Author Talks About Her Obama Book
Jodi Kantor, the author of the newly published best-seller "The Obamas," told a standing-room -only crowd at a New York City Barnes & Noble that she does not consider Michelle Obama an "angry black woman."
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Funny, but that's the impression the First Lady must have received from the much- buzzed-about book. This week on "The CBS Morning Show," Mrs. Obama, discussing the book that has made headlines all over the country, said she was not the angry black woman that she was portrayed as, had never quarreled with the President's first Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel or Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, and, had, not in fact, read the book that is filled with inside-the-White House gossip.
Kantor, who is a "New York Times" reporter and has covered the Obamas for more than seven years, defended her work by saying that either she was an eyewitness to the events she described or had spoken to over two hundred sources,.
Some of the juicier bits in the book about which the White House has complained include the description of Robert Gibbs cursing out the First Lady to Presidential advisor Valerie Jarrett, after Jarrett had expressed Mrs. Obama's displeasure with his handling of a story about her. Other revelations that have received front-page news coverage include the fact Mrs Obama had, at first, considered delaying her move to the White House while her daughters finished their school term. There is also the report of a lavish Halloween party the Obamas gave for their children and other kids, during the height of the recession, staged by Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton.
Kantor said that she wrote the book for several reasons. First of all, she was fascinated by the Obamas' very "typical" marriage, yet it is a marriage that affects us all. Also she was interested in examining how Mrs. Obama had changed and grown in her role and how she has handled the unique challenges she has faced as the first African-American First Lady.
She also said that both the President and the First Lady have chafed under the confines of the White House and that he does not enjoy "working the room" the way many politicians do. "Right after they moved into the White House they gave a Super Bowl party," Kantor said. "But the guests weren't just a gathering of friends. They included Members of Congress and Cabinet officials. The President, of course, was polite and friendly, but when the game started he wanted to sit down and watch the game. "He didn't want to use this as an opportunity to socialize or charm others the way many politicians might do."
Kantor also described the debate among Mrs. Obama's inner circle when the First Lady was invited to appear on the cover of "Vogue." "Her white advisors and her African-American advisors had very different opinions. These are people who usually get along but they didn't see being on the cover of "Vogue" in the same way at all," Kantor said. The white women did not think it was a good idea to be on the cover of a magazine about luxuries during the recession. The African-Americans thought it would be inspiring for other black women to have the First Lady on a "Vogue" cover. Ultimately, Mrs. Obama decided to do the cover, and there was no criticism.
Kantor also talked about the President's fiftieth birthday party, which was held, she said, in August during what was probably the "worst week of his Presidency." There was only one toast and it was from Mrs. Obama. And even though the President tried to stop her, she went on and on extolling him for many things including dealing with the hard time she can give him.
At a question-and-answer session Kantor was asked if she thought if the role of First Lady would change. "Not until we have a woman President and a First Man, "she replied. "He will change the role and then after that the role will changed for future First Ladies."
She also said she thought Mrs. Obama would go on and do interesting things after her years in the White House but would not, like Hillary Clinton, run for public office. "If she does that," Kantor said, "I promise you I will eat every single page of this book."
Myrna Blyth is editor-in-chief of ThirdAge.
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