Jodi Kantor
Jodi Kantor
Jodi Kantoris a New York Times correspondent whose work has covered the workplace, technology and gender. She has been the paper's Arts & Leisure editor and covered two presidential campaigns, chronicling the transformation of Barack and Michelle Obama of Chicago into president and first lady of the United States. Kantor, the author of the best-selling book "The Obamas," is a contributor to CBS This Morning and has also appeared on Charlie Rose, The Daily Show, The Today Show, and many...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionJournalist
Date of Birth21 April 1975
CountryUnited States of America
I spent a lot of time in the White House in the public areas where reporters are allowed to go, but I spoke to people about the private quarters as well. Some of the things I learned were small, novelistic details. For example, the fact that there were still pet stains on the carpets from the Bush cats when the Obamas moved in.
Michelle has had to grapple with Hilary Clinton's legacy as First Lady... Michelle Obama never wants to be seen as the kind of First Lady who is overly involved in the West Wing.
One of my favorite stories is from Obama's first campaign: Michelle Obama was out there every day, collecting signatures and supervising the other people who did. If you were supposed to get 300 signatures and you only got 299, you had to face the wrath of Michelle.
Candidates' wives are supposed to sit cheerfully through their husbands' appearances.
People who face too many demands - two careers, two children - often scale back somehow. The Obamas scaled up.
I've learned that the best political reporters never make predictions!
I would say that Barack Obama has always been a real optimist about what can be accomplished. He believes that government can be used to create systemic, long-term, real change. And the first lady is more of a skeptic.
Every presidential candidate highlights patriotism, but Mr. Romneys is backed by the Mormon belief that the United States was chosen by God to play a special role in history, its Constitution divinely inspired.
Those close to Mr. Obama say he grows irritated at being misunderstood - not just by opponents who insinuate that he caters to African-Americans, but also by black lawmakers and intellectuals who fault him for not making his presidency an all-out assault on racial disparity.