Interpreting anyone’s marriage – a neighbor’s, let alone the president’s – is extremely difficult. Jodi Kantor Read Quote
The prospect that I could actually be a journalist triggered a ‘Who do you think you are?’ reaction in me. It was only in going to law school and being unhappy there that I realized that I really, really had to try it. Jodi Kantor Read Quote
Those close to Mr. Obama say he grows irritated at being misunderstood – not just by opponents who insinuate that he caters to African-Americans, but also by black lawmakers and intellectuals who fault him for not making his presidency an all-out assault on racial disparity. Jodi Kantor Read Quote
In interviews with dozens of black advisers, friends, donors and allies, few said they had ever heard Mr. Obama muse on the experience of being the first black president of the United States, a role in which every day he renders what was once extraordinary almost ordinary. Jodi Kantor Read Quote
Every presidential candidate highlights patriotism, but Mr. Romney’s is backed by the Mormon belief that the United States was chosen by God to play a special role in history, its Constitution divinely inspired. Jodi Kantor Read Quote
Michelle has had to grapple with Hilary Clinton’s legacy as First Lady… Michelle Obama never wants to be seen as the kind of First Lady who is overly involved in the West Wing. Jodi Kantor Read Quote
One of my favorite stories is from Obama’s first campaign: Michelle Obama was out there every day, collecting signatures and supervising the other people who did. If you were supposed to get 300 signatures and you only got 299, you had to face the wrath of Michelle. Jodi Kantor Read Quote
Michelle Obama has gone from political skeptic to political partner to a woman with a White House agenda of her own, and an approval rating higher than the president’s. Jodi Kantor Read Quote
I guess there were things about the Obamas I discovered that I do think are universal to marriage. I found it very interesting in my reporting that their most difficult periods in the White House almost never seemed to coincide. When one was down, the other one was holding it together. In my experience, that’s true of marriage generally. Jodi Kantor Read Quote
