Obama Kept Harvard Law Review Balanced

Barack Obama's election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review in 1990 gave him his first moment of national fame, a powerful intellectual credential and a sweet book deal. It was also his first electoral victory, won in part by convincing the conservative minority of law students that he would treat them fairly.

While Obama's title and his election have become well-known parts of his personal story, the substance of his actual work on the Review, where he spent at least 50 hours a week, has received little attention.

Obama may have had it right back when he was running the journal, and reportedly ended minor disputes with the words, "Just remember, folks, nobody reads it."

The eight dense volumes produced during his time in charge there -- 2,083 pages in all -- show the Review to have been a decidedly liberal institution, albeit one in transition as its focus on race and gender was contested by both liberals and conservatives. Under his tenure, the Review published calls to expand the powers of women, African-Americans and the elderly to sue for discrimination.

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