, 2011, declared the murder of Osama bin Laden by the US Navy SEALs (Phillips, 2016). He praised the various individuals who carried the operation and informed the victims of the terror attack of September 11, 2001, that they have never been forgotten (Phillips, 2016). Osama was the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 attack on US soil that left many individuals dead, families hopeless, and the country in pain (Phillips, 2016). Obama called on Americans to reminisce the accord of that catastrophic period.

Post Presidency

After the end of his term, he decided to remain in Washington, making him the first to do so since Woodrow Wilson (Wallenfeldt, n.d.). He cited remaining in the capital until his daughter Sasha completes high school. In his last press, Obama said that he would not be tangled in politics and has taken part in various speaking activities, plus speeches to Wall Street fiscal companies. Despite not wanting to engage in politics actively, he occasionally took issues with some of the policies that were being rolled out by President Trump, his successor, and the direction in which Trump was taking the nation (Wallenfeldt, n.d.). He became more involved in American politics in2020, where he disapproved Trump’s handling of the coronavirus and the murder of George Floyd that flickered protests countrywide (Wallenfeldt, n.d.). Therefore, Obama proceeded to support Joe Biden for the president, where bidden won.

Barack Hussein Obama II has been the greatest president of the US, and he has achieved various milestones throughout his life and presidency. His story opens the mind of every individual in America and the world to the possibility of having dreams and achieving them. Obama has managed to unite all Americans from every walk of life and the world. His life story proves his familiar phrase, “Yes We Can.”

BBC News. (2012, November 7). President Barack Obama defeats Romney to win re-election. Retrieved July 9, 2021, from  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-20233064

Consulting Editor: Michael Nelson. (2016, October 4). Barack Obama: Life Before the Presidency. Retrieved July 9, 2021, from https://millercenter.org/president/obama/life-before-the-presidency

Dunham, A. (1942). Ann Dunham.  Barack Obama , 428.

Feinstein, S. (2008).  Barack Obama . Enslow Publishing, LLC.

Improving Health for All Americans. (2017, January 18). Retrieved July 10, 2021, from  https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-record/health-care

MacAskill, E., & Goldenberg, S. (2017, July 15). US elections: Barack Obama wins Democratic nomination for president. Retrieved July 9, 2021, from  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/04/barackobama.hillaryclinton

Nelson, M. (2016, October 4). Barack Obama: Campaigns and Elections. Retrieved July 9, 2021, from  https://millercenter.org/president/obama/campaigns-and-elections

Obama, B. (2007).  Dreams from my father: A story of race and inheritance . Canongate Books.

Obama, B. (2007).  The audacity of hope: Thoughts on reclaiming the American dream . Canongate Books.

Office of the Press Secretary. (2016, June 9). FACT SHEET: Obama Administration’s Record and the LGBT Community. Retrieved July 10, 2021, from  https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/06/09/fact-sheet-obama-administrations-record-and-lgbt-community

Phillips, M. (2016, December 15). Osama Bin Laden Dead. Retrieved July 10, 2021, from  https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead

Unger, D. (2016). The foreign policy legacy of Barack Obama.  The International Spectator ,  51 (4), 1-16.

Wallenfeldt, J. (2021, May 13). Barack Obama | Biography, Presidency, & Facts. Retrieved July 9, 2021, from  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barack-Obama

Wallenfeldt, J. (n.d.).  Barack Obama – Life after the presidency . Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved July 10, 2021, from  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barack-Obama/Life-after-the-presidency

Weiland, N. (2017, January 17). President Obama, a White Sox Fan, Welcomes the Cubs to the White House. Retrieved July 9, 2021, from  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/sports/baseball/president-obama-a-white-sox-fan-welcomes-the-cubs-to-the-white-house.html

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The Leadership Style of Barack Obama: An Early Assessment

• Fred I. Greenstein

This article presents a highly distilled account of the formative experiences and political rise of Barack Obama. It draws on the sources that were available at the time of his inauguration. The article concludes by examining Obama's leadership qualities in the realms of public communication, organizational capacity, political skill, policy vision, cognitive style, and emotional intelligence. The article went into production one month after Obama entered the White House.

