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Jan 24, 2012floy rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
The criticism I have of the book is that on a number of occasions the author talked about things without noting any source for the information. At least seven times, she did that about issues I cared about. Two examples: the book says the Obama decorator bought items from Walmart (!!!) for the White House and that President Obama thinks August is a bad luck month for him (that rational man being superstitious?!- hard to believe). However, I have praise also. Although I've read many books about Obama, this book provided new information and insight. The book is billed as an exploration of Barack and Michelle Obama's marriage but it is more than that. In addition to describing in- depth the adjustment of both Barack and Michelle Obama to life in the White House as President and First Lady, there is extensive information about how President Obama dealt with the issues - health care, the economy, foreign policy, etc. There's also a lot on how the administration works inside the White House. I didn't feel the author was anti-Obama but she didn't hold back a thing in describing the weaknesses of his administration. At the end of the book, the author summed up her work and the Obamas' work by writing: For the rest of his term, for the rest of his life, the President was going to have to live with what he accomplished and what he did not. (Michelle Obama) had entered with her expectations low and then exceeded them; he had entered on the top of the world and had been descending to earth ever since. His term isn't over yet and hopefully he'll have another four years to do the good work he so ardently wanted to do when he campaigned in 2008.