'Obama’s First Term: A Romantic Oral History' diff viewer (0/1)

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Obama’s First Term: A Romantic Oral History	Obama’s First Term: A Romantic Oral History
2013-01-16 18:20:18 UTC	2013-01-19 11:15:06 UTC (3 days later)
Four years ago, on the eve of Barack Obama’s inauguration, this magazine devoted nearly an entire issue to a photo essay, “Obama’s People.” The photographs, 52 of them, depicted a team arriving on a wave of hope despite inheriting an economy in trouble, a collapsing auto industry, two wars and a continuing terrorist threat.	Four years ago, on the eve of Barack Obama’s inauguration, this magazine devoted nearly an entire issue to a photo essay, “Obama’s People.” The photographs, 52 of them, depicted a team arriving on a wave of hope despite inheriting an economy in trouble, a collapsing auto industry, two wars and a continuing terrorist threat.
Four years later, they have met some of those challenges, been daunted by others and created new ones of their own. The economy is better but still anemic. Osama bin Laden is dead and the Iraq war over, but Afghanistan remains a morass and the prison at Guantánamo Bay remains open. The auto industry has been saved and health care expanded, but national debt has soared. A dictator in Libya has been toppled, but a dictator in Syria slaughters his own people undeterred.	Four years later, they have met some of those challenges, been daunted by others and created new ones of their own. The economy is better but still anemic. Osama bin Laden is dead and the Iraq war over, but Afghanistan remains a morass and the prison at Guantánamo Bay remains open. The auto industry has been saved and health care expanded, but national debt has soared. A dictator in Libya has been toppled, but a dictator in Syria slaughters his own people undeterred.
Roughly half of the people in the photo essay are now gone, some embittered by realities they did not anticipate or cast aside by a president cutting losses. The gauzy hope of 2009 has faded into the starker realism of 2013. The Washington they promised to transform is as divided as ever. As the president prepares to take the oath of office for a second term, his team looks back at the four years that brought them to this point. Told in their own voices, the story is, unsurprisingly and perhaps out of necessity, a romantic one.	Roughly half of the people in the photo essay are now gone, some embittered by realities they did not anticipate or cast aside by a president cutting losses. The gauzy hope of 2009 has faded into the starker realism of 2013. The Washington they promised to transform is as divided as ever. As the president prepares to take the oath of office for a second term, his team looks back at the four years that brought them to this point. Told in their own voices, the story is, unsurprisingly and perhaps out of necessity, a romantic one.
Melody Barnes, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council (2009-11): I remember coming out of the transition office the day before the inauguration, and it was like walking into a street festival. It was sunny, and people were happy, and there were tons of people, and it was very, very festive.	Melody Barnes, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council (2009-11): I remember coming out of the transition office the day before the inauguration, and it was like walking into a street festival. It was sunny, and people were happy, and there were tons of people, and it was very, very festive.
Desirée Rogers, White House social secretary (2009-10): We had a certain amount of time to prepare the home for the first family. Someone asked me, “What side of the bed does the president sleep on?” I’m like, Yikes, I don’t know if I know that. For people that look like me, for my race, to be there and to have witnessed that — I just kept thinking about my grandfather and how he would feel had he lived to see this day, because in so many instances the gentlemen that served the president looked like my grandfather.	Desirée Rogers, White House social secretary (2009-10): We had a certain amount of time to prepare the home for the first family. Someone asked me, “What side of the bed does the president sleep on?” I’m like, Yikes, I don’t know if I know that. For people that look like me, for my race, to be there and to have witnessed that — I just kept thinking about my grandfather and how he would feel had he lived to see this day, because in so many instances the gentlemen that served the president looked like my grandfather.