©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston

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Barack Obama - List of Essay Samples And Topic Ideas

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How to Write an Essay About Barack Obama

Understanding barack obama's legacy.

Before writing an essay about Barack Obama, it is essential to understand his impact and legacy both as the 44th President of the United States and as a public figure. Obama's presidency marked a series of significant milestones and policies that left a lasting impact on American politics and society. Start your essay by providing a brief background about Obama, including his early life, education, and rise in politics. Discuss his historical significance as the first African American president and the context in which he was elected. Understanding Obama's key domestic and foreign policies, his leadership style, and his contributions to issues like healthcare, economic reform, and international diplomacy is crucial for a comprehensive analysis.

Developing a Thesis Statement

A strong essay about Barack Obama should be centered around a clear, concise thesis statement. This statement should present a specific viewpoint or argument about Obama's presidency, political ideology, or legacy. For instance, you might explore the impact of the Affordable Care Act, analyze Obama's approach to international relations, or discuss his influence on American political discourse. Your thesis will guide the direction of your essay and provide a structured approach to your topic.

Gathering Supporting Evidence

To support your thesis, gather evidence from various sources, including Obama's speeches, policy documents, biographies, and analyses by political experts. This might include statistical data on policy outcomes, excerpts from Obama’s memoirs, or commentary from political analysts. Use this evidence to support your thesis and build a persuasive argument. Be sure to consider different perspectives and address potential counterarguments.

Analyzing Obama's Presidency and Impact

Dedicate a section of your essay to analyzing key aspects of Obama's presidency and his broader impact. Discuss specific policies and initiatives, their implementation, and their short-term and long-term effects. Explore the challenges Obama faced, such as economic crises, political opposition, and global issues, and how he addressed them. Also, consider the social and cultural significance of his presidency in the context of American history.

Concluding the Essay

Conclude your essay by summarizing the main points of your discussion and restating your thesis in light of the evidence provided. Your conclusion should tie together your analysis and emphasize the significance of Barack Obama's contribution to American politics and society. You might also want to reflect on his ongoing influence after his presidency and his role in current political discussions.

Reviewing and Refining Your Essay

After completing your essay, review and refine it for clarity and coherence. Ensure that your arguments are well-structured and supported by evidence. Check for grammatical accuracy and ensure that your essay flows logically from one point to the next. Consider seeking feedback from peers, educators, or political analysts to further improve your essay. A well-written essay on Barack Obama will not only demonstrate your understanding of his presidency but also your ability to engage with complex political and historical topics.

