Support NeoGAF

[DOWN]

Barack Obama on 5 Days That Shaped His Presidency - New York Magazine
https://apple.news/AOvc4xK2gQmKvGgpYIgKAbQ

The other 4 days are discussed in the link

On August 25, after a short trip to Baton Rouge to assess flooding in Louisiana and before what will likely be his last visit to China on Air Force One, Barack Obama sat down at the White House to reflect on the past eight years. He led America through a period of dramatic, convulsive change — an era that New York Magazine explores this week in its cover story. Before his conversation with Jonathan Chait, he chose five moments that, he believes, will have outsized historical impact. Here is their conversation in full.

Let’s start with the time in 2010 when Mitch McConnell publicly says that his No. 1 goal is to make you a one-term president. How did that comment strike you? Was it news?
By that point it was pretty apparent by his actions that it was already his No. 1 goal. He validated what I think most of this town knew. When I came into office, my working assumption was that because we were in crisis, and the crisis had begun on the Republicans’ watch, that there would be a window in which they would feel obliged to cooperate on a common effort to dig us out of this massive hole. Probably the moment in which I realized that the Republican leadership intended to take a different tack was actually as we were shaping the stimulus bill, and I vividly remember having prepared a basic proposal that had a variety of components. We had tax cuts; we had funding for the states so that teachers wouldn’t be laid off and firefighters and so forth; we had an infrastructure component. We felt, I think, that as an opening proposal, it was ambitious but needed and that we would begin negotiations with the Republicans and they would show us things that they thought also needed to happen. On the drive up to Capitol Hill to meet with the House Republican Caucus, John Boehner released a press statement saying that they were opposed to the stimulus. At that point we didn’t even actually have a stimulus bill drawn up, and we hadn’t meant to talk about it. And I think we realized at that point what proved to be the case in that first year and that second year was a calculation based on what turned out to be pretty smart politics but really bad for the country: If they cooperated with me, then that would validate our efforts. If they were able to maintain uniform opposition to whatever I proposed, that would send a signal to the public of gridlock, dysfunction, and that would help them win seats in the midterms. It was that second strategy that they pursued with great discipline. It established the dynamic for not just my presidency but for a much sharper party-line approach to managing both the House and the Senate that I think is going to have consequences for years to come.

There's a lot of questions in this interview, but these are the questions that identify the days which he answers

So it’s January 27, 2009, and you hear Boehner say he is against the stimulus. I’ve heard complaints from Republicans about what you’re like in these meetings. They say you’re didactic and you lecture. In a situation like that, are you trying to discuss Keynesian theory and saying, “Do you believe in stimulus?” At what level is the discussion held?

Which gets us to a crucial moment on the path to passing the Affordable Care Act. In January 2010, as a congressional vote loomed, there was a special election in Massachusetts to replace Ted Kennedy, and a Republican, Scott Brown, won. Most people said, “It’s done.” So the night of the election, you’re seeing the election results come in — are you getting phone calls from Democrats?

You shook Raúl Castro’s hand at Nelson Mandela’s funeral. What role did that play in the strategic decision to pursue that opening with Cuba?

On September 30, 2011, a drone strike killed Anwar al-Awlaki, the Yemeni terrorist who was also an American citizen. It was understood here in the States as a surprisingly hawkish move, which reminded me of a moment in your 2008 foreign-policy debate with John McCain when he attacked you for saying you would violate Pakistani sovereignty. The dynamic of the campaign up until then was that you were perhaps not tough enough on terrorism and that he was the hawk. Suddenly, you had switched places — and prefigured what your policy would turn out to be. Did you see that as a trap that he would walk into during the debate?

 

[DOWN]

I am 100% sure someone should be interested in this

 

[Saganator]

I'm going to miss him being President.

 

[Lumination]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1288118

 

[Window]

Look, typically what would happen, certainly at the outset, it would be that I would say, “We’ve got a big problem: We’re losing 800,000 jobs a month. Every economist I’ve talked to, including Republican economists, thinks that we need to do a big stimulus, and I’m willing to work with you to figure out how this package looks.” And typically, what you’d get would be, “Well, Mr. President, I’m not sure that this big spending approach is the right one, and families are tightening their belts right now, and I don’t hear a lot of my constituents saying that they want a bunch of big bureaucracies taking their hard-earned tax money and wasting it on a bunch of make-work projects around the country. So we think that government’s got to do that same thing that families do.” So you kind of hit that ideological wall.

