By Klaus Brinkbäumer
There is one chapter in the Obamas' history that its hero and heroine don't like to talk about. There was a time, after the birth of their first daughter, when they fought with each other, felt that they no longer had much in common and almost separated. "It was close," says a member of his staff.
He had given up his jobs as a social worker and attorney for a political career, but that career was not progressing quite as he had expected. As an Illinois state senator, he made little money and was constantly on the road. In 2000, Obama made an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the US House of Representatives. Michelle was home alone, doing laundry, ironing, working, getting up in the morning with their child, and not getting enough sleep. Their situation begged the question of which of the two had a life, and which of them was being selfish. Even the Obamas, it seemed, were not immune to the classic marital conflict.
"Only one more election," he told her, and suddenly things started coming together. John Kerry invited him to be keynote speaker at the 2004 Democrat Party Convention, and it was like a rebirth for Obama. Then he was elected to the Senate in Washington, and suddenly everything seemed worthwhile. Things started moving quickly.
They stayed together because he, as he says today, was deeply grateful for the fact that he had finally made it somewhere and had established roots; and because she, as she once said, stopped bickering and fighting with him, and because she changed the things that she could change. She got help at home. She started exercising. She made appointments with friends and kept them. Both Obamas now say that that was when they began seeing themselves as a team again, and have felt that way ever since.
Perhaps this is why things are so easy for them today. When two people see eye-to-eye, it no longer has to be as important whether the husband achieves more fame. In 2007, the Obamas earned $4.2 million together. He calls her "boss" and says that she is "a little meaner than I am." One of his friends says that he is happier and more optimistic, while she is more irritable and sarcastic, but that the mixture of his hope and her anger is the combination that can trigger something in politics. "They get things done," people in Hyde Park say about the Obamas.
She isn't as fanatical about going to the gym as he is. She doesn't go every day, but she does exercise, and every Friday she has her hair done and gets a manicure. Michelle's female friends say that she didn't want a career, otherwise she would have made one for herself, that she worked here and there because she was more interested in the work than in the job title. Social change is what interests her, they say, and now she sees the future as an opportunity, because she could never bring about more change than in the role of first lady. When two people have assembled their own small system of equality, expressions of female self-determination probably become superfluous.
Perhaps they both know that the presidency opens doors. When that happens, Michelle and the children will be able to do as they please, especially if it turns out to be a successful presidency. Happiness comes to those who can wait -- sometimes.
It is a Friday in a Chicago snowstorm, the last day before the family vacation, and Obama is giving his fifth press conference in as many days. He introduces his nominee for labor secretary and, once again, is asking Americans to accept a cultural shift. This time, he is endorsing the concept of capitalism in which "each of us is not motivated by his own greed, but by the common good."
Newton Minow and his wife Jo, he in an expensive suit and she in an elegant dress, are sitting in the sixth row. Both are in their seventies, and both are deeply proud of what they see. Their president. Their first lady. Their couple.
Newton Minow was a partner at Sidley Austin, a downtown Chicago law firm. Michelle Robinson worked for him once, 19 years ago, in her first year after graduating from Harvard Law School. Her work involved celebrities and copyright law. "She was bright, and she wanted to make something of herself," says Minow. But she was not universally popular. She went over her direct supervisor's head to complain about the substandard assignments she was getting, "and yet that meant that she was making more than others in their first year," says the former supervisor.
Minow laughs when he hears this, after making sure that he has understood correctly (he wears two hearing aids). "Oh, those old stories. Michelle was good," he says.
And then came a phone call. Martha Minow, a professor at Harvard Law School and Minow's daughter, told her father that the best student she had ever had was taking her course. He was only a first-year student, she said, but added: "Dad, you have to take him." Newton Minow never hired first-year students as summer associates, but he decided to hire this one. The student was Barack Obama, and the rest is history -- almost. Or perhaps it is more myth than history.
The Obamas like to tell the story of how he courted her and was smitten by her, and how she played hard to get. About how they went out for ice cream together once, and then once again. And how things didn't work out between them while they were both at the law firm -- he was just an intern, after all. And how, after a long battle, Barack finally won over Michelle, how Craig tested Barack on the basketball court and found him worthy enough for his sister. It was a fairy-tale romance. Barack presented her with the engagement ring over dessert. And they all lived happily ever after.
Minow laughs and says that things had actually happened in no time. "They had just met each other when my wife and I saw them at the movies, standing near the popcorn machine. That was embarrassing for them." The Minows are giggling, while in front of them the future president -- and former suitor -- is leaving the room.