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Barack Hussein Obama is the current President of the United States. He was born on the 4th of August, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 1979, he finished school Punahou School and entered Occidental College in Los-Angeles. Then Obama graduated the Columbia University, where he made first steps as a politician. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree, he began to work as a corrector in the International Business Corporation. In 1985, he moved to Chicago and worked there as a community organizer. Three years later Obama began to study law in Harvard University. There he was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review and Harvard Law Club. After graduation Harvard, he returned to Chicago and became civil rights attorney. In addition, he worked in the Democratic Party. Barack Obama is a talented writer. In 1995, Barack published his first book “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance” that became successful. Then he became a Senator from Illinois from 1997 to 2004. After that, he was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate. In 2008 Barack Obama became the 44th President of the US. Despite his lack of administrative experience, this statesman with a brilliant mind and great eloquence became a living symbol of changes and upcoming great accomplishments. One reason for its popularity is the new political style, the essences of which are common sense, de-ideologization, practical experience in dealing with daily challenges. The first Afro-American President was a leader of a new type without racial prejudices and other stereotypes. Barack Obama is a man of extraordinary views and beliefs. Obama speaks about women's right to abortion, the development of alternative fuel sources, the weakening of the policy toward immigrants. He did not declare a clear doctrine. His presidential campaign was based on vague promises of changes. Today, some of the features of his unique leadership are obvious. Firstly, propensity to apologize. He has apologized to Turkey for dark periods in the American history. Then he apologized to Japan for the nuclear bombardment during the Second World War. Undoubtedly, that, in such way, Barack Obama distance himself from an aggressive policy of Bush, but such behavior is also connected with personal traits. Secondly, extreme pragmatism in international relations. Being a realist by nature, Barack Obama pursues a pragmatic foreign policy. Sometimes he tends to neglect the allies and "cooperate" with rivals and enemies in order to achieve certain results. The third characteristic of the Obama’s administration policy is the appeal to the negative experience of the United States and their awareness of the right path. The United States have understood the lessons of foreign interventions and the need of setting their sights lower. Today, Washington is looking for partnership and cooperation with the countries of Europe and Middle East, China and others. The multilateralist approach to the world has bent over backwards to mend ties between the US and their European allies, reset relations between the US and Russia, to maintain a strong relationship with China and become the integrated player in the UN. He treats European countries as equal partners, not subservient pawns. The leadership style of Barack Obama is mostly collaborative. He is an attentive listener and tries to understand all arguments from opponents or supporters to make a decision. During the negotiations, the Obama team is much more open to negotiations and talks and diplomacy as a first means of dealing with world problems and even rogue states. The military action only to be used as an absolute last resort. Barack Obama prefers to pursue vigorous diplomacy ("Barack Obama | The Plaid Avenger"). The strong point of Obama as a politician and a negotiator is his eloquence, oratory skills and charm. During his speeches, he has an inner tranquility and has a lot of self-control. He managed to combine new political technologies with traditional organizational skill. He developed own unique style on the basis of assimilating the best examples from other orators. However, some people criticize him for lack of emotionality. Obama created a new style of “bottom-up, empowering” leadership focusing on collaboration. He developed a grassroots movement by building an ever-expanding organization of empowered leaders, who in turn engaged people from their social networks like Facebook. These trends portend massive changes in the 21st century leadership of American institutions, led by the Obama government itself (Bill n.p. ). The greatest accomplishment is the Affordable Care Act, which makes a universal health care. The other accomplishments are ending wars, anti-terrorism efforts and stabilizing the economy. He came out America from the economic crisis. Barack Obama created new jobs, supported equal pay for men and women, recapitalized banks, pursued credit card reforms and reduced taxes for middle-class. He saved General Motors and Chrysler from bankruptcy. In the sphere of environmental protection, Obama contributed to the regulation of greenhouse emissions and invested in renewable technologies. He took away Osama bin Laden, made the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, began the drawdown from Afghanistan and signed the non-proliferation treaty with Russia. In addition, he fought with Somali pirates. Barack Obama improved America's image around the world. Last decades America was perceived as the aggressor that made interventions to other countries and did not care about international opinion. The new image shows that the US is cooperative, benevolent and tolerant to other cultures. Obama’s popularity is also determined by personality traits, friendly manners, mindful decision-making, and confidence. He is charismatic, intellectual and high-educated person. I am impressed by his tolerance to Republicans and people with other views. He is logic and rational. Also, I have noticed that the direct eye contact with listeners is very important to him. His abilities to contact with audience and demonstrate brilliant leadership qualities cause admiration among people. Moreover, Barack Obama earned people`s respect for his loyalty to family. His image contributes to his career. He is always immaculately dressed and creates an impression of reliable, trustworthy person. His appearance, strict clothes and clean-shaved face creates an image of straightforward, honest and hard-working person with strong moral principles. In my opinion, Barack Obama is one of the greatest presidents America, because he is passionate for human rights and social issues. He improved race relations. Barack Obama signed the bill for equal salaries for men and women, established services for overcoming domestic violence and sexual assault. During his presidency, he has changed a healthcare system and established a universal healthcare. It was for a long time a crucial issue in American society. Today, millions of children from poor families can receive help without health insurance. He has increased federal funding and doubled the amount of grant money allocated to students seeking a higher education to cover rising tuition costs. His policies and initiatives for clean energy economy have had an incredible impact on the future of the nation. For instance, the U.S. reduced oil imports by more than 10 percent from 2010 - 2011. The Administration made attempts to reduce dependence on oil, promote alternative energy and invest in renewable technologies. Obama brought the troops from Iraq and finally, ended the war there. In addition, he is ending the conflict in Afghanistan. Obama’s fight against terrorism was successful. At last, Osama Bin Laden was removed. Unfortunately, Barack Obama could not fulfill all promises, and it is not his fault. In the US the President is dependent from congress, so he could not pass his laws through it. Nevertheless, Barack Obama is a great leader due to his accomplishments and personal traits. He became a cultural and historical symbol and called us for better awareness of personal responsibility for our words and actions. The U.S. President Obama has demonstrated the ability to provide strategic guidance, understanding the changes of the modern world and the new role of the United States.

