A Promised Land

Part 1, “The Bet,” focuses on Obama’s life before he became POTUS. He introduces several themes that recur throughout his memoir, notably, the importance of family. In Chapter 1, for example, Obama describes conversations with his mother, whose moral convictions had a profound impact on his world view. In addition to supporting the war on poverty and denouncing the Vietnam War as a misguided disaster, Dunham spoke to Obama about government corruption in Indonesia, where they lived for several years with Obama’s stepfather. At the age of 12, moreover, Dunham encouraged Obama to watch the Watergate hearings every evening to learn about the dangers of McCarthyism. Her efforts to instill in Obama a strong sense of right and wrong extended beyond the headlines. For instance, Dunham reprimanded Obama when he bullied a child at school, stressing that actions determined the kind of person one was:

You know Barry […] there are people in the world who think only about themselves. They don’t care what happens to other people so long as they get what they want. They put other people down to make themselves feel important […] Then there are people who do the opposite, who are able to imagine how others must feel, and make sure that they don’t do things that hurt people […] Which kind of person do you want to be? (6-7).

Dunham taught Obama to fight for racial justice. She spoke to him about the Civil Rights movement when he was a child. She also married two men of color: Obama’s father, who was Kenyan, and her second husband (the father of Obama’s half-sister, Maya), who was from Indonesia. Obama’s desire to be a role model for Black people and other racial minorities proved critical to his future, and to the country’s, as it convinced Michelle to support his dream of running for president. He recounts this critical conversation in Chapter 4: “‘I know that kids all around this country–Black kids, Hispanic kids, kids who don’t fit in–they’ll see themselves differently, too, their horizons lifted, their possibilities expanded. And that alone…that would be worth it.’ […] ‘Well, honey,’ [Michelle] said finally, ‘that was a pretty good answer’” (77).

Obama was right about the impact a Black president would have on American youths. He recalls a five-year-old Black boy touching his hair in the Oval Office, a moment captured in a picture titled Hair Like Mine by White House photographer, Pete Souza. An inner-city teacher also reported that her students started studying harder after Obama’s election.

Obama’s relationship with Michelle, Malia, and Sasha kept him grounded throughout his political career. Chapter 1 opens with Obama’s recollections of events that took place at the White House, many of them of national importance. Tellingly, he lends equal weight to simple family moments, such as Malia and Sasha racing to greet him with the dogs, Bo and Sunny, on surprise afternoon visits. In Michelle, Obama found a partner who supported his dreams even when she did not fully share them. Indeed, Michelle experienced many hardships because of Obama’s career, spending weekdays alone with the girls in Chicago during his time in the State Senate, campaigning with him even when she wasn’t entirely comfortable on stage, and working without rest for weeks at a time. Acutely aware of the sacrifices Michelle made, Obama experienced profound guilt before launching his presidential campaign: “For years now, I’d asked Michelle for fortitude and forbearance when it came to my political endeavors, and she’d given it—reluctantly but with love. And then each time I’d come back again, asking for more. Why would I put her through this?” (70).

Throughout his memoir, Obama strives to shed light on the American political process. In Chapter 2, for instance, he describes how partisanship is to blame for the disfunction of the State Senate of Illinois. He recalls opposing a tax break that favored industry in a period when the state was cutting services for the poor. He argued that the unjustified tax breaks violated the conservative market principles espoused by Republicans. Obama’s argument was logical, but it didn’t change any votes, not because his colleagues in the State Senate could not distinguish a good policy from a bad one, but because they prioritized party loyalty over good policy. Obama explains that going against party orthodoxy could cost politicians endorsements, financial backers, a leadership post, and even an election.

One of Obama’s greatest strengths inside and outside the political arena is his ability to focus on commonalities rather than differences. Throughout his career, he demonstrated his willingness to reach across the aisle. Obama’s emphasis on commonalities also helped him connect with voters. Chapter 3 describes his campaign for the US Senate, which had him interacting with various demographics. The more time he spent campaigning, the clearer it became that the people of his state wanted similar things–good jobs, affordable healthcare, affordable education for their children, safety from criminals and terrorists, and the ability to retire with dignity. Obama’s stump speech stressed these common desires, forging a connection with the audience that was palpable:

There’s a physical feeling, a current of emotion that passes back and forth between you and the crowd, as if your lives and theirs are suddenly spliced together […] You’ve tapped into some collective spirit, a thing we all know and wish for—a sense of connection that overrides our differences and replaces them with a giant swell of possibility (52).

Obama’s memoir is serious and methodical, but not without levity. In Chapter 1, he explains why his intellectual interests changed regularly during college. He read Karl Marx and Herbert Marcuse to impress “the long-legged socialist who lived in [his] dorm” (10). He studied the writings of Frantz Fanon and Gwendolyn Brooks “for the smooth-skinned sociology major who never gave [him] a second look” (10). Finally, he grappled with Michel Foucault and Virginia Woolf “for the ethereal bisexual who wore mostly black” (10). As Obama notes, this pseudo-intellectualism “proved mostly worthless” (10) as a strategy for picking up women. Obama’s ability not to take himself too seriously is also apparent in Chapter 3, which describes a weeklong RV trip to campaign in southern Illinois with Michelle and the girls. As the RV pulled up to their first destination, Malia asked what the crowed was doing there. Michelle explained that the people were there to see her father. Malia curtly replied, “Why?” Later in the chapter, Obama describes a trip to Lincoln Park Zoo with Malia and Sasha. Obama managed to go unnoticed until someone recognized him at the sea lion exhibit. The next thing he knew, he was surrounded by people wanting to shake his hand and take pictures with him. Afterwards, Malia suggested her father create an alias: “‘You need to disguise your voice,’ Malia added. ‘People recognize it. You have to talk with a higher voice. And faster’. ‘Daddy talks so slow,’ Sasha said” (60). Michelle joined in on the fun when Malia explained the plan later that day: “‘That’s a great idea, honey,’ she said, ‘but the only way for Daddy to disguise himself is if he has an operation to pin back his ears’” (60).