During the swearing in of the president, Chief Justice John Roberts mangles the words in the oath. Gregory Craig, White House counsel (2009-10): This opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel says that if the president does not say all the words of the oath, then he is not president of the United States. I said, “Is there anybody over there that really thinks he’s not president?” David [Barron, acting head of the Office of Legal Counsel] said: “No, no, no, we all think he is president. But there may be a judge somewhere, or some hearing could be called on this, or it could be a problem in the future.” I thought, We gotta fix this. There was a long line of people waiting to shake hands with the president in the residence. We said, “Mr. President, can we talk to you a second?” There was a little bit of, “You gotta be kidding.” I said, “I’ll call the chief justice’s chambers and see if he can come down.” The chief justice carried his robes, and the president arrived. The chief justice goes into the corner and says, “This is a ceremonial occasion, I’m going to put on my robe.” The chief justice is doing it from memory again, and I thought to myself, Would it be wrong for me to go forward and say something? At which point, the president says, “Now, let’s keep this real slow.” They did it, and that was it.	During the swearing in of the president, Chief Justice John Roberts mangles the words in the oath. Gregory Craig, White House counsel (2009-10): This opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel says that if the president does not say all the words of the oath, then he is not president of the United States. I said, “Is there anybody over there that really thinks he’s not president?” David [Barron, acting head of the Office of Legal Counsel] said: “No, no, no, we all think he is president. But there may be a judge somewhere, or some hearing could be called on this, or it could be a problem in the future.” I thought, We gotta fix this. There was a long line of people waiting to shake hands with the president in the residence. We said, “Mr. President, can we talk to you a second?” There was a little bit of, “You gotta be kidding.” I said, “I’ll call the chief justice’s chambers and see if he can come down.” The chief justice carried his robes, and the president arrived. The chief justice goes into the corner and says, “This is a ceremonial occasion, I’m going to put on my robe.” The chief justice is doing it from memory again, and I thought to myself, Would it be wrong for me to go forward and say something? At which point, the president says, “Now, let’s keep this real slow.” They did it, and that was it.
Shortly after taking office, Obama decides to sign a large spending bill with thousands of earmarks to avoid undercutting Congressional support for his $800 billion stimulus package. In doing so, he helps establish an image of himself as a big spender. David Axelrod, White House senior adviser (2009-11): He was very much of a mind to veto the bill. We were in the midst of trying to pass the Recovery Act, and some of his legislative folks said, “Mr. President, you can veto the bill, but if you do, you jeopardize our ability to pass the Recovery Act.” He was very frustrated. He just kind of glared, and he ultimately sort of nodded. I’m not sure he even said anything. But I know in retrospect that was probably one of the decisions he regretted the most.	Shortly after taking office, Obama decides to sign a large spending bill with thousands of earmarks to avoid undercutting Congressional support for his $800 billion stimulus package. In doing so, he helps establish an image of himself as a big spender. David Axelrod, White House senior adviser (2009-11): He was very much of a mind to veto the bill. We were in the midst of trying to pass the Recovery Act, and some of his legislative folks said, “Mr. President, you can veto the bill, but if you do, you jeopardize our ability to pass the Recovery Act.” He was very frustrated. He just kind of glared, and he ultimately sort of nodded. I’m not sure he even said anything. But I know in retrospect that was probably one of the decisions he regretted the most.
In March 2009, after a sharp debate among his advisers, Obama decides to bail out the auto industry. Rahm Emanuel, White House chief of staff (2009-10): All the advisers were divided, the public was absolutely against it. Nobody is giving you consensus, there is no consensus. Nobody had ever done what we were about to do. And he picks the hardest option.	In March 2009, after a sharp debate among his advisers, Obama decides to bail out the auto industry. Rahm Emanuel, White House chief of staff (2009-10): All the advisers were divided, the public was absolutely against it. Nobody is giving you consensus, there is no consensus. Nobody had ever done what we were about to do. And he picks the hardest option.
Justice David Souter resigns from the Supreme Court in June. Obama chooses Sonia Sotomayor as a replacement. Axelrod: It was late in the day, and many people weren’t in the White House, and the Senate had just confirmed Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. The president came walking down the hall just looking for people. He saw me and gives me a fist bump and says: “We just put the first Latina on the Supreme Court. Pretty cool, huh?” But he was frustrated because there weren’t enough of us around. He was seeking out people to celebrate with.	Justice David Souter resigns from the Supreme Court in June. Obama chooses Sonia Sotomayor as a replacement. Axelrod: It was late in the day, and many people weren’t in the White House, and the Senate had just confirmed Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. The president came walking down the hall just looking for people. He saw me and gives me a fist bump and says: “We just put the first Latina on the Supreme Court. Pretty cool, huh?” But he was frustrated because there weren’t enough of us around. He was seeking out people to celebrate with.
