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| How Global Cooperation Could Be Key to Containing the Coronavirus | How Global Cooperation Could Be Key to Containing the Coronavirus |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| — Samantha Power, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. | — Samantha Power, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. |
| On Friday, President Trump pulled the United States out of the World Health Organization, accusing the agency of helping the Chinese government cover up the coronavirus epidemic. | On Friday, President Trump pulled the United States out of the World Health Organization, accusing the agency of helping the Chinese government cover up the coronavirus epidemic. |
| Public health experts in the United States reacted to Mr. Trump’s announcement with alarm. | Public health experts in the United States reacted to Mr. Trump’s announcement with alarm. |
| “We helped create the W.H.O.,” Dr. Thomas Frieden, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The New York Times. | “We helped create the W.H.O.,” Dr. Thomas Frieden, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The New York Times. |
| “Turning our back on the W.H.O. makes us and the world less safe,” Dr. Friedan said. | “Turning our back on the W.H.O. makes us and the world less safe,” Dr. Friedan said. |
| Experts argued that global cooperation would be crucial to containing the virus, as it did six years ago during the Ebola outbreak that was raging through West Africa. | Experts argued that global cooperation would be crucial to containing the virus, as it did six years ago during the Ebola outbreak that was raging through West Africa. |
| At the time, President Barack Obama sent 3,000 American troops to the region to help with the response on the ground. And Samantha Power, former ambassador to the U.N., convened the U.N. Security Council for its first ever meeting over a public health crisis and helped pass a resolution declaring the outbreak a “threat to international peace and security” — a step that led to an infusion of funds and resources for the response effort. | At the time, President Barack Obama sent 3,000 American troops to the region to help with the response on the ground. And Samantha Power, former ambassador to the U.N., convened the U.N. Security Council for its first ever meeting over a public health crisis and helped pass a resolution declaring the outbreak a “threat to international peace and security” — a step that led to an infusion of funds and resources for the response effort. |
| “Like so many 21st-century challenges, Ebola was not a zero-sum fight in which some countries could ‘win’ by pursuing their interests in a vacuum,” Power wrote in her book “The Education of an Idealist.” | “Like so many 21st-century challenges, Ebola was not a zero-sum fight in which some countries could ‘win’ by pursuing their interests in a vacuum,” Power wrote in her book “The Education of an Idealist.” |
| I spoke with Power at a digital event hosted by The Wing last week. We discussed what the W.H.O. would look like without American contributions and the lessons learned from the Ebola crisis. | I spoke with Power at a digital event hosted by The Wing last week. We discussed what the W.H.O. would look like without American contributions and the lessons learned from the Ebola crisis. |
| The interview has been shortened and edited for clarity. You can watch the full video here. | The interview has been shortened and edited for clarity. You can watch the full video here. |
| Walk me through the immediate ramifications of cutting funding to the W.H.O., which President Trump declared this past week that he would do. | Walk me through the immediate ramifications of cutting funding to the W.H.O., which President Trump declared this past week that he would do. |
| Seventy percent of U.S. funds, roughly, go to H.I.V., malaria, vaccinations. So you may be making a political statement and trying to thumb your nose at China but what you’re doing is cutting funding from children getting measles and polio vaccines. | Seventy percent of U.S. funds, roughly, go to H.I.V., malaria, vaccinations. So you may be making a political statement and trying to thumb your nose at China but what you’re doing is cutting funding from children getting measles and polio vaccines. |
| The main job of the World Health Organization is actually to gather information from the various countries that comprise the U.N. and publicize information that needs to be turned into an alarm. That is something that they did in this case but they were a little bit later than we wish they would have been. But it’s hard to pin any dimension of our lack of preparedness on the World Health Organization. So that coordinating, alarm-issuing role is very significant. | The main job of the World Health Organization is actually to gather information from the various countries that comprise the U.N. and publicize information that needs to be turned into an alarm. That is something that they did in this case but they were a little bit later than we wish they would have been. But it’s hard to pin any dimension of our lack of preparedness on the World Health Organization. So that coordinating, alarm-issuing role is very significant. |
| Unfortunately, international organizations are very dependent on the governments that comprise those organizations. It’s not as though the U.N. secretary general gets to march into the Wuhan wet market and poke around. He’s dependent, as is the head of the World Health Organization, on the Chinese government allowing that kind of access. While that seems kind of lame on one level, imagine if we were talking about the United States. | Unfortunately, international organizations are very dependent on the governments that comprise those organizations. It’s not as though the U.N. secretary general gets to march into the Wuhan wet market and poke around. He’s dependent, as is the head of the World Health Organization, on the Chinese government allowing that kind of access. While that seems kind of lame on one level, imagine if we were talking about the United States. |