“Barack Obama | The Plaid Avenger”. Plaid Avenger Inc, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2014 <http://www.plaidavenger.com/leaders/profile/barack-obama/> Bill, George. Barack Obama: A Leader for the “We” Generation. Businessweek, 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 7 Mar. 2014 <http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-11-11/barack-obama-a-leader-for-the-we-generationbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice>.

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A Friend of Obama Who Could Soon Share the World Stage With Trump

After Britain’s next election, David Lammy is likely to be foreign secretary. He’s setting out a “progressive realist” policy — and forging ties on the U.S. right, just in case.

By Mark Landler

Reporting from London

Few British politicians have American ties as deep as those of David Lammy, who is set to become Britain’s foreign secretary if the opposition Labour Party wins the coming election, as the polls suggest it will.

A son of Guyanese immigrants who grew up poor in working-class London , he spent summers with relatives in Brooklyn and Queens, working at Con Edison, before earning a master's degree at Harvard Law School and befriending Barack Obama, for whom he canvassed in Chicago during his first presidential campaign.

Yet now, on the cusp of becoming Britain’s chief diplomat, Mr. Lammy finds himself facing an uncertain, even potentially hostile, American political landscape. President Biden and the Democrats, with whom Mr. Lammy has cultivated a deep network of contacts, are fighting to hold off a resurgent Donald J. Trump.

Having been chosen by the Labour leader, Keir Starmer , partly because of his trans-Atlantic credentials, Mr. Lammy, 51, is scrambling to build ties with Republicans and, more challengingly, with those around Mr. Trump. It’s a very different American establishment from the Democratic one he knows so well.

Would Mr. Lammy pay a visit to Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s Palm Beach estate, as David Cameron, Britain’s current foreign secretary, did two weeks ago to lobby the former president on military aid to Ukraine?

“Of course,” he said in an interview this past week in Portcullis House, the parliamentary office building across the street from Big Ben. Noting that he was headed soon to New York and Washington, he said, “I’m happy to talk to whomever the American people decide they want to run the country.”

That’s a time-tested answer for any foreign politician during an American election year, especially one from a party that has held a double-digit polling lead over the governing Conservatives for 18 months. But unlike many Europeans, who regard Mr. Trump with a mix of fear and bemusement, Mr. Lammy genuinely seems to believe he can find common ground with those in Mr. Trump’s orbit.

He has held meetings with former Trump officials like Mike Pompeo , who served as secretary of state and C.I.A. director, and Robert C. O’Brien , who was Mr. Trump’s last national security adviser. And he has struck up a relationship with Senator J.D. Vance, the Ohio Republican and enthusiastic Trump convert .

Mr. Vance’s best-selling memoir, “ Hillbilly Elegy ,” he said, bore parallels to his own story, growing up with a single mother and an absent, alcoholic father, in Tottenham, where race riots convulsed the streets. Mr. Lammy, whose memoir is titled “Out of the Ashes,” said Mr. Vance’s book “reduced me to tears.”