By summer, Obama’s health care proposal has generated opposition among many voters. After a special election in Massachusetts costs the Democrats their filibuster-proof supermajority in the Senate, Rahm Emanuel recommends ratcheting back the health care plan to a “skinny bill” with more modest aims. Emanuel: People forget how close we were to that thing falling apart. To his credit, he wanted honest advice, and I told him: “Look, it’s going to take you extra amounts of time. That means a lot of this other stuff is going to get sidelined in the process.”	By summer, Obama’s health care proposal has generated opposition among many voters. After a special election in Massachusetts costs the Democrats their filibuster-proof supermajority in the Senate, Rahm Emanuel recommends ratcheting back the health care plan to a “skinny bill” with more modest aims. Emanuel: People forget how close we were to that thing falling apart. To his credit, he wanted honest advice, and I told him: “Look, it’s going to take you extra amounts of time. That means a lot of this other stuff is going to get sidelined in the process.”
Dan Pfeiffer, White House communications director (2009-present): We had a meeting with his senior advisers in the process of preparing for the State of the Union. That was the meeting where we argued it out: big or small. And he said that big was a risk worth taking, and he wasn’t going to back away. It was a decision of massive political risk. Some believe — I don’t know if this true or not — his entire presidency was at stake.	Dan Pfeiffer, White House communications director (2009-present): We had a meeting with his senior advisers in the process of preparing for the State of the Union. That was the meeting where we argued it out: big or small. And he said that big was a risk worth taking, and he wasn’t going to back away. It was a decision of massive political risk. Some believe — I don’t know if this true or not — his entire presidency was at stake.
Valerie Jarrett, White House senior adviser (2009-present): We’re sitting in the Oval Office, and the president asked [the legislative director] Phil Schiliro — who always could figure out what’s that third way — “Phil, what’s the third way?” Phil said, “Mr. President, unless you’re feeling lucky, I don’t know what the third way is.” And so the president gets up from his chair and he walks over and he looks out the window, and he says, “Phil, where are you?” Phil says, “I’m in the Oval Office.” He goes, “What’s my name?” Phil says, “President Obama.” He goes, “Of course I’m feeling lucky.”	Valerie Jarrett, White House senior adviser (2009-present): We’re sitting in the Oval Office, and the president asked [the legislative director] Phil Schiliro — who always could figure out what’s that third way — “Phil, what’s the third way?” Phil said, “Mr. President, unless you’re feeling lucky, I don’t know what the third way is.” And so the president gets up from his chair and he walks over and he looks out the window, and he says, “Phil, where are you?” Phil says, “I’m in the Oval Office.” He goes, “What’s my name?” Phil says, “President Obama.” He goes, “Of course I’m feeling lucky.”
Barnes: When the votes were over, we were gathering in the Roosevelt Room. I remember Phil Schiliro and Nancy-Ann DeParle [the health care adviser] coming in, and people cheering and clapping for them, two amazing people. And then we later went to the residence to celebrate, and it was a beautiful night, unusually warm for March. We were out on the Truman Balcony, and there’s the monument, and the president’s sense that this is better than Election Day because this is why we’re here — we came here to do something important.	Barnes: When the votes were over, we were gathering in the Roosevelt Room. I remember Phil Schiliro and Nancy-Ann DeParle [the health care adviser] coming in, and people cheering and clapping for them, two amazing people. And then we later went to the residence to celebrate, and it was a beautiful night, unusually warm for March. We were out on the Truman Balcony, and there’s the monument, and the president’s sense that this is better than Election Day because this is why we’re here — we came here to do something important.
Facing Congressional opposition, Obama fails to keep his promise to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Craig: As late as September, we thought it was still possible, but the president and the senior staff were totally focused on what was happening to the economy. All attention and all energy and all political resources were focused on a single set of problems that were way at the top of the agenda, and everything else, understandably, was in a lesser location. And this may have been naïve on our part, but we had thought that the Republicans supported closing Guantánamo. [Senator John] McCain had been for closing Guantánamo, and President Bush in the last two years had been for closing Guantánamo.	Facing Congressional opposition, Obama fails to keep his promise to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Craig: As late as September, we thought it was still possible, but the president and the senior staff were totally focused on what was happening to the economy. All attention and all energy and all political resources were focused on a single set of problems that were way at the top of the agenda, and everything else, understandably, was in a lesser location. And this may have been naïve on our part, but we had thought that the Republicans supported closing Guantánamo. [Senator John] McCain had been for closing Guantánamo, and President Bush in the last two years had been for closing Guantánamo.
