【2006 Archives】

Editor's note: This006 Archivesthe 43rd entry in the writer's project to read one book about each of the U.S. Presidents in the year prior to Election Day 2016. Follow Marcus' progress at the@44in52Twitter account and the44 in 52 Spreadsheet.

It's a very strange feeling writing about the 44th president of the United States the day after the nation has elected the 45th president -- especially after an election as contentious as 2016's has been.

Trump's shocking electoral college win, and Hillary's pyrrhic victory in the Electoral College, didn't affect my experience with David Remnick's book on Obama, The Bridge.

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That's because I finished it the morning of Election Day -- completing my project to read a book on every president in one year, just under the wire.

SEE ALSO: The last Republican president will always be haunted by his actions

As with George W. Bush, it's hard to really get a sense of Obama's presidency, or what his legacy will be. Thankfully, The Bridge, doesn't try. It was written in 2010, so the focus is on Obama's early life, his meteoric rise, and the political context behind it all.

While it's fascinating stuff, Remnick spends too many pages on the context -- away from Obama's story. This creates a disjointed feel that doesn't really smooth out until we reach Obama's U.S. Senate run in 2004.

We get a great background on the history of Chicago and Harold Washington, the city's first black mayor. The city and Washington's legacy shaped Obama during his time there as a community organizer, state legislator and U.S. Senator. (For further reading, check out American Pharaohand Fire of the Prairie.)

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Then we reach the 2008 presidential campaign. It's hard to think about his optimism, the chants of "Yes we can!" and the Shepherd Fairey poster that reads "HOPE," when we sit under the dark cloud of Donald Trump.

Given that Trump apparently wants to ban at least some Muslims from entering the U.S., it's hard to forget Obama's long battle against allegations that he was Muslim rather than Christian -- as if there was anything wrong with that.

Racial divisions came to a head in Obama's campaign when we heard the inflammatory rhetoric of his then-pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Obama fought back with his famous "A more perfect union" speech, a masterclass on the subject of race in America.

Not that Obama was a perfect president. There are plenty of areas where even his strongest supporters are critical -- on drone strikes and deportations, for example.

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But the time will come, years from now, when we can properly reflect on his eight years in office, and how it compares to the Bush and Trump presidencies that bookended it.

What can't be denied was the way his campaigns were built on optimism, on looking forward in a progressive way. But Remnick doesn't shy away from Obama's embellishments on the campaign trail, or his connections to shady Chicago figures like Tony Rezko.

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But in an age of cynicism, in a country that was reeling from two wars and a decimated economy, Obama offered a shining light for disillusioned voters. While Trump arrived in a fog of darkness in 2016 spending his campaign stoking fear and hatred of "the other", Obama called for unification.

Indeed, reading about Obama's political rise during the final days of 2016 provided so much cognitive dissonance, I'm still dizzy. Obama was decried by opponents as a "celebrity candidate" at the same time Trump hosted a program called The Celebrity Apprentice.

And, now that the two have met in person for the first time -- in a meeting that came off okay yet a bit awkward, the transition is real.

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Whatever history says of Obama's presidency, successes and faults, and however the Trump presidency turns out, it's still a study in contrasts -- two men who couldn't be further part in terms of temperament and (presumably) ideology.

Given the divisive nature of modern politics, Obama's legacy is sure to be divisive for some time. But it's easy to think that many of his most vehement critics will do as Glenn Beck has apparently done, and rethink their hatred.

Time is a flat circle, history repeats itself, the sun will rise, and the Republic will survive.

But the disparate nature of these two presidents, Obama and Trump, and the effect it will have on the world, will linger for years.

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With this recap, I've now completed the bulk of this project: reading (and sharing my thoughts) on one book about every president of the United States in the year between November 8, 2015 and November 8, 2016.

But as you may have noticed, the name of the project is "44 in 52" and I've read only 43 books -- all because Grover Cleveland was elected twice, becoming the 22nd and the 24th presidents.

So, Mission Technically But Not Fully Accomplished.

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That said, it's myproject so I can change the rules all I want! Even though we're past election day, I'm giving myself a few more days to wrap up my choice for presidential book number 44 (Whistlestop, by John Dickerson). Call it "44 in 53" if you like.

We'll post that story, which will include my final thoughts on the project as a whole, next week. And as always, thanks for reading along.

Days to read Washington: 16Days to read Adams: 11Days to read Jefferson: 10Days to read Madison: 13Days to read Monroe: 6Days to read J. Q. Adams: 10Days to read Jackson: 11Days to read Van Buren: 9Days to read Harrison: 6Days to read Tyler: 3Days to read Polk: 8Days to read Taylor: 8Days to read Fillmore: 14Days to read Pierce: 1Days to read Buchanan: 1Days to read Lincoln: 12Days to read Johnson: 8Days to read Grant: 27Days to read Hayes: 1Days to read Garfield: 3Days to read Arthur: 17Days to hear Cleveland: 3Days to read Harrison: 4Days to read McKinley: 5Days to read T. Roosevelt: 15Days to read Taft: 13Days to read Wilson: 10Days to read Harding: 3Days to read Coolidge: 7Days to read Hoover: 9Days to read FDR: 11Days to read Truman: 14Days to read Eisenhower: 11Days to read JFK: 10Days to read LBJ: 6Days to read Nixon: 6Days to read Ford: 4Days to listen to Carter: 2Days to listen to Reagan: 8Days to read GWHB: 8Days to read Clinton: 9 Days to read GWB: 8Days to read Obama: 6

Days behind schedule: 8

Topics Barack Obama Donald Trump