“I said to J.D., ‘Look, we’ve got different politics, but we’re both quite strong Christians and we both share quite a tough upbringing,’” said Mr. Lammy, who would be Britain’s second Black foreign secretary after James Cleverly, a Conservative.

The challenge for Mr. Lammy is that he shares more with Mr. Obama, who was a few years ahead of him at Harvard. The two men, who met 20 years ago at a gathering for Black alumni, had dinner when Mr. Obama visited London last month. In Mr. Obama’s Washington office hangs a portrait of the former president made by Mr. Lammy’s wife, Nicola Green, an artist who chronicled his 2008 campaign.

One of Mr. Obama’s former advisers, Benjamin J. Rhodes, introduced Mr. Lammy to other Democratic lawmakers and has also become a friend. In the event of a Labour government and a second Biden administration, he predicted, “You would see a much more aligned U.S. and U.K. relationship.”

But Mr. Rhodes said Mr. Lammy’s gregarious manner and pragmatic politics would give him at least a fighting chance with a Trump administration. “I think he believes that through force of personality, he could develop relationships in that circle,” Mr. Rhodes said.

For now, Mr. Lammy is determined not to offend. Asked about Mr. Trump’s recent statement that he would tell the Russians to do “ whatever the hell they want ” to any NATO member that did not pay its fair share of the alliance’s costs, Mr. Lammy seized on the reference to burden sharing.

“Is Donald Trump right?” he said. “100 percent.”

Too many NATO countries, Mr. Lammy said, still failed to meet the alliance’s target of military spending equal to 2 percent of gross domestic product (Britain spends roughly 2.2 percent). The Labour Party has vowed to raise that to 2.5 percent, and Mr. Lammy accused the Conservatives of bleeding Britain’s armed forces down to a size they had not seen since the Napoleonic era.

“I recognize in Donald Trump an ability to use language to concentrate minds,” he said.

Other Labour veterans bear no illusions about the chemistry between a Labour government and Mr. Trump. The former president clashed with Theresa May , a Conservative prime minister, though he had better relations with Boris Johnson and praised the current prime minister, Rishi Sunak, for seeking to water down Britain’s climate goals . Mr. Cameron, years before he visited Mar-a-Lago, called Mr. Trump’s threat to ban Muslims from entering the United States “ divisive, stupid and wrong .”

“A Trump government would be very difficult for a Labour government, but it would also be difficult for a Rishi Sunak government,” said Jonathan Powell, who served as chief of staff to a Labour prime minister, Tony Blair.

With the risk of a turbulent stretch in trans-Atlantic relations, Mr. Lammy is emphasizing Britain’s own neighborhood. In a new essay in Foreign Affairs magazine that lays out a foreign policy based on what he calls “progressive realism,” he said Britain needed to focus on rebuilding its security ties with the European Union, which have withered in the aftermath of Brexit.

Mending fences with Europe, Mr. Lammy said, is necessary regardless of whether Mr. Biden or Mr. Trump wins in November because the United States is increasingly preoccupied by its rivalry with China.

“For that reason, the U.K. must play its part here in Europe,” Mr. Lammy said, adding that Labour was better placed than the Conservatives to rebuild trust because of European suspicion of Brexiteers like Mr. Johnson. “Europe is keen to turn the page. The United States is keen for the U.K. to turn the page.”

Even as their strategic priorities diverge, the United States and Britain remain lashed together in conflict zones like the Middle East. British and American warplanes jointly helped repel Iran’s aerial assault on Israel.

Britain’s position on the Israel-Gaza war mirrors that of the United States, and Labour has stayed largely in sync with the Conservatives, despite pressure from its left wing to take a harder line on Israel. Mr. Lammy described the conditions in Gaza as “hell on earth,” but he has not called for Britain to suspend arms sales to Israel, as have legal experts and some members of Parliament.

While Mr. Lammy said he was “very concerned” that Israel might be violating international law, which would trigger a suspension of arms exports, he did not want to get ahead of a judgment by the government’s lawyers.