By the end of the first year, many supporters feel disillusioned. They complain that Obama did not do enough to create jobs, reverse President George W. Bush’s terror policies, tackle climate change, revise immigration policies, crack down on Wall Street or build bipartisan consensus in Washington. Barnes: There was the sense that he could kind of wish it so and being frustrated because people then turned that into, “You just don’t want to, you don’t care enough.” The desire was in no short supply.	By the end of the first year, many supporters feel disillusioned. They complain that Obama did not do enough to create jobs, reverse President George W. Bush’s terror policies, tackle climate change, revise immigration policies, crack down on Wall Street or build bipartisan consensus in Washington. Barnes: There was the sense that he could kind of wish it so and being frustrated because people then turned that into, “You just don’t want to, you don’t care enough.” The desire was in no short supply.
Pete Rouse, White House counselor, former senior adviser (2009-present): We were struggling with the challenge of trying to reconcile our promise to change Washington with the reality of working with established institutions in a crisis situation, and I guess history will judge how well we did that. I think our record is strong, but obviously maybe the public perception is not what we would like it to be.	Pete Rouse, White House counselor, former senior adviser (2009-present): We were struggling with the challenge of trying to reconcile our promise to change Washington with the reality of working with established institutions in a crisis situation, and I guess history will judge how well we did that. I think our record is strong, but obviously maybe the public perception is not what we would like it to be.
A week after announcing a troop surge in Afghanistan, Obama flies to Norway to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, which many deemed premature. He uses the speech to talk about just wars. Jon Favreau, White House director of speechwriting (2009-present): The morning we leave for Oslo, he comes to us with an entirely new draft that is not finished yet, that he stayed up until 3 in the morning doing. He gives it to us and says: “This is kind of rough, but this is the general idea of what I want.” Everyone goes to bed on the plane and the only people up are Ben [Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser] and the president and myself and Samantha [Power, a national security aide], and we’re just still working on this thing. It was so last-minute that as the president was taking the elevator down from his room to go to the speech, he handed us the last page of edits, and we put those into the prompter as he was walking up to the stage to give the speech.	A week after announcing a troop surge in Afghanistan, Obama flies to Norway to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, which many deemed premature. He uses the speech to talk about just wars. Jon Favreau, White House director of speechwriting (2009-present): The morning we leave for Oslo, he comes to us with an entirely new draft that is not finished yet, that he stayed up until 3 in the morning doing. He gives it to us and says: “This is kind of rough, but this is the general idea of what I want.” Everyone goes to bed on the plane and the only people up are Ben [Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser] and the president and myself and Samantha [Power, a national security aide], and we’re just still working on this thing. It was so last-minute that as the president was taking the elevator down from his room to go to the speech, he handed us the last page of edits, and we put those into the prompter as he was walking up to the stage to give the speech.
Gregory Craig, one of the early campaign advisers, departs in January 2010 after clashing with Rahm Emanuel over various issues. Rogers resigns after gate crashers slip into a state dinner. Craig: White House counsel was not my first choice of a job in the new administration.	Gregory Craig, one of the early campaign advisers, departs in January 2010 after clashing with Rahm Emanuel over various issues. Rogers resigns after gate crashers slip into a state dinner. Craig: White House counsel was not my first choice of a job in the new administration.
Rogers: That’s politics. That’s just the way it is. I don’t feel any remorse. It’s unfortunate that at a time when we needed to be talking about so many other things, we were focused on this. For the rest of my life I’m going to be that girl. People have made whatever judgments they need to make. It’s over.	Rogers: That’s politics. That’s just the way it is. I don’t feel any remorse. It’s unfortunate that at a time when we needed to be talking about so many other things, we were focused on this. For the rest of my life I’m going to be that girl. People have made whatever judgments they need to make. It’s over.
A series of crises confronts Obama in his second year, including the largest offshore oil spill in American history. The White House promises a “recovery summer” only to see the economy sputter again. Rouse: None of us were really prepared for something like Deepwater Horizon, Arab Spring — all these things that kept coming out of nowhere all the time.	A series of crises confronts Obama in his second year, including the largest offshore oil spill in American history. The White House promises a “recovery summer” only to see the economy sputter again. Rouse: None of us were really prepared for something like Deepwater Horizon, Arab Spring — all these things that kept coming out of nowhere all the time.