| The W.H.O. also gathers resources from the member states, particularly the wealthier ones, the donor states, and then provides supplies to developing countries and governments that just don’t have the ability to manufacture them or to afford them. I mean, the country of South Sudan only had four ventilators at the start of this crisis and fewer than 200 doctors in the whole country. So that pooling of resources to send to those areas is critical. | The W.H.O. also gathers resources from the member states, particularly the wealthier ones, the donor states, and then provides supplies to developing countries and governments that just don’t have the ability to manufacture them or to afford them. I mean, the country of South Sudan only had four ventilators at the start of this crisis and fewer than 200 doctors in the whole country. So that pooling of resources to send to those areas is critical. |
| In a recent opinion piece in The Times, you argue that America’s chances of recovery from the coronavirus outbreak are tied to the well-being of other countries and therefore the U.S. needs to lead global efforts to stem the spread of the virus. Could you explain exactly why our fates are so linked with the fate of other countries? | In a recent opinion piece in The Times, you argue that America’s chances of recovery from the coronavirus outbreak are tied to the well-being of other countries and therefore the U.S. needs to lead global efforts to stem the spread of the virus. Could you explain exactly why our fates are so linked with the fate of other countries? |
| I’m old enough to remember when it was not controversial to note how linked we are. It’s a pandemic that came from somewhere else, traveled presumably on an airplane with somebody, unwittingly, and has wreaked havoc on our communities, our economy, our psychology. But it has become something you kind of have to argue now, to say “actually, it matters what happens beyond our borders.” We have so many family ties with people living in other countries. Our global supply chains, at least for the time being, stretch like capillaries into the deepest recesses of many developing countries. Our trade ties extend to other places. Normalcy elsewhere matters to normalcy here. We know that viruses don’t respect borders. But that also requires thinking about the recovery in similar terms. We have to buckle down and do what we need to do here, but we won’t be able to return to normal until the hot spots are calmed around the world. | I’m old enough to remember when it was not controversial to note how linked we are. It’s a pandemic that came from somewhere else, traveled presumably on an airplane with somebody, unwittingly, and has wreaked havoc on our communities, our economy, our psychology. But it has become something you kind of have to argue now, to say “actually, it matters what happens beyond our borders.” We have so many family ties with people living in other countries. Our global supply chains, at least for the time being, stretch like capillaries into the deepest recesses of many developing countries. Our trade ties extend to other places. Normalcy elsewhere matters to normalcy here. We know that viruses don’t respect borders. But that also requires thinking about the recovery in similar terms. We have to buckle down and do what we need to do here, but we won’t be able to return to normal until the hot spots are calmed around the world. |
| What do you think this crisis has done for the respect of global organizations and for the respect of America around the world? | What do you think this crisis has done for the respect of global organizations and for the respect of America around the world? |
| Some of the lesson learning in the United States will be related to globalization and it will be healthy. There will be a question about how we make ourselves less susceptible to disruptions in global supply chains. | Some of the lesson learning in the United States will be related to globalization and it will be healthy. There will be a question about how we make ourselves less susceptible to disruptions in global supply chains. |
| But the scapegoating of international institutions is a travesty and it’s completely antithetical to our interests. Out of a crisis like this, we should be looking to strengthen the authorities of those bodies that have access to information from all over the world. And to pull funding from the World Health Organization at the height of the greatest pandemic since 1918 is a massive blow to U.S. leadership. | But the scapegoating of international institutions is a travesty and it’s completely antithetical to our interests. Out of a crisis like this, we should be looking to strengthen the authorities of those bodies that have access to information from all over the world. And to pull funding from the World Health Organization at the height of the greatest pandemic since 1918 is a massive blow to U.S. leadership. |
| But the most significant blow to U.S. leadership is the handling of the pandemic at home. The most significant source of our leadership, over time, is our soft power and is the model of our democracy. So when we end up with partisan understandings of what has happened and now we’re leading the world in deaths — that is seen everywhere in the world. | But the most significant blow to U.S. leadership is the handling of the pandemic at home. The most significant source of our leadership, over time, is our soft power and is the model of our democracy. So when we end up with partisan understandings of what has happened and now we’re leading the world in deaths — that is seen everywhere in the world. |