“I’m also very conscious that I and Keir Starmer might be officeholders” within the coming weeks, Mr. Lammy said, pointing to speculation that if the Conservatives suffer dire losses in local elections in early May, Mr. Sunak might call a general election .

As he contemplated that possibility, Mr. Lammy’s thoughts came back to the United States, where he said the struggles of civil rights leaders like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the election of Mr. Obama symbolized a bend in the moral arc toward racial justice that has transformed Britain as well.

“If I have the privilege of becoming foreign minister,” he said, “I’m very conscious that I’ll be the first — it almost makes me emotional as I say it — the first foreign secretary who is the descendant of enslaved people.”

Mark Landler is the London bureau chief of The Times, covering the United Kingdom, as well as American foreign policy in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He has been a journalist for more than three decades. More about Mark Landler

Home — Essay Samples — Government & Politics — Barack Obama — Rhetorical Analysis of Obama’s ‘A More Perfect Union’ Speech

Rhetorical Analysis of Obama's 'A More Perfect Union' Speech

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Presidents assemble: Obama can reach parts of Democratic base Biden can’t

Biden’s charismatic former boss and rival appeared in a show of unity alongside Bill Clinton, who despite a problematic legacy still has a campaign role to play too

F or once, showbusiness royalty – Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, Lea Michele and Mindy Kaling – was not the main attraction. Instead it was a trio of US presidents that enticed people to pay up to half a million dollars for New York’s hottest ticket.

Last month Joe Biden was joined onstage by Bill Clinton and Barack Obama at a sold-out Radio City Music Hall. At more than $26m, it was the most successful political fundraising event in history . It was also an “Avengers assemble” moment for Democrats seeking to bury their differences ahead of November’s presidential election.

“Last night showed our sceptics, as well as our supporters – it showed the press; it showed everyone – that we are united. We’re a united party,” the US president said later , hinting at the contrast with his opponent, Donald Trump, who is shunned by his only living Republican predecessor, George W Bush, and even his own vice-president, Mike Pence.

But the spectacle of three living Democratic presidents (the fourth, Jimmy Carter, is 99 and in hospice care) joining forces masked some complex personal dynamics in a White House race where 81-year-old Biden is likely to need all the help that he can get.

Obama, 62, remains the Democratic party’s biggest star with books, media appearances, civil society work, plans for a presidential library and campaign speeches each electoral cycle. Clinton, 77, by contrast, saw his stock plummet when Democrats moved left on policy and embraced the #MeToo movement’s reckoning over sexual misconduct .

But analysts believe that both men could prove powerful surrogates for Biden as he seeks to emulate them by winning a second term. Tara Setmayer , a senior adviser to the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, said: “We’re going to see a lot more of President Obama during this election. He’s the best surrogate for President Biden for the constituencies that he needs to shore up: Black voters, young voters, the Democratic coalition.

“Bill Clinton still has an appeal in a certain constituency within the Democratic establishment, so they will use him where they think he’s best suited. If they didn’t think he had value, he would not have been on that stage.”

It is a team of former rivals. The three men were on a collision course during the Democratic presidential primary election in 2008. Biden and Obama sought the nomination, as did Clinton’s wife, Hillary. Obama came out on top then chose Biden as vice-president and Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.

As Obama’s two terms were ending and the 2016 election was approaching, he nudged Hillary Clinton to the forefront as his preferred successor and dissuaded Biden from running after Biden’s elder son died of cancer. Clinton lost to Trump, who lost to Biden in 2020. Obama privately helped clear a path for Biden to the Democratic nomination that year.

There have been notable splits between the presidents on key issues. Biden was unsuccessful in persuading Obama not to send more troops to Afghanistan in 2009. US forces remained in the country until 2021, when Biden withdrew them during his first year in office.

But at last month’s fundraiser , moderated by the late-night TV host Stephen Colbert, the pair were in lockstep. After Biden had painted a dire picture of the threat posed by Trump, it was Obama who highlighted the current president’s achievements, from record-breaking job growth to lower healthcare costs, from expanding college access to a historic investment in clean energy.

“It’s not just the negative case against the presumptive nominee on the other side,” Obama said. “It’s the positive case for somebody who’s done an outstanding job in the presidency.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters heckled the presidents’ conversation, underlining how the war in Gaza has become one of Biden’s biggest electoral vulnerabilities. When Obama was interrupted, he pushed back in a way that might have been awkward for the current president: “Here’s the thing: you can’t just talk and not listen because that’s part of democracy. Part of democracy is not just talking; it’s listening. That’s what the other side does.”

Obama’s exalted status among Democrats could give him a central role in get-out-the-vote efforts in the final weeks of the campaign. David Litt , one of his speechwriters at the White House, said: “President Obama has kind of become a cultural figure in a way that most presidents are not and so he has an ability to reach audiences and a credibility with audiences that might be sceptical of Biden right now, especially younger groups of people.”

He added: “To be able to have Barack Obama say Joe Biden has done a great job is just inherently more credible than Joe Biden saying Joe Biden’s done a great job. In the same way that if I tell you that I’m really good-looking, that’s not very convincing.”

Obama’s presence on the campaign trail will be a useful reminder of his signature healthcare law, known as Obamacare, which Trump narrowly failed to repeal and has vowed to attack again. His charisma and eloquence could have a downside, however, if he consistently overshadows Biden and throws his age into sharp relief.

Henry Olsen , a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center thinktank in Washington, said: “I don’t think they should share a stage. You want to have Obama as a surrogate; as a former president, he can draw attention on his own. You do not want to have the contrast of a young, fluidly moving, fluidly speaking Obama with the rather rigid-in-all-respects president of the United States.”

Like Carter before him, Clinton has spent years in a political wilderness of sorts. A crime bill he signed as president is widely blamed for fuelling a mass incarceration crisis, while his “third way” economic centrism and welfare reform are out of step with today’s progressive movement. A New York Times newspaper report on the 2018 midterm elections was headlined : No One Wants to Campaign With Bill Clinton Anymore.

His 1998 affair with Monica Lewinsky, then a 22-year-old White House intern, and other allegations of sexual misconduct have come under renewed scrutiny. Comments last month by Clinton’s campaign strategist James Carville – blaming “too many preachy females” in the Democratic party – reinforced the view that the Clinton era belongs firmly in the 20th century.

But the 42nd president, who once styled himself as “the comeback kid”, has no intention of leaving the arena. On Sunday Clinton will lead the US presidential delegation to Rwanda to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the genocide. In November, just after the election, Clinton will publish a memoir about his post-presidential life.

And at last month’s fundraiser in New York, he relished the opportunity to praise Biden – “That’s the kind of president I want. Stay with what works” – and take a swipe at Trump’s economic record. “President Trump – let’s be honest – had a pretty good couple of years because he stole them from Barack Obama.”

Joshua Kendall , a presidential historian, was surprised by Clinton’s presence there. “The #MeToo allegations are pretty serious because it’s not just Monica Lewinsky but Juanita Broaddrick,” he said, referring to a woman who accused of Clinton of rape (Clinton has consistently denied all accusations of harassment and assault).

“There are also a couple of other allegations that are serious but it seems that people are a little bit sick of #MeToo and so Clinton has been recycled. The Democrats are just so focused on Trump that they feel like they can’t afford any sort of internal squabbles. That’s why Clinton is there. They just feel like they have to do everything they can to work together because polls are frightening.”

Biden, Clinton and Obama closed out the New York fundraiser by donning Biden’s trademark sunglasses as the president quipped: “Dark Brandon is real,” a nod to a meme featuring Biden with lasers for eyes. They are likely to mount another show of unity at the Democratic national convention in Chicago this summer.

John Zogby , an author and pollster, said: “Obama can fire up a crowd and Clinton does have a charisma factor, so it’s not bad having him on your team – as long as Hillary is not there and as long as Bill Clinton is the third man as opposed to the lead.”

• Barack Obama
• Bill Clinton
• US elections 2024
• US politics

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