Emanuel: I refer to that spring of 2010 as the G-force. The well in the gulf explodes, Greece comes undone, you have the Gaza conflict, Germany won’t help Greece. Then the market gyration, where it dropped like 700 or 800 points in one day. You felt like you were finally getting everything moving and then, boom.	Emanuel: I refer to that spring of 2010 as the G-force. The well in the gulf explodes, Greece comes undone, you have the Gaza conflict, Germany won’t help Greece. Then the market gyration, where it dropped like 700 or 800 points in one day. You felt like you were finally getting everything moving and then, boom.
In November 2010, voters upset about the economy and the expansion of government sweep Republicans to power in the House in midterm elections. Rouse: We didn’t realize how deep the loss was going to be. The president felt for a number of House Democrats, in particular, who lost in part because of sticking with him on some tough votes, and how many of them, had they voted differently, might have still been there. That was really weighing heavily on him.	In November 2010, voters upset about the economy and the expansion of government sweep Republicans to power in the House in midterm elections. Rouse: We didn’t realize how deep the loss was going to be. The president felt for a number of House Democrats, in particular, who lost in part because of sticking with him on some tough votes, and how many of them, had they voted differently, might have still been there. That was really weighing heavily on him.
Axelrod: The next day he came into the office and said, “We got our butts kicked, but we’ve got a lame-duck session here, and I’ve got a lot I want to get done.” He recited a lengthy list. And everybody kind of looked at each other and thought, What disaster does he not get?	Axelrod: The next day he came into the office and said, “We got our butts kicked, but we’ve got a lame-duck session here, and I’ve got a lot I want to get done.” He recited a lengthy list. And everybody kind of looked at each other and thought, What disaster does he not get?
During the lame-duck session, Obama wins passage of a temporary payroll-tax cut, ratification of the New Start treaty with Russia and legislation reversing the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell limits on gays in the military. But he fails to push through the Dream Act, allowing illegal immigrants to stay if they arrived in America as children and graduated from high school. Cecilia Muñoz, director of the Domestic Policy Council, former director of White House intergovernmental affairs (2009-present): When the Dream Act went down an hour after Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell passed — I invited everybody to watch the votes in my office, and so there was an hour of cheering and then an hour of tears. The president came up the stairs, and obviously there was a lot of emotion in that room, and he reminded us that the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell victory was 17 years in the making, that it was important to savor the fact that change is possible and remember that there were a lot of defeats along that path.	During the lame-duck session, Obama wins passage of a temporary payroll-tax cut, ratification of the New Start treaty with Russia and legislation reversing the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell limits on gays in the military. But he fails to push through the Dream Act, allowing illegal immigrants to stay if they arrived in America as children and graduated from high school. Cecilia Muñoz, director of the Domestic Policy Council, former director of White House intergovernmental affairs (2009-present): When the Dream Act went down an hour after Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell passed — I invited everybody to watch the votes in my office, and so there was an hour of cheering and then an hour of tears. The president came up the stairs, and obviously there was a lot of emotion in that room, and he reminded us that the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell victory was 17 years in the making, that it was important to savor the fact that change is possible and remember that there were a lot of defeats along that path.
Jarrett: I said, “Oh, my gosh, can you believe we got everything done except for the Dream Act?” — which was a huge disappointment for him — and he said, “I’m worried about that debt ceiling.” At that point, it was six months off, and I was like, “Come on, can’t we just enjoy the moment?” And he said, “The debt ceiling is going to be a problem.”	Jarrett: I said, “Oh, my gosh, can you believe we got everything done except for the Dream Act?” — which was a huge disappointment for him — and he said, “I’m worried about that debt ceiling.” At that point, it was six months off, and I was like, “Come on, can’t we just enjoy the moment?” And he said, “The debt ceiling is going to be a problem.”
Just before the midterm election, Rahm Emanuel resigns to run for mayor of Chicago. Obama, convinced that the White House needs a shake-up, taps Pete Rouse as interim chief of staff. Rouse: After the first two years and what happened in the midterm election, he felt that now we ought to try to focus more on process and try to get thing working better internally.	Just before the midterm election, Rahm Emanuel resigns to run for mayor of Chicago. Obama, convinced that the White House needs a shake-up, taps Pete Rouse as interim chief of staff. Rouse: After the first two years and what happened in the midterm election, he felt that now we ought to try to focus more on process and try to get thing working better internally.
