NOTES
Introduction
1. Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father (New York: Three Rivers Press, 1995), 4.
2. See Official White House Photo by Pete Souza, February 1, 2009. The Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals 27–23, earning their sixth Super Bowl win.
3. Obama, Dreams from My Father, 3.
4. Janny Scott, A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mother (New York: Riverhead Books, 2011).
5. Author interview with Illinois state lawmaker who served with Obama.
6. Author interview with Crowley.
Chapter 1: The Women
1. Janny Scott, A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mother (New York: Riverhead Books, 2011), 42.
2. Paul Watson, “As a Child, Obama Crossed a Cultural Divide in Indonesia,” Los Angeles Times, March 15, 2007.
3. “‘Meet the ‘chubby boy with curly hair’: New photographs of Barack Obama’s childhood in Indonesia emerge,” Daily Mail, March 18, 2010.
4. Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father (New York: Three Rivers Press, 1995).
5. Chip Reid and Robert Hendin, “In Indonesia, A Glimpse into Obama’s Childhood,” CBS News, November 9, 2010.
6. Kelly Heffernan-Tabor, “Indonesia: Obama’s Childhood Friends and Teachers Share Memories,” CBS News, November 7, 2010.
7. “‘Barry’ Obama’s childhood with transvestite gay nanny revealed by visit to Indonesia,” Daily Mail, November 10, 2010.
8. Dan Amira, “President Obama Wanted to Be Prime Minister of Indonesia,” New York Magazine, April 20, 2011.
9. Heffernan-Tabor, “Indonesia: Obama’s Childhood Friends and Teachers Share Memories.”
10. Scott, A Singular Woman, 158.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid., 159.
13. “Barack Obama: The Road to the White House,” New York Times at http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/b/barack_obama_the_road_to_the_white_house/index.html (accessed January 12, 2012).
14. Ibid.
15. “Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett,” The Administration: White House Staff, WhiteHouse.gov (retrieved January 29, 2009).
16. M. J. Stephey and Claire Suddath, “Valerie Jarrett,” Time, November 11, 2008.
17. Jonathan Van Meter, “Valerie Jarrett: Barack’s Rock, Vogue, October 1, 2008.
18. Ibid.
19. David Remnick, The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama (New York: Random House, 2010), 273.
20. Ibid.
21. John Easton, “James Bowman, expert on pathology and blood diseases, 1923–2011,” UChicago News, September 29, 2011.
22. Ibid.
23. Elwood Watson, “Jarrett, Valerie (1956–),” The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed, 2007.
24. Paul Kengor, “Letting Obama Be Obama, American Spectator, July/August 2011.
25. Don Terry, “In the Path of Lightning: Valerie Jarrett is known as the other side of Barack Obama’s brain. Can this tough-minded adviser, who is guided by aphorisms and gut instinct, help him reach the White House?,” Chicago Tribune, July 27, 2008.
26. Ibid.
27. Robert Draper, “The Ultimate Obama Insider,” New York Times Magazine, July 21, 2009.
28. “Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett,” The Administration.
29. Wilma Randle, “Aide Brings Own Vision to City Post,” Chicago Tribune, December 8, 1991.
30. Van Meter, “Valerie Jarrett: Barack’s Rock.”
31. Ibid.
32. John D. McKinnon and T. W. Farnam, “Hedge Fund Paid Summers $5.2 Million in Past Year,” Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2009.
33. Ibid.
34. “USG Corp.,” Industrials Sector, Building Products Industry, Bloomberg Businessweek (retrieved December 2, 2011).
35. McKinnon and Farnam, “Hedge Fund Paid Summers $5.2 Million in Past Year.”
36. “Valerie Jarrett Profile,” Forbes.com, August 23, