'The Obamas': Inside The First Family's Marriage

New York Times journalist Jodi Kantor's new book, "The Obamas," purports to reveal the inner workings of the first family's relationship.

But is it ever really possible to get inside someone's marriage -- especially that of the President and First Lady?

Given that Kantor didn't interview the Obamas for her book, (though she says she has previously spoken to both Michelle and Barack about their marriage), it's unclear how much this tell-all will truly reveal (the book hits stores on January 10).

"The Obamas" has already garnered criticism from several corners. David Remnick of The New Yorker wote: "Such books regard more earnest matters like history, context, and ideas the way a child looks at a plate of Brussels sprouts." The Washington Post criticized Kantor for discounting the importance of getting an interview with the Obamas for her book.

White House Press Secretary Eric Schultz called "The Obamas" a reflection of Kantor's "own opinions." And former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel -- who Kantor characterizes as having a strained relationship with the Obamas -- told the Chicago Sun-Times: "I'm very proud to have worked for the president and the first lady, and [my wife] Amy and I are very proud to call them friends."

Although Kantor has come under fire for the book's failure to present the Obamas' perspective, the author did interview more than 30 White House staffers about the first family, and offers up what New York Times book reviewer Connie Schultz calls "gossipy tidbits that fuel a narrative about their marriage and how it has shaped the presidency." She adds: "Ms. Kantor retires wooden stereotypes of the political wife as a prop or a problem and instead explores what it means to be a modern first lady, one with her own opinions and an expectation that she will be heard."

Connie Schultz also says that Kantor is, "a meticulous reporter ... [who] is attuned to the nuance of small gestures, the import of unspoken truths. She knows that every strong marriage, including the one now in the White House, has its complexities and its disappointments."

Kantor reportedly received a seven figure advance for "The Obamas" after a lively auction among publishers in New York City.

The author has defended the book against criticism: "The story I wanted to write was never going to come from the Obamas' lips," Kantor told Chicago Magazine. "In a way, it goes to Barack Obama's own predicament as president: He's such a gifted storyteller. Yet can he really tell his own story anymore?"

So what do you think? Is it really possible to understand someone else's marriage? Let us know in the comments.

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Comments

[ValdaDeDieu]

06:41 PM on 01/12/2012

Interesting that nowadays you can get seven figures for what amounts to little more than gossip. Without the Obama's own words to place others' accounts into context, I have no interest in reading Kantor's drivel. I wonder how she'd feel if someone were to presume --just as she has with the Obama's--to put her own marriage under the microscope for the world to see, without her having any chance to refute lies or inaccuracies.

[Dick Stone]

01:10 AM on 01/11/2012

I don't even know how my marriage works. I just follow the AA advice and take it one day at a time. I don't think there is any special recipe that makes one work.

[Bodeswell]

12:55 AM on 01/11/2012

Never can understand why anyone wants to read about anybody else's marriage. For one thing, it has nothing to do with anybody else. For another, you would only get a biased point of view, even from the subjects themselves. And who cares anyway?

[filliperogers]

08:55 PM on 01/10/2012

I smell a mass firing inside the white house on the agenda.......

[ewaynee]

08:29 PM on 01/10/2012

I dont plan to buy this book!

[bmitche]

08:16 PM on 01/10/2012

Any unauthorized book should be read with caution.

[Leviathan21]

11:55 PM on 01/10/2012

As should any authorized book. Authorized books can also be very unreliable, in a whole other way.

[nchill]

08:16 PM on 01/10/2012

After interviewing over 30 White House Staffers, Jodi Kantor's book is a report of the views and perceptions of the staffers -- who are in close contact daily with not only the President, First Lady, but with the interaction between them as staffers.

Ms. Kantor's book is not intended to be a review of "how" the first couple view their marriage and interaction with their staffs. So, whether these views are truths or not, they are the perceptions of those interviewed. Let's take the well-reported Halloween party for example. Whether it cost the White House a lot of money or not -- even if those who attended; such as, Johnny Depp, donated everything, the big splash has not been a customary way for the White House to celebrate. It also doesn not matter who the party was giving for. Bottom line, the appearance gives the perception the Obamas are not concerned with how much money they are spending -- and in a severe recession. It was poor judgment on their part as a new first family not to have been more conservative. Now, why would Americans buy into this report so quickly. Because since 2009, there have been more and more reports of big White House affairs, parties, with lots of money being spent on booze, food, entertainment, etc. Whether it is true or not, when the media reports these events, it only compounds the "perception" the Obamas are living like royalty in the White House. Sounds like a Banana

[MissTigress]

12:06 AM on 01/11/2012

no one gives their names. All spoke on condition of anonymity. Sorry, I can't buy that. If they were staffers at all, they could have been very low staffers who have little interaction and want to spread gossip. Again, it's all hearsay.
This First Family has not done anything more extravagant than any other family in the White House. They are incredibly down to earth and obviously do everything to do right by their daughters and by all accounts those girls are bright, sweet and well mannered. They do chores. Mrs. Obama has done everything to protect them and give them as normal life as possible. When heads of state visit, a beautiful party and dinner is expected. Would you want the US to look like we're struggling, like we're weak and can't afford to properly entertain our foreign guests? It's silly. You want to see an extravagant White House, try looking at the parties the Reagans gave.

[Zonkiris]

08:12 PM on 01/10/2012

And the question was: "So what do you think? Is it really possible to understand someone else's marriage?"

Answer: It is impossible to understand someone else's marriage,(even the partisipants probably don't understand it) all you will understand is people's opinions.

[alleyesonegypt]

07:57 PM on 01/10/2012

Just call the book a novel since it is based on hearsay without an interveiw, along with the author's opinion. It is up to the individual if they would like to purchase the book based on this information.

[ladywiccan]

07:35 PM on 01/10/2012

will I read this book, probably not, I wouldn't waste the cost, have better things to do with my time and money

[Billdabuilder]

07:21 PM on 01/10/2012

Fiction fiction fiction.

[Prince7]

06:37 PM on 01/10/2012

Ms Kantor purports to be able to give an unbiased picture of the personal lives of people she freely admits she barely knows from second hand information that apparently doesn't require any vetting. Someone should tell her that makes her a gossip colomnist and that's about it. I'll wait until an authorized version comes out.

[totalyfedup]

06:25 PM on 01/10/2012

If she had interviewed the Obamas then it would be nothing but lies and distortions. He expects you to believe he never heard the hate spewed from his pastor after years of sitting in his church. He expects you to believe he was not friends with radical home land terrorist. He expects you to believe his deal for his home was an honest one with a convicted gangster. He expects you to believe his transcrips and other documentation claims when he won't produce a single scrap of paper to back them. She expects you to believe she has no racist views even though she included them in her writings. She expects you to believe she loves her country when she has only reciently found a reason to be proud of it. She expects you to believe her position at the health facility was provided because she was the most qualified. And this was all before he was given the chance to lead us. What they have done since then has been even more unbelievable.

[happyone6470]

08:08 PM on 01/10/2012

Although I don't like Chris Mattthews I was just reading an interview he did a couple of months . Some of the things he said about the Obama's is spot on even the remark that they are not happy in the Whitehouse .

[abliss2379]

04:34 PM on 01/11/2012

Who would be? Particularly with young children still at home?

[bobo0819]

09:44 PM on 01/10/2012

...and George W. Bush is being nominated for sainthood.

[boparenti]

06:02 PM on 01/10/2012

Well, you didn't listen as we stood there and said NO WAY, he is too radical and his wife is even more radical than he is. We knew it, the media did not show it and the Democratic Party did not vet him. So this is what happens when you vote on emotion and not facts. Yeah right, the smartest President. To bad he is driving the USA over a cliff. The right is at fault also for putting someone like McCann against him.

[Margrit Abrahms]

04:14 AM on 01/12/2012

Take it from a liberal, Obama is not radical. BTW it's a republican legacy of waging unfunded wars, deregulation and medicare prescription drug benefits that drove a national surplus into a huge national debt. "By the design of the program, the federal government is not permitted to negotiate prices of drugs with the drug companies, as federal agencies do. Medicare pays $785 for a year's supply of Lipitor (atorvastatin), while the VA pays $520." A federal program paying into the pockets of the drug companies, without negotiating a price. Classic republican policy of taking tax payer money and giving it to their friends at the large corporations.

[Jakpot]

05:50 PM on 01/10/2012

Really!! Who cares?

[DannyeSue]

06:47 PM on 01/10/2012

You may not care my dear, but many good Americans do!

[Jakpot]

07:36 AM on 01/11/2012

Corrected:

“You may not care my dear, but many good SOCIALIST Americans do!”