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Thanks, Obama
- My Hopey, Changey White House Years
- Narrated by: David Litt
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
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Thanks, Obama
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Summary
Remember when presidents spoke in complete sentences instead of in unhinged tweets? David Litt does. In his comic coming-of-age memoir, he takes us back to the Obama years - and charts a path forward in the age of Trump.
More than any other presidency, Barack Obama's eight years in the White House were defined by young people - 20-somethings who didn't have much experience in politics (or anything else, for that matter) yet suddenly found themselves in the most high-stakes office building on earth. David Litt was one of those 20-somethings. After graduating from college in 2008, he went straight to the Obama campaign. In 2011 he became one of the youngest White House speechwriters in history. Until leaving the White House in 2016, he wrote on topics from health care to climate change to criminal justice reform. As President Obama's go-to comedy writer, he also took the lead on the White House Correspondents' Dinner, the so-called "State of the Union of jokes".
Now, in this refreshingly honest memoir, Litt brings us inside Obamaworld. With a humorist's eye for detail, he describes what it's like to accidentally trigger an international incident or nearly set a president's hair aflame. He answers questions you never knew you had: Which White House men's room is the classiest? What do you do when the commander in chief gets your name wrong? Where should you never, under any circumstances, change clothes on Air Force One? With nearly a decade of stories to tell, Litt makes clear that politics is completely, hopelessly absurd.
But it's also important. For all the moments of chaos, frustration, and, yes, disillusionment, Litt remains a believer in the words that first drew him to the Obama campaign: "People who love this country can change it". In telling his own story, Litt sheds fresh light on his former boss' legacy. And he argues that, despite the current political climate, the politics championed by Barack Obama will outlive the presidency of Donald Trump.
Full of hilarious stories and told in a truly original voice, Thanks, Obama is an exciting debut about what it means - personally, professionally, and politically - to grow up.
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What listeners say about Thanks, Obama
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- jacqueline bain
- 03-12-17
Excellent Highly Recommend
No idea why I chose this particular book but something called to me. So glad I picked it. So many Obama writings get caught in the race debate and in the beginning I thought this was going to be the same.
However, Litt dealt with it and moved on.
Loved the insight, humour and honesty that came from this. Acknowledgement of flaws and keeping the story human really made this for me.
As a Scot, I have no influence on the USA, but I hope Obamas legacy is carried on.. I was seriously ill some years ago and did not have to worry about affording treatment in Scotland. Shouldn't free healthcare and education be available to all? I don't take these things lightly and I'm sure hardly any one does. I know that as they're paid for by taxes they aren't totally free but no one should have to choose between food and children's health and education and equality in the 21st century should be closer than it is.
Thought provoking, laugh out loud and in some areas tear jerking, this was worth it all
Good luck in the future to both Litt and Obama.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- William Hayes
- 27-10-17
Funny, profound, and stirring.
I really enjoyed this. It was great to see the White House from the perspective of someone initially quite far down the pecking order.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Happy Harry
- 23-08-18
Interesting Insight
In today's America it gives hope, when and considering the Russian baby in the Whitehouse.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- James Welling
- 02-01-19
Wonderfully funny and insightful book
A wonderfully funny and insightful book on Obama's presidency viewed from his speechwriter.
he makes even the rude things sound funny.
some fantasic antidotes.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jonathan
- 23-10-17
Eye opening. More importantly, funny and clever
This is a welcome insight into the world of the white house and the real running of government. That's why I started reading it.
What kept me hooked was the skill with which he writes. Every personal detail is a metaphor, a running joke or both and the skill with which he explains the art of speech writing in chapter 7 unbelievable!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 25-06-19
Funny, Heartfelt & Informative
Humorous, well written and very well read. The author reading his own work is perfect.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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- hmm.
- 19-06-20
Interesting, but
The version I got did not allow you to skip forward or back, or between chapters, incredibly frustrating
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