| It’s some irony that the pandemic was grotesquely mishandled inside China’s borders but because of the U.S.’ retreat, President Xi can stand up and say that he’s leading the world by making a substantial financial contribution to vaccine research. That narrative would have been unthinkable. There will be an enormous excavation and digging out that will be needed by the next president. | It’s some irony that the pandemic was grotesquely mishandled inside China’s borders but because of the U.S.’ retreat, President Xi can stand up and say that he’s leading the world by making a substantial financial contribution to vaccine research. That narrative would have been unthinkable. There will be an enormous excavation and digging out that will be needed by the next president. |
| Some of the countries that have been doing well in this pandemic — New Zealand, Germany, Taiwan and Finland — all have something in common: They have female leaders. What can we take away from that? Is it just a correlation or do you think there’s a real cause-and-effect here? | Some of the countries that have been doing well in this pandemic — New Zealand, Germany, Taiwan and Finland — all have something in common: They have female leaders. What can we take away from that? Is it just a correlation or do you think there’s a real cause-and-effect here? |
| It is so striking the extent to which that correlation exists. Of course, there are a few countries that have performed very well — Australia, the Republic of Korea, for example — that are led by men. But the qualities of leadership in each of them — which vary even among the women, I mean, Angela Merkel and Jacinda Ardern are very different leaders — is some combination of expressed empathy, a kind of intellectual humility, an ability to change course when something doesn’t appear to be working and an inclusive message. Those qualities of leadership are associated with women’s styles of leadership. | It is so striking the extent to which that correlation exists. Of course, there are a few countries that have performed very well — Australia, the Republic of Korea, for example — that are led by men. But the qualities of leadership in each of them — which vary even among the women, I mean, Angela Merkel and Jacinda Ardern are very different leaders — is some combination of expressed empathy, a kind of intellectual humility, an ability to change course when something doesn’t appear to be working and an inclusive message. Those qualities of leadership are associated with women’s styles of leadership. |
| But what would maybe tip a little into causality is — imagine what it took for any one of those women to get to where they got. There’s a reason that 85 percent of countries are not governed by women, that our boardrooms look the way they do. So what it took for those women to become the head of state, chances are you’re going to be cool in a crisis and lead with some combination of toughness and humanity. | But what would maybe tip a little into causality is — imagine what it took for any one of those women to get to where they got. There’s a reason that 85 percent of countries are not governed by women, that our boardrooms look the way they do. So what it took for those women to become the head of state, chances are you’re going to be cool in a crisis and lead with some combination of toughness and humanity. |
| Updated June 12, 2020 | Updated June 12, 2020 |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. |
| The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. | The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. |
| Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission. | Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission. |
| Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home. | Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home. |
| States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people. | States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people. |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) |
| Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications. | Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications. |
| The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing. | The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing. |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. |
| If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested. | If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested. |
| But also imagine in those countries where these female leaders are the ones navigating the crisis — those kids are growing up and seeing women leaders and this is the Winston Churchill moment, this is the Blitz of London moment. So almost irrespective of why it is, the impact on what boys and girls expect in leadership will set the sense of possibility for young girls and women all around the world. | But also imagine in those countries where these female leaders are the ones navigating the crisis — those kids are growing up and seeing women leaders and this is the Winston Churchill moment, this is the Blitz of London moment. So almost irrespective of why it is, the impact on what boys and girls expect in leadership will set the sense of possibility for young girls and women all around the world. |
| In your book, “The Education of an Idealist,” you describe how, during a call with the White House about Russia sanctions, your son Declan is trying to get your attention. | In your book, “The Education of an Idealist,” you describe how, during a call with the White House about Russia sanctions, your son Declan is trying to get your attention. |
| After failing to get your attention, he “stomped away muttering ‘Putin, Putin, Putin — when is it going to be Declan, Declan, Declan?’” | After failing to get your attention, he “stomped away muttering ‘Putin, Putin, Putin — when is it going to be Declan, Declan, Declan?’” |
