Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama

Well, I actually read this gargantuan book. Whew.

At 1,080 pages (plus 400 pages of tiny-font notes) – this could have been half as long, and still extremely detailed. I’m not sure what Garrow or his editor/publisher was thinking. Nevertheless, although it starts off slow and goes way too far in-depth about Chicagoland politics, it picks up steam steadily and hits its stride when Obama enters Harvard Law School. Garrow’s account of the very early days of Obama’s Presidential campaign is illuminating, and the narrative of Obama’s breakthrough DNC 2004 Convention speech is especially riveting.

The final chapter, though -- titled "The President Did Not Attend, As He Was Golfing" -- was bleak and depressing, essentially a rundown of everything wrong with Obama's presidency. A lot of it is valid, but it leaned toward vindictive at times - and unrealistic about what a president can actually accomplish when Congress is united against him. Perhaps some of Garrow's vindictiveness might be that Obama himself wasn't involved in the biography...

What's my takeaway? Obama was a decent man with a good moral compass and a real desire to help the "common folk." But to do that he had to have power to work within the system so he became trapped in a no-win situation. He could stay true to his ideals (e.g. single payer health system) and probably not accomplish anything -- or he could compromise and pass watered down legislation that disillusioned progressives. This is of course practically a truism but because of Obama's personal charisma and his compelling backstory he became especially a victim of sky-high expectations.

If you're not going to read the book, here's one of the most penetrating analyses of Obama - sort of the theme of the biography. It's from an ex-girlfriend of Obama's. She wrote this in an email to the author of the biography in 2013.

Sheila Jager: “I think the seeds of his future failings were always present in Chicago. He made a series of calculated decisions when he began to map out his life at that time and they involved some deep compromises. There is a familiar echo in the language he uses now to talk about the compromises he’s always forced to make and the way he explained his future to me back then, saying, in effect, I wish I could do this, but pragmatism and the reality of the world has forced me to do that. From the bailout to NSA to Egypt, it is always the same. The problem is that “pragmatism” can very much look like what works best for the moment. Hence, the constant criticism that there is no strategic vision behind his decisions. Perhaps this pragmatism and need to just “get along in the world” (by accepting the world as it is instead of really trying to change it) stems from his deep-seated need to be loved and admired which has ultimately led him on the path to conformism and not down the path to greatness which I had hoped for him.” (Aug 2013)

So, should you buy and/or read this monstrosity? Well, if you’re an Obama scholar or fanatic, yes, probably. (I’m neither, but I reserved this book from the library without knowing how long it was and then said, Well, why not? Bring it on.) I can't imagine finding a more comprehensive and detailed account of his life, at least for a while. But the average reader should look elsewhere for a more concise biography, one that doesn’t require a wheeling suitcase to tote around. Nonetheless, Garrow does an admirable job keeping the pages turning, and offering reasonably astute analysis while also letting the facts speak for themselves. He should consider a revised edition more suitable for public consumption, because Obama’s story is a good one, both an inspiring – and cautionary – tale for brilliant, charismatic public servants.

3.5 stars

This is the biggest, heaviest book I have ever held -1356 pages (small print) and 109 pages of bibliography!!! I am sure this will only confirm what a total fraud Barack Obama truly was and is.

David Garrow has produced what may be the definitive account of Barack Obama’s pre-presidential years. Most readers will find that his 1,070-page narrative tells them all they want to know about Obama’s early life. But it begins with a lengthy description of the decline of the steel industry in Chicago. Loss of jobs led to community organizing and creation of the position that attracted Obama to Chicago. Garrow moves on to provide a history of Obama’s family, his parents, his grandparents (who served as surrogate parents because his real parents were largely absent), and his peripatetic youth. He follows Obama through Hawaii, Indonesia, Occidental College, Columbia University, and Harvard Law School, and describes his work in community organizing, law school teaching, and Illinois politics. His book recounts Obama’s relations (some fairly serious) with several girlfriends, his courting of Michelle Robinson (and her aversion to his political career), his dealings with Jeremiah Wright, and his activities in the Illinois State Senate. Many of those who knew Obama in his early years expected great things from him; but he enjoyed political good fortune as some political rivals for various reasons dropped out of races, allowing Obama to win without strong opposing candidates. The book shows how Obama’s semi-autobiographical book, Dreams From My Father, occasionally departs from actual events. It then describes Obama’s campaign for, and service in, the U.S. Senate, and his quest for the Presidency. Garrow provides some details that readers may find interesting (such as his description of Obama’s old Toyota with a hole in the floor), but he stretches his narrative with some details, such as addresses, office room numbers, class meeting times, and examination dates, that seem distracting.

Garrow’s effort to account for Obama’s personality is diffuse. At times, he implies that Obama, growing up largely in the absence of his parents, became isolated and alienated. But Obama’s inclination to get involved in community, academic, and political affairs casts doubt on this interpretation. Garrow’s account sometimes makes it seem that Obama’s connection with two racial identities was a disadvantage. But perhaps, in some ways, it was an advantage, as in academic, legal, and political matters, he benefited from his ability to see the both sides. From some of Garrow’s comments, one might get the impression that Obama lacked any real core beliefs. But, if that were so, why did he go into community organizing, rather than Wall Street, or a Supreme Court clerkship?

This book is about Obama as a “rising star,” and should have limited itself to that development. An assessment of Obama’s presidency really requires an entire separate volume. But for this, the most important time in Obma’s life, Garrow submits the briefest section in the book--Obama’s presidential administration gets 20 pages. In these few pages, Garrow doesn’t really analyze policies and events. He seems to have begun with the conviction that Obama's presidency was marred by a concatenation of grievous policies for which Obama alone was responsible. To substantiate this conviction, he simply offers a compendium of critical excerpts from various books and articles. From Ruth Marcus, whom Garrow describes as “a consistently supportive voice,” he quotes only a negative comment. One of Obama’s former girlfriends described him as “ruthlessly ambitious,” and noted that he had “a strong dislike for being embarrassed, losing status, or having his reputation tarnished.” With Obama, she said, “the need to win . . . trumps all the other stuff.” Garrow presents these comments as if no other Presidents shared these characteristics.

Garrow accuses Obama of “ugly partisanship,” and criticizes him for not developing a relationship with Mitch McConnell, but does not mention McConnell’s description of himself as the “grim reaper,” based on his obstruction of Democratic bills, and his intention to limit Obama to a single term. In view of developments during the Trump and Biden administrations, it is quite likely that Obama's "ugly partisanship" reflected the existing political climate, rather than Obama's own inclinations. Garrow tells us that Obama released his birth certificate, but, in a strange omission, fails to explain that Obama did this to quell the “birther” controversy stirred up by Donald Trump’s claim that Obama might be of foreign birth, and thus ineligible for the presidency. The book highlights the problems that accompanied the rollout of the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”). But it does not describe the existing health care system (one of the most expensive and least effective in the developed world), or the millions of persons who received coverage under the ACA, why the ACA took the form it did (reflecting, incidentally, Obama’s willingness to compromise), or the measures Republican politicians took to undermine it. Garrow does not offer a health care plan that might have received bipartisan support. He approvingly quotes Gary Younge’s comment that Obama’s health care reform is “not likely to be remembered as transformational.” But It is too soon to make such judgments—the ACA, which was a political liability in the 2010 midterm elections, turned out to be a political asset in the 2018 elections.

Regarding Obama’s presidency, there was a gap between expectations and results. Were the results too limited? Or were the expectations too high? Cornell West wrote of Obama, “He posed as a progressive and turned out to be a counterfeit”; “ . . . we ended up with a brown-faced Clinton, another opportunist.” Other critics wanted Obama to unify the country. To what extent could Obama gratify all these critics? How does Obama’s legacy compare with that of other Presidents? George W. Bush drew criticism for his handling of Iraq, Katrina, and an economic recession. Donald Trump promoted a tax cut that favored the wealthy, disregarded climate change, ignored the COVID 19 danger, presided over an economic collapse, and incited a mob attack on the U.S. Capitol. Perhaps five or ten (or more) years should be allowed to elapse before assessing any President’s legacy, and a meaningful assessment should not be limited to the administration of a single President.

The book’s back matter includes 274 pages of notes. Unfortunately, a note (which may cover more than an entire page) often cites a multitude of sources for several pages of the narrative. The 35-page bibliography provides an indication of Garrow’s extensive research in books, articles, newspapers, archival papers, and oral histories, as well as interviews with 1,076 persons. There are two helpful maps (unfortunately not included in the Table of Contents), but no photographs or genealogical charts. Cynthia Crippen compiled a valuable 68-page index.

I have just started reading the book. The writing style is easy to read. Length of the book is a challenge!

The book came as expected and is in great shape. Can hardly wait to start reading, though it's well over 1000 pages...the biggest book I have ever encountered!!

Author David J. Garrow's, "Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama," is a thoroughgoing, well-documented, and highly readable biography of the 44th U.S. President--and yet, sadly, same-said volume is seriously marred by scattered, however regular, citational employment of expletives in all their fully-written ignominy.

"Hmm...oversensitive," you say? Call it what you will, irrespective: upon completion of this otherwise commendable work the nauseous residue of expletive employment remains most salient!

"Well, well," might one rejoin, "politics is a dirty business." Yes, and apparently becoming all-the-dirtier! The former First Lady (Michelle Obama) herself was long of the opinion that politics was beneath her husband. And my point is that the liberal usage of expletives by many associated with Stateside politics--such usage perspicuously symptomatic of a definitive lack of desiderative profundity--manifests the depraved and depraving status of U.S. politics today.

Simply put, if politics, per se, is in fact hegemonised via the current socio-economic paradigm ("capitalism"), the present and self-evident scrofulousness of politics is engendered by the inherent scrofulousness of capitalism (a.k.a., "legalized larceny," let alone the principal source of anthropogenic global warming)!

When (and if) the "society of abundance" supersedes that of "scarcity"--ultimately entailing the "withering away of the state" (due to lack of need thereof)--I'm confident that expletives themselves will have been buried with the necessity of politics and no longer deface and delimit thought.