"He had this rare mixture of temperament and intellect, and he was smarter and more attractive than most people," says Minow. And Michelle? "Well-mannered. And beautiful. A wonderful couple, don't you think?"
Michelle Obama wears wide belts, dresses and skirts, but no pant suits. The black dress with red spots that she wore on the night of the election was odd. It was supposedly meant to look like a volcano, but it looked more like a gunshot wound and wasn't much of a success. But she likes to combine different accessories, likes to try new things and likes bright colors. Will Michelle be a new icon? A black Princess Diana?
Her strength is that fashion is not her distinguishing characteristic. She comes across as an intelligent woman who feels comfortable with her body and enjoys fashion. With the possible exception of the pearl necklaces, her fashion sense is free-spirited and bold. Her secret is that she doesn't hide anything. She shows her determination, her size, her femininity. She displays her success, her children, even her age. Her husband is a great help to her in all of these endeavors, because no matter what she does, he looks at her with nothing but admiration in his eyes.
Perhaps they are simply in love. And love, as they say, can move mountains -- maybe even in Washington.
He likes to go for walks, but he can forget about that now. She won't miss it, because she prefers driving. What will their life be like? These are the kinds of things the Obamas are talking about these days, with only two weeks left before their new life begins.
Malia Obama says she will sit at Abraham Lincoln's desk because it "will inspire big thoughts." Barack Obama says he wants to "open up the White House and remind people this is the people's house."
There is a tennis court next to the White House. The Obamas like to play mixed doubles. Basketball hoops will be set up. There is a weight room at Camp David, which both of them will use. There is a budget of $100,000 (€74,000) available for renovations, although historic preservation restrictions must be taken into account.
She is the manager of the transition in all things that relate to the family. "You spend a year and a half on the campaign trail, and then you have six weeks to turn your entire life upside," she recently told reporters covering the transition period.
Obama promised his wife that he would quit smoking if she supported him during the campaign. She kept her end of the bargain, and he his -- for the most part. "She is an excellent police officer, but I want to be a role model myself, when it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle, especially for my own children," he says. She says: "Please America … keep an eye on him and call me if you see him smoking."
She will have to protect the children in Washington. She refers to herself as "First Mom." The White House is secure, and the private Sidwell Friends School has experience with celebrities. Chelsea Clinton was a student there. But in those days, Facebook and YouTube didn't exist. In fact, no one has examined, under these conditions, how to preserve the private sphere of presidential children in the media age.
Economic policy will be on the agenda immediately in the White House, which Obama has already changed, even before moving in. One of his important strategic decisions was to upgrade his advisors and the entire West Wing staff relative to the various government agencies. Obama has even appointed energy and health experts to his staff. "He wants to have an effective team," says David Axelrod.
Obama has repeatedly announced the way he plans to govern. Transparently. Verifiably. And more honestly than his predecessor.
A few days ago, he discussed his biggest concerns with journalists at Time, which had made him its "Person of the Year." Chief among them, he said, is the economy. "And so even if we take a whole host of the right steps in terms of the economy, two years from now it may not have fully recovered." Then comes Afghanistan, which he calls a "very tough situation," complicated by "tensions between Pakistan and India." The third in his list of worries is nuclear proliferation. "And then the final thing," Obama told Time, "just to round out my Happy List, is climate change. All the indicators are that this is happening faster than even the most pessimistic scientists were anticipating a couple of years ago."
Then the people at Time asked the president-elect an excellent question: What can voters use to judge your performance in two years?
Obama replied: "Have we helped this economy recover from what is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression? Have we instituted financial regulations and rules of the road that assure this kind of crisis doesn't occur again? Have we created jobs that pay well and allow families to support themselves? Have we made significant progress on reducing the cost of health care and expanding coverage? Have we begun what will probably be a decade-long project to shift America to a new energy economy?"
The Obamas have agreed that Michelle will be his bridge to the world, his connection to life the way it used to be, to their children, to their friends and even to voters. He says: "One of the things that I'm going to have to work through is how to break through the isolation -- the bubble that exists around the president. I'm negotiating to figure out how can I get information from outside of the 10 or 12 people who surround my office in the White House."
He has his Blackberrys, but the jury is still out on whether he will be allowed to keep the devices, for security reasons. And he has Michelle.
When it was all over, back in Chicago on Nov. 5, on the morning after the election, Barack Obama slept in a little later than usual, for the first time in 18 months. Michelle took the children to school, as always. The teachers and students and parents applauded and squealed, and the girls held up their backpacks like protective shields.
"This is so embarrassing," said Malia.
"It's always going to be like this from now on," said Michelle, "but I'm here for you."
Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan
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