I would hope the level of discourse and arguments would be of higher quality than this when discussing policy issues...

They’re imagining the potential problems that arise, so it’s pretty hard for them to publicly say, “Obama’s a perfectly reasonable guy, but we just can’t work with him because our base thinks he’s the Antichrist.” It’s a lot easier for them to say, “Oh, the guy’s not listening to us,” or, “He’s uncompromising.” I understand that, it’s not something that has bothered me personally. In fact, sometimes I tease them about it behind the scenes; I’ll tell them, “Look, if you need some help, me attacking you or you know …” And the times where we have gotten things done, it has been very important for me to, frankly, help them try to manage their base.

This was a bit amusing and an unfortunate reminder of what politics can sometimes entail. I wonder if most political leaders face this situation or if Obama has been more unreasonably vilified than his predecessors.

 

[acohrs]

Nothing that revelatory here just based on the highlights you've taken.

 

[SoRuffShoNuff]

You have a party that didnt want to spend money on infrastructure now running a presidential candidate that is slamming the current president for not spending money on infrastructure and putting people to work. Thats rich.

 

[Derwind]

It's jarring to know that one could put so much effort to do the right only to be met with a stone wall every time.

I couldn't even begin to imagine the frustration I'd feel.

 

[Aaron Strife]

I would hope the level of discourse and arguments would be of higher quality than this when discussing policy issues...


This was a bit amusing and an unfortunate reminder of what politics can sometimes entail. I wonder if most political leaders face this situation or if Obama has been more unreasonably vilified than his predecessors.

Probably a mixture of both.

The rumors swirling around Clinton (murder plots, infidelity which turned out to be true, rape accusations etc) in the 90s were INSANE. Basically the Republicans of 2008 used the same playbook against Obama they used against Clinton - delegitimize the president, obstruct everything he tries to do and drag down his personal approval ratings as much as possible to make him vulnerable in the next election. And you can bet they're going to do the same thing to Hillary.

Obama's race made it an easier rallying cry among racist dipshits, however. Look at states like West Virginia and Arkansas which previously supported good ol' boy Bill Clinton and see how far gone they are today. I think it comes off as harsher because Clinton was accused of general shadiness whereas there is absolutely a racial overtone to the Obama derangement (senators calling him uppity for instance).

 

[shadowsdarknes]

And the times where we have gotten things done, it has been very important for me to, frankly, help them try to manage their base.

The conversations behind this must be incredible.

Republicans: "Okay Mr. President, we acknowledge there are serious problems and you do have some decent solutions. But we need to find a way to make it look like we fought you tooth and nail and hate your ideas because our base fucking hates your soul."

 

[Shmuppers]

Great article.

 

[Version 3.0]

Obama has patience and composure that's off the chart. The idea of trying to accomplish anything with people who literally admit to you that they're two-faced cowards is infuriating. I don't know if, in his place, I could refrain from spewing back some of that shit, at least to my own base. But he's held it together and remained calm, composed, and utterly presidential for all these years.

 

[smisk]

Wow, what a fantastic article. Gives some good insight into what things were like inside his administration, and between the two parties. We were really lucky to have a president as smart and capable as him I hope Hilary is half as good.

 

[AndyD]

Obama has patience and composure that's off the chart. The idea of trying to accomplish anything with people who literally admit to you that they're two-faced cowards is infuriating. I don't know if, in his place, I could refrain from spewing back some of that shit, at least to my own base. But he's held it together and remained calm, composed, and utterly presidential for all these years.

I'm sure it's coming after he leaves office. Give him 3-5 years transition then watch him on speaking tours across the US.

 

[Byakuya769]

I want to cry reading this. The guy's a treasure.

 

[Eppy Thatcher]

Godamnit i'm going to miss this man.

What a fucking 180 it's going to be for the other leaders of this world to go from dealing with this accomplished, well spoken, clear minded and intelligent man to.. whatever we end up with.

Eagles wept.