A Promised Land

Chapter 10 focuses on the period between the election and the inauguration. It opens with a reverent description of the Oval Office, which Obama first saw during a meeting with President George W. Bush shortly after the election. Obama then describes forming his administration. His first recruit was Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff. For his economic team, Obama chose Larry Summers as Director of the National Economic Council and Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary. Obama retained Bush’s Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, who supported the gradual withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Keeping Gates signaled that Obama was serious about bipartisanship, and that he would not shy away from military action. Other national security appointments followed, including his former political rival Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.

Before the inauguration, Obama traveled to Hawaii for a vacation and to scatter his grandmother’s ashes in the ocean. Although Michelle embraced her role as the next First Lady, she vowed to create a sense of normalcy for Malia and Sasha. She scheduled tours of DC schools, spoke to Laura Bush about how to insulate the girls from the press, and ensured that the furniture in their new bedrooms suited their tastes. She also arranged for her mother to move into the White House.