Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years
Written by David Litt
Narrated by David Litt
4/5
()
About this audiobook
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
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 – twenty-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 twenty-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 healthcare 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 humorists’ 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’s 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.
David Litt
David Litt is the New York Times best-selling author of Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years. From 2011-2016, David wrote speeches for President Obama, and was described as ""the comic muse for the president"" for his work on the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Since leaving the White House, he served as the head writer and producer for Funny Or Die's office in Washington, with a focus on improving youth turnout in the 2018 election, and developed a sitcom based on his life in D.C. He frequently appears on CNN and MSNBC to discuss current events.
Related to Thanks, Obama
Related audiobooks
Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Power Forward: My Presidential Education Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hell and Other Destinations: A 21st-Century Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Gasbag: An A-to-Z Study Guide to Surviving Trump World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Tantrum: The Donald J. Trump Presidential Archives Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5What Happened Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trust: America's Best Chance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pelosi Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5We're Better Than This: My Fight for the Future of Our Democracy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Joe Biden: The Life, the Presidency, and What Matters Now Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hard Choices Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Team of Five: The Presidents Club in the Age of Trump Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and Redemption Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Persist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stronger Together Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5First in Line: Presidents, Vice Presidents, and the Pursuit of Power Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn’t, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saving Justice: Truth, Transparency, and Trust Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is What America Looks Like: My Journey from Refugee to Congresswoman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America's Middle Class Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Living History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Political Biographies For You
John Adams Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Enough Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romney: A Reckoning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Trump Tapes: Bob Woodward's Twenty Interviews with President Donald Trump Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The White House Plumbers: The Seven Weeks That Led to Watergate and Doomed Nixon's Presidency Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5V Is For Victory Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Benjamin Franklin: An American Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lincoln Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Assassination Vacation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Benjamin Franklin Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fear: Trump in the White House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dressed for a Dance in the Snow: Women's Voices from the Gulag Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Team of Rivals Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Peril Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To Rescue the Constitution: George Washington and the Fragile American Experiment Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Watergate Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Showman: Inside the Invasion That Shook the World and Made a Leader of Volodymyr Zelensky Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Thanks, Obama
136 ratings15 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thanks for sharing your amazing experience w one of the greatest Presidents, Barack Obama.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Obama did nothing but take vacations, more than any president in history, spend tax payers money, and golfed more than any president in history all while Americans are struggling just to put food on the table, all due to the economic recession Obama put us in, not Bush! Because they would not approve any of the budget he proposed bc they "democrats" were waiting for obuma to take over so they could go on a spending spree to pay back all the votes they/he bought. One year he took a total of 2 vacations per month averaging 20 days, he actually took 30 in one year. What did he do to deserve a vacation. He didn't even earn a smoke break! He was the laziest, dumbest, most idiotic president in American history, the zits on Trumps ass are more intellectual than Obama on his best day!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What a unique perspective from within the Obama Administration! Surprisingly humorous and fairly apolitical. I really enjoyed it!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Super witty, inside look at a competent administration, highly recommended
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved this book and enjoyed the reminiscing of a time that I found more peaceful than present day. Litt kept the tone light and amusing. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a light read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing, open and hilarious read providing a new perspective into the Obama White House.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I laughed, I cried. Well written! I will probably listen again.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book is full of politics, but it's still funny and interesting. It tells the sides of things the public doesn't see. It also gives insider info on what the Obama administration was like.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is now the third memoir of an Obama staffer I've read about time in that White House, and the most uneven. Litt was a speechwriter that flipped a couple of times between federal service and the campaign, quite a ride for someone in the late 20s to early 30s age cohort. There were a lot of interesting anecdotes about that time, mixed in with personal growth and introspection. I would say the downside of this experience is that the author felt quite smug about achieving this level of success without dwelling on the fact that being from a comfortable Manhattan family, being a straight white male, and having a degree from Yale made that success much more likely. He also glossed over much of what Obama the president stood for, with BIPOC and LGBTQ people mentioned only as part of a winning coalition of voters and not as people. It's a fun story, but if you want a clearer insider look at the Obama administration, I'd recommend starting with Alyssa Mastromonaco's book instead.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An interesting view into the White House during Obama's years. It's not a Trump bashing story (although there are a few digs), but a Pro-Obama story that shows humor and intelligence by President Obama as well as those around him. Litt is a great storyteller. Definitely worth one's time to read!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5David Litt isn't just funny. He's positively hilarious in many passages of this entertaining memoir. His masterful writing combined with his self-deprecating humor offers readers a unique perch from which to view some of the most momentous events in Washington during the Obama era. Regardless of one's political views, I believe Litt's book will be viewed as a delightful and offbeat peek into White Housing happenings.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I enjoyed David Litt's memoir a lot! He worked in the good old days as a speechwriter for President Obama.He's self-deprecating and humorous when talking about his experiences as a 20 something White House staff person. He wasn't in the "inner circle" but did have experiences with the president. The stories were both funny and inspiring. As a listener of Pod Save America I was particularly interested in his writing about Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett who were also speechwriters for President Obama.Closing the memoir with Zoe's story was just about perfect!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Based on the first one or two chapters, I had very low expectations for the rest of the book, and set it aside for a few months. But it gets much better! The author has a great sense of humor, and humility. He talks about what works, and, more interestingly, what didn't work and the lessons he and other Obama staffers learned. This is less a discussion of politics or policy than an office work memoir—but one set in a unique office. Very enjoyable.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5David Litt, the author, was a Yale student when he volunteered for the Obama campaign in 2008. After his victory, Obama hired him to work in his administration as a speechwriter, where he continued in that role while advancing to writing speeches for the president himself. Along the way he encountered some wonderful people, some not so great people and had some wonderful, amazing adventures. Litt makes a public service career both terrifying and inspiring all at the same time. For those of us who loved the TV show The West Wing, Litt shows how reality is often different from our fantasies. This is a great book for those of us intrigued by politics and how government really works, as well as shows us who makes it work.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This almost felt like two different stories being told. One was that of Litt's own story of growth, and the other was that of the political ups and downs of President Obama's two terms in office.Though, I'm not sure if it was purposeful, the memoir left me feeling emotional and nostalgic. It made me miss Obama even more than I already do. Perhaps it's because of the current political climate we live in currently, but reading about the accomplishments and moreover the character of President Obama, left me feeling utterly hopeless, and somehow, optimistically hopeful at the same time!What I loved about the memoir was that it was not overly political, in the sense that Litt was not writing to shove an agenda down your throat. It read as a retelling of his time as a speechwriter for Obama. Clearly his political beliefs matched up with that of the President, so certainly you aren't left wondering what he believed, but the memoir never seems to be about convincing its readers about policies or ideas. Which can be great for anyone who is currently off put by politics. You can still enjoy the memoir. Litt is very funny and I found myself laughing out loud throughout, which helped with keeping the tone of the book from becoming overly sentimental.The other part I loved was that Litt did not paint President Obama in an unrealistic light. He never sets out to write Obama as a saint, or perfect, but rather admits to times where he was frustrated and disillusioned by the President, which humanizes both Litt and Obama. That felt important, and to me, made the memoir so successful. Litt does an amazing job of capturing the hope that Obama instilled in so many young people during his time as President. That hope which is so hard to find these days. It was a refreshing reminder that there still IS hope! A reminder that was much needed.This was a great memoir and I seemed to find it at the perfect time.