Even before the struggle over the debt ceiling, Obama and the newly ascendant Republicans engage in the first of multiple showdowns over spending. Joseph R. Biden Jr., vice president (2009-present): I thought we should have let them shut the government down, let them have a taste of what it was. I think we would have been in a stronger position. I was in the minority on that. If we could take a position back — I don’t know, the president might agree with me. I know he wondered about it. I think it would have been better to have them face the music right then and there.	Even before the struggle over the debt ceiling, Obama and the newly ascendant Republicans engage in the first of multiple showdowns over spending. Joseph R. Biden Jr., vice president (2009-present): I thought we should have let them shut the government down, let them have a taste of what it was. I think we would have been in a stronger position. I was in the minority on that. If we could take a position back — I don’t know, the president might agree with me. I know he wondered about it. I think it would have been better to have them face the music right then and there.
Biden advises against a May 2011 raid on a house in Pakistan suspected to be Osama bin Laden’s hideaway. Biden: I remember walking up to his office and saying, “Look, follow your instincts, follow your instincts,” and him coming down the next morning to say, “Go.”	Biden advises against a May 2011 raid on a house in Pakistan suspected to be Osama bin Laden’s hideaway. Biden: I remember walking up to his office and saying, “Look, follow your instincts, follow your instincts,” and him coming down the next morning to say, “Go.”
Pfeiffer: I went to see “Fast and Furious 5.” In the middle of the movie, I check my BlackBerry, and I have an e-mail from someone on the national security staff inviting me to a meeting. So I leave the movie to get back to the White House. As I’m coming in, the cast of “True Blood” is outside the gate trying to figure out why their tour has been canceled. We decided we’re going to do [the announcement] in the East Room and [the senior adviser David] Plouffe and I walk over to look at the setup. There’s just two guys slowly moving chairs. Plouffe and I are like, We better go get people so we can do this ourselves. We may have killed bin Laden, but we don’t have a room to speak in.	Pfeiffer: I went to see “Fast and Furious 5.” In the middle of the movie, I check my BlackBerry, and I have an e-mail from someone on the national security staff inviting me to a meeting. So I leave the movie to get back to the White House. As I’m coming in, the cast of “True Blood” is outside the gate trying to figure out why their tour has been canceled. We decided we’re going to do [the announcement] in the East Room and [the senior adviser David] Plouffe and I walk over to look at the setup. There’s just two guys slowly moving chairs. Plouffe and I are like, We better go get people so we can do this ourselves. We may have killed bin Laden, but we don’t have a room to speak in.
Biden: As I got out of the car at [the vice-presidential residence], my wife was sitting in her bathrobe on the steps. She gave me a big hug, and we could hear people at our gate singing “God Bless America.”	Biden: As I got out of the car at [the vice-presidential residence], my wife was sitting in her bathrobe on the steps. She gave me a big hug, and we could hear people at our gate singing “God Bless America.”
In the summer of 2011, the president and the Republican House collide over raising the debt ceiling, and an effort to forge a “grand bargain” with Speaker John Boehner collapses. Rouse: Maybe it was naïve, but I really think he thought, given the nature of the issues we faced — he was surprised by the reaction to his call to reach across the aisle.	In the summer of 2011, the president and the Republican House collide over raising the debt ceiling, and an effort to forge a “grand bargain” with Speaker John Boehner collapses. Rouse: Maybe it was naïve, but I really think he thought, given the nature of the issues we faced — he was surprised by the reaction to his call to reach across the aisle.
Pfeiffer: That was the first time we had ever fallen below 40 percent. We were at a crossroads. Are we going to head into re-election like Bill Clinton and George W. Bush or head into re-election like Jimmy Carter or George H. W. Bush?	Pfeiffer: That was the first time we had ever fallen below 40 percent. We were at a crossroads. Are we going to head into re-election like Bill Clinton and George W. Bush or head into re-election like Jimmy Carter or George H. W. Bush?
