In 2008, the United States elected its first African-American president, a man with little Washington experience and few inside connections. NBC News chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd (How Barack Obama Won) believes voters chose a fresh face with unconventional ideas because they wanted radical change. But Todd points out that "in order to create a new set of rules, you have to succeed by the old ones." And at that point, he writes, Barack Obama hadn't succeeded by any rules.
The Stranger is Todd's unadorned examination of the 44th U.S. commander-in-chief's time in office. Throughout his initial election, the hard-won Affordable Care Act and its bumpy implementation, two wars he inherited and a decimated economy, Obama has faced a politically divided governing body prepared to dig their heels in. Todd illustrates a mostly unbiased picture of Obama's successes, failures, strengths and weaknesses, though his effort is not completely free of personal opinion. He also presents a fair view of the president's detractors and foes.
The Stranger takes the foreign world of Washington politics and makes it accessible to average readers, most of whom will likely find unexpected and fascinating information about both Obama and Washington. But they may also find frustration in the egos and mindsets of many who appear on the pages. As Todd explains, "A president's legacy takes years, even decades, to fully reveal itself." Barack Obama's legacy will not be realized for some time, and The Stranger isn't meant to predict it. Instead it offers an insider's view of this history-making American. --Jen Forbus of Jen's Book Thoughts