Robinson, Obama marry
After three years of dating Barack Obama marries Michelle Robinson at Trinity United Church in Chicago, Illinois. At the wedding, their first dance is to Stevie Wonder’s You and I. Michelle says that in Barack’s vows, he promises her a life that will be interesting. At the time she is 28 and he is 31.
O Magazine interview
Obama discusses writing his memoir, Dreams from My Father, in an interview for O Magazine.
I had the opportunity. When I was elected president of the Harvard Law Review, people were willing to give me money to write. That’s a huge luxury. I thought I had something interesting to say about how our cultures collide as the world shrinks. My family’s story captures some of the tensions and evolution and crosscurrents of race, both in this country and around the globe.
Wins Grammy
Obama wins the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for Dreams From My Father (Senator Barack Obama).
Wins Grammy
Obama wins the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for The Audacity Of Hope: Thoughts On Reclaiming The American Dream.
I’d like to thank the Academy for courageously breaking the mold this time. In doing so, honoring the giants upon whose shoulders I stand, some of whom like Miles Davis, John Coltrane … unquestionably, deserved the award in the past. But this is a new day, that proves that the impossible can be made possible. Yes, We Can!
People cover
The Obamas appear on the cover of People giving a view into their hectic home life. Michelle on whether she envisioned her husband running for president:
Whooo-boy! No. To me, life was you get married, you have kids, you buy a home. I thought Barack would be a partner at a law firm or maybe teach or work in the community. We’d watch our kids go to college and go to their weddings and take care of the grandkids and that was it.
Time – Person of the Year
Newly elected President Obama is chosen as Time’s Person of the Year over runners-up Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Gov. Sarah Palin and Chinese director Zhang Yimou. The magazine writes about the choice:
In one of the craziest elections in American history, he overcame a lack of experience, a funny name, two candidates who are political institutions and the racial divide to become the 44th President of the United States.
Barack Obama
President Obama is awarded the Peace Prize for advocating dialogue and cooperation across all dividing lines.
For his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.
Resignation
Obama accepts McChrystal’s resignation after summoning the general to the White House. McChrystal releases a statement saying he is stepping down out of
a desire to see the mission succeed.
Obama says Americans should be grateful for McChrystal’s time in uniform. Referring to the Rolling Stone profile of the general by Michael Hastings, Obama adds:
The conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general.
Visits Indonesia
President Obama arrives in Jakarta on a brief trip to Indonesia, where he lived for four years as a child.
Obviously, much has been made of the fact that this marks my return to where I lived as a young boy. I will tell you, though, that I barely recognised it as I was driving down the streets. The only thing that was there when I first moved to Jakarta was Serena [a shopping mall]; now it’s one of the shorter buildings on the road.
EU, US call for resignation
President Obama says the regime’s actions against pro-democracy protesters have cost it all legitimacy.
The future of Syria must be determined by its people, but President Bashar al-Assad is standing in their way. His calls for dialogue and reform have rung hollow while he is imprisoning, torturing and slaughtering his own people, We have consistently said that President Assad must lead a democratic transition or get out of the way. He has not led. For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for President Assad to step aside.
UK Prime Minister Cameron, French president Sarkozy and German chancellor Merkel, as well as the EU also demand Assad immediately resign.
Our three countries believe that President Assad, who is resorting to brutal military force against his own people and who is responsible for the situation, has lost all legitimacy and can no longer claim to lead the country. We call on him to face the reality of the complete rejection of his regime by the Syrian people and to step aside in the best interests of Syria and the unity of its people.
Obama, Walker meet
Walker greets Obama on the Milwaukee airport tarmac and presents him with a Milwaukee Brewer’s baseball jersey that has Obama’s name and the number 1 written on the back. Obama is visiting the Master Lock Company to highlight the Midwest’s manufacturing sector. Obama:
What’s happening in Detroit can happen in other industries.
Walker:
The bottom line is we’re one of the biggest, most dependent on manufacturing of any state in the country. We appreciate the fact that the president’s focusing on manufacturing.
Essence cover
Obama appears on the cover of Essence to discuss his plan for improving the economy, our health, homes and future. And he also states why he’s excited about the next four years.
I’ve always approached my presidency as a long-term proposition… I didn’t run for office just to clean up the mess I inherited. I didn’t run for office just to return to the status quo. Understanding that some of the things I get done, we may not see the benefits from them for ten years. But that’s how change happens.
President Obama AMA
President Obama participates in a surprise open question-and-answer session on the Web community Reddit, as the subject of one of the site’s regular “Ask Me Anything” threads. Reddit’s site experienced some outages immediately following the announcement, due to increased traffic.
Presidential debate livestream
YouTube partners with ABC News to livestream three presidential and one vice-presidential debates for free. The YouTube livestream also features commentary from Al Jazeera English, BuzzFeed, Larry King, New York Times, YouTuber Phil DeFranco, Univision and the Wall Street Journal.
Time – Person of the Year
Obama is chosen as Time’s Person of the Year for a second time, due to his achievements in changing the face of America. The magazine notes that Obama is the first President since Franklin Delano Roosevelt to win more than 50 percent of the vote in two straight elections. Runners-up are Pakistani female education activist Malala Yousafzai, Apple chief executive Tim Cook, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, and atomic physicist Fabiola Gionetti. A spokesman for Time::
In 2012, he found and forged a new majority, turned weakness into opportunity and sought, amid great adversity, to create a more perfect union.
Obama welcomes Chafee
Upon hearing that Chafee plans to affiliate with Democrats for his 2014 gubernatorial re-election run, Obama issues a statement through the Democratic National Committee.
I’m delighted to hear that Governor Chafee is joining the Democratic Party. For nearly 30 years, Linc Chafee has served his beloved Rhode Island as an independent thinker and leader who’s unafraid to reach across party lines to get things done. I enjoyed working with Linc when he was a Republican in the United States Senate, and I look forward to continuing that collaboration on the issues that matter not just to the Democratic Party, but to every American.
White House Press Secretary Carney tells reporters at the daily press briefing.
The president welcomes Governor Chafee to the party. Governor Chafee’s been a longtime supporter of President Obama, and – not as a party member, but as a supporter of the president and his policies both – but I don’t have any other response.
Obama calls Tuff
President Obama calls to thank Tuff for her courage. Obama:
Thank you for the courage you displayed while talking to a gunman.
Plea to Obama
Weinstein pleads Obama to help secure his freedom in a video released by al-Qaeda.
Mr. Obama, you are a family man, and so you understand the deep mental anxiety and anguish that I have been experiencing for these past more than two years. I am therefore appealing to you on a humanitarian basis, if nothing else, and asking that you take the necessary actions to expedite my release and my return to my family and to my country, to our country.
Between Two Ferns appearance
Obama appears on Galifianakis’ web series Between Two Ferns. Obama discusses the appearance on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show:
I wasn’t familiar with this thing, but when I was at the dinner table with the girls and I said, ‘Well today I did something with Zach, it’s called Two Ferns I think?’ Malia was so excited! She had seen all the previous episodes, so I figured it was going to reach our target audience, which is a lot of young people and it turns out we’ve had close to 15 million hits.
Visits Walmart
The president praises the new steps taken by businesses and communities combating climate change in the aisle between women’s wear and patio lighting at a Silicon Valley Walmart.
The commitments we’re announcing today prove that there are cost-effective ways to tackle climate change and create jobs at the same time.