Obama pulls the final American troops out of Iraq in December after almost nine years of war. Biden travels to Baghdad to preside. Biden: It’s not a particularly great job, this job, but I called him and said, “All I’ve said about this job, I take it back.” And I said, “Thank you for giving me the chance to end this goddamn war.” When I say that, I didn’t end it, but to be able to stand there and be the guy who says, “That’s it.”	Obama pulls the final American troops out of Iraq in December after almost nine years of war. Biden travels to Baghdad to preside. Biden: It’s not a particularly great job, this job, but I called him and said, “All I’ve said about this job, I take it back.” And I said, “Thank you for giving me the chance to end this goddamn war.” When I say that, I didn’t end it, but to be able to stand there and be the guy who says, “That’s it.”
In a television interview in May 2012, Biden endorses same-sex marriage, forcing Obama to announce his own support. Obama aides are angry at the vice president for going off message. Biden: There was a little apoplexy around here. I answered as antiseptically as I could. But I was going to sit there and not say what I believe at this point in my career? They can have the goddamn job. The president walked in, and he started laughing. He said, “Well, Joe, the thing I’ve always loved about you is you say what you believe.” I mean it. I give you my word. He gave me a hug, and he started laughing.	In a television interview in May 2012, Biden endorses same-sex marriage, forcing Obama to announce his own support. Obama aides are angry at the vice president for going off message. Biden: There was a little apoplexy around here. I answered as antiseptically as I could. But I was going to sit there and not say what I believe at this point in my career? They can have the goddamn job. The president walked in, and he started laughing. He said, “Well, Joe, the thing I’ve always loved about you is you say what you believe.” I mean it. I give you my word. He gave me a hug, and he started laughing.
The surge in Afghanistan produces mixed results. More American soldiers die in the country during Obama’s four years than the seven previous years under Bush. Obama decides to withdraw most troops by the end of 2014. Traveling to Afghanistan to sign a strategic agreement, he visits a unit. Denis McDonough, deputy national security adviser (2009-present): They had been hit that day, and the president was visiting with one of the guys who had been hurt. You could not hear what he was saying because they were talking very close to one another. At the end of the conversation, the soldier lifted up his hand after the president presented his Purple Heart. He wanted to shake the president’s hand. It was very profound. You can’t walk away from an event like that and not be struck as he was. These are our guys, and they’re all there because of his decisions.	The surge in Afghanistan produces mixed results. More American soldiers die in the country during Obama’s four years than the seven previous years under Bush. Obama decides to withdraw most troops by the end of 2014. Traveling to Afghanistan to sign a strategic agreement, he visits a unit. Denis McDonough, deputy national security adviser (2009-present): They had been hit that day, and the president was visiting with one of the guys who had been hurt. You could not hear what he was saying because they were talking very close to one another. At the end of the conversation, the soldier lifted up his hand after the president presented his Purple Heart. He wanted to shake the president’s hand. It was very profound. You can’t walk away from an event like that and not be struck as he was. These are our guys, and they’re all there because of his decisions.
The president spends election night in Chicago. Pfeiffer: We would get these very detailed data reports that come in every couple of hours, and the very first one showed in some states a very jacked-up Republican turnout relative to what we thought it would be, and youth and African-American and Latino turnout down from where we had thought it would be. It was a holy-crap moment.	The president spends election night in Chicago. Pfeiffer: We would get these very detailed data reports that come in every couple of hours, and the very first one showed in some states a very jacked-up Republican turnout relative to what we thought it would be, and youth and African-American and Latino turnout down from where we had thought it would be. It was a holy-crap moment.
Jarrett: He was watching it on television, and so I think MSNBC was one of the first [to call the race], and so everyone was very excited. He said, “Well, let’s wait and see when Fox calls it.” And just moments later Fox called it, too, and he’s like, “All right.”	Jarrett: He was watching it on television, and so I think MSNBC was one of the first [to call the race], and so everyone was very excited. He said, “Well, let’s wait and see when Fox calls it.” And just moments later Fox called it, too, and he’s like, “All right.”
The massacre of children in December at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., leaves Obama personally distraught. Favreau: I had never seen him like that as long as I’ve known him. He was sitting at his desk, and he was looking down at the statement, and he was making some edits, and he was barely looking up at us. His voice was the most somber and the most halted that I had ever heard it.	The massacre of children in December at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., leaves Obama personally distraught. Favreau: I had never seen him like that as long as I’ve known him. He was sitting at his desk, and he was looking down at the statement, and he was making some edits, and he was barely looking up at us. His voice was the most somber and the most halted that I had ever heard it.