Writing About the President

From left, Maraniss, Kantor, and Schieber

It can be exceptionally difficult to write accurately about a sitting president, especially one who is seeking re-election.

First, there is the image - it must be protected at all costs. Then there are matters ranging from personal pride to political propaganda to national security. And with President Barack Obama, there are some special problems. First, unlike some of his predecessors, Obama is self-reflective and introverted. But the largest barrier to truly knowing the real Barack Obama may be that Obama views himself as a writer, one who wants to depict his own personal narrative, not leave it to others to do.

"Obama primarily thinks of himself as a crafter of narrative. He wants to be the custodian of his own story," Noam Schieber says, adding that Obama had signed a copy of his book for Schieber, and inscribed it, "To Noam, a fellow storyteller."

Today, 3 authors who have recently written books about Obama, his family, and his administration appeared at a New America Forum to discuss the challenges they faced. The panel consisted of:

• David Maraniss, author of Obama: The Story
• Jodi Kantor, author of The Obamas
• Schieber, author of The Escape Artists

Kantor said that unlike other former presidents, Obama didn't come to the office with a lengthy political record. "Obama was an insane overnight success. It was as extreme as we've ever seen in modern politics," Kantor said.

Kantor, who reports on the Obamas for The New York Times, says she has found that Obama is acutely aware of what is being written about him. For example, she pointed out that in a press conference, Obama noted that a negative story about his dealings with a foreign power had been printed above the fold, but a positive story appeared below the fold.

"I think he is a rational man in an irrational society," Maraniss said. "He thought he was the exception and could overcome all the political stuff that is going on."

Maraniss, whose book dealt with Obama's formative years, said he finds it intriguing that many of Obama's best qualities "are not politicians' qualities." But what about the personal stories in the two books about himself that Obama has written? "Really, they're a fairly unrealistic account of what happened in his life, but then he called my book fiction," Maraniss said.

Schieber, who first began covering the president when he was a state senator, said that criticism of Obama that he was not a typical Washington political type, glad-handing financial supporters and stroking Washington egos, should have been expected. "So much of his appeal was as the anti-politican," Schieber said.

Kantor says that the anti-politician side is what continues to draw her to Obama's story "There is this  tension of trying to win at politics, while at the same time objecting to it," she said.

Even in the face of setbacks, Obama has strong confidence, a confidence some say often borders on  arrogance. "They joke about a new measure of confidence - the Obama," she said. "Things like that's 2 Obamas. Or your Obama seems to be low today."

Maraniss agreed that Obama believes his personal powers are great. "He believes he is a great basketball player and he is not. He can't even jump," said Maraniss, prompting hearty laughter from the audience. "But he does seem to have this borderline sense of destiny. He believes he can do great things."

Maraniss said that a key to understanding Obama's character may be contained in a letter he wrote as a 21-year-old, a letter talking about the careers his friends had chosen to enter. "The only way I can satisfy myself is embracing it all," the young Obama wrote.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
Tonight marked the first time in our DC stay that we attended a session sponsored by one of the many Washington think tanks. In this case, it was the New American Foundation. To learn more about that group, click here.