| I know that a lot of parents — especially mothers — are struggling to work from home and shoulder much of the unpaid care work. What advice do you have for families right now and how can women come out of this with their career and, frankly their sanity, intact? | I know that a lot of parents — especially mothers — are struggling to work from home and shoulder much of the unpaid care work. What advice do you have for families right now and how can women come out of this with their career and, frankly their sanity, intact? |
| I love that scene because I do think even though it’s a pretty esoteric circumstance, every parent, man or woman, can relate to that tension of just being pulled in a professional direction and then having your child banging on the door, and you’re hiding under the table. Everybody has their own version of this. And people who don’t have kids have their own version of just barely hanging on, just the juggle and the inelegance of it. | I love that scene because I do think even though it’s a pretty esoteric circumstance, every parent, man or woman, can relate to that tension of just being pulled in a professional direction and then having your child banging on the door, and you’re hiding under the table. Everybody has their own version of this. And people who don’t have kids have their own version of just barely hanging on, just the juggle and the inelegance of it. |
| So the answer to your question is, you’re not alone. It’s hard when you feel that the institutions are just ingrained with this expectation that it’s going to be the woman who takes care of the sick parent or oversees the home schooling. | So the answer to your question is, you’re not alone. It’s hard when you feel that the institutions are just ingrained with this expectation that it’s going to be the woman who takes care of the sick parent or oversees the home schooling. |
| And, the second thing is we need to publicize more that it’s not OK. You called it unpaid care, and I love even that shift to that phrase. It’s acknowledging what is work and what might detract from one’s ability to be as timely or as perfectionist as one would like to be on one’s work product. In the post-Covid “what are we learning?” phase, we have to ask what is the social infrastructure that we have that leaves us so fragile and so vulnerable. So much of that is shrouded day to day and then this opens it up. | And, the second thing is we need to publicize more that it’s not OK. You called it unpaid care, and I love even that shift to that phrase. It’s acknowledging what is work and what might detract from one’s ability to be as timely or as perfectionist as one would like to be on one’s work product. In the post-Covid “what are we learning?” phase, we have to ask what is the social infrastructure that we have that leaves us so fragile and so vulnerable. So much of that is shrouded day to day and then this opens it up. |
| What is your fondest memory from your White House years? | What is your fondest memory from your White House years? |
| One night, Barack Obama and Michelle Obama invited Cass Sunstein, my husband who I met on the Obama campaign, and me to dinner with a group of their friends. I called my stepfather, Eddie, to come babysit our kids — 4 and 1, at the time. | One night, Barack Obama and Michelle Obama invited Cass Sunstein, my husband who I met on the Obama campaign, and me to dinner with a group of their friends. I called my stepfather, Eddie, to come babysit our kids — 4 and 1, at the time. |
| By the way, Cass and Obama were colleagues at the University of Chicago and Cass is famously very messy. So we get to the White House and everybody’s already seated out on the balcony, having drinks, and we walk out there and Cass kicks a glass of wine and it just shatters. Obama looks up and says: “Leave it to Cass to break the White House.” | By the way, Cass and Obama were colleagues at the University of Chicago and Cass is famously very messy. So we get to the White House and everybody’s already seated out on the balcony, having drinks, and we walk out there and Cass kicks a glass of wine and it just shatters. Obama looks up and says: “Leave it to Cass to break the White House.” |
| And then we retire to go to dinner after the drinks and my phone rings. It’s Eddie and I hear my daughter screaming in the background. And I’d left such clear instructions as to how to feed her. I’d left my milk, everything. So everybody else is going to the dinner and I slip off to the side on my cellphone and try to explain to my father how to feed my child. And he’s not understanding, she’s going crazy, Eddie is getting mad at me because I’m not explaining it well even though I’m explaining it perfectly — it’s just going up and up and up. Next thing I hear over my shoulder is “let me talk to him.” And it’s Obama. So he takes my phone and he says: “This is the president. You got this.” And proceeds to walk him through how to calmly retrieve the milk and feed my daughter. | And then we retire to go to dinner after the drinks and my phone rings. It’s Eddie and I hear my daughter screaming in the background. And I’d left such clear instructions as to how to feed her. I’d left my milk, everything. So everybody else is going to the dinner and I slip off to the side on my cellphone and try to explain to my father how to feed my child. And he’s not understanding, she’s going crazy, Eddie is getting mad at me because I’m not explaining it well even though I’m explaining it perfectly — it’s just going up and up and up. Next thing I hear over my shoulder is “let me talk to him.” And it’s Obama. So he takes my phone and he says: “This is the president. You got this.” And proceeds to walk him through how to calmly retrieve the milk and feed my daughter. |
| And then, as we’re walking from there, Obama asked me to be the U.N. ambassador. | And then, as we’re walking from there, Obama asked me to be the U.N. ambassador. |