President Barack Obama has not always been the polished Commander-in-Chief that America has known for the past 4 years. He started from a much humbler upbringing, but soon went on to greatness. A fact that could very well be at least partially attributed to his wife of 20 years.
Barack Hussein Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His mother was a white Kansas native while his father, from Africa, was on a scholarship to pursue an education at the University of Hawaii.
Soon after he was born, Obama’s father left his family to attend Harvard University with the hopes of receiving his Doctorate. His mother remarried that same year to an Indonesian man. Barack and his mother moved to Jakarta soon thereafter, but due to safety issues, his mother sent him back to live with his maternal grandparents in Hawaii.
Obama enrolled in the esteemed Punahoa Academy where he excelled in basketball and graduated with academic honors. He was one of three black students at the academy, and it was here where he first encountered racism.
“I began to notice there was nobody like me in the Sears, Roebuck Christmas catalog … and that Santa was a white man,” he said. “I went to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror with all my senses and limbs seemingly intact, looking the way I had always looked, and wondered if something was wrong with me.
He graduated from Columbia University in 1983 with a degree in political science, and he moved to Chicago to work with low-income members of society.
In 1985, he attended Harvard Law School where he met Michelle Robinson, an associate at a law firm.
“It was all uphill from there,” Obama said with a smile.
Michelle laughed, “Our relationship was first a friendship. It took off from there.”
The two saw Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing on their first date, which was a fitting movie since their coming together was the right thing for both of them.
“You see, even though back then Barack was a senator,” Michelle said, “and a presidential candidate, to me he was still the guy who’d picked me up for our dates in a car that was so rusted out, I could actually see the pavement going by through a hole in the passenger side door.”
Eventually, the two were married in October 1992.
Despite the fact that their marriage and love looks so easy to the public eye, it’s hard work to maintain
“We have adjusted to maintaining a really solid relationship at a distance. We talk every day, every night. If we have a moment, no matter how tired we are, we go on a date,” remarked Michelle.
The Obamas had their first daughter Malia in 1998, followed by Sasha in 2001, which added love but also more work to their already stressful lives.
“Those early years [of child raising] are a whole lot of work. But the truth is that everybody struggles with it — we just don’t talk about it out loud. And then also I had to change. Because there were a lot of things time-wise that he couldn’t provide, because he was not there,” said Michelle.
When he was at home, though, Barack was still a typical guy.
“It is important that when I’m home to make sure that I’m present and I still forget stuff. As Michelle likes to say, ‘You are a good man, but you are still a man.’ I leave my socks around,” he said with a smile aimed right at his wife. She rolled her eyes and laughed.
The two adapted to the struggles of child raising along with a political career quite well. Through it all, they have maintained a closeness and a genuine respect for each other.
President Barack Obama said it best in his first inauguration speech in 2008, “I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years … the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation’s next first lady … Michelle Obama.”
Noice. I think it’d be interesting to emphasize the personal side of him since we know the political side (assuming it’s possible to get anything personal about him). He’s an iconic figure throughout the world so it’d be cool to see how he went from humble roots to the president. Good stuff!
Comment by Chase — November 5, 2012 @ 3:53 pm
Great article. I didn’t realize how important you were until I read these quotes. Oh, the clearance you must have! But on a serious note, well written. I’m still convinced Obama was not born in the U.S., but I’m a conspirator at heart. Clean up the photos, or you fail.
Comment by Jordan — November 5, 2012 @ 4:05 pm
The movie Lincoln hasn’t come out yet, but maybe it could be a model. Rather than trying to tell Lincoln’s entire life story, it focuses on just four months. Is it possible to do that with Obama? He seems particularly smitten with Michelle, so maybe focus on their budding relationship and marriage. Or maybe the college years. What I’m saying is that rather than trying to tell it all, focus on a moment and see what kinds of insight you can draw from your sources. Obama has written a book, and others have written about him. Is there a point in his life when/where they overlap so that you could get different perspectives?
Comment by fuglsang — November 7, 2012 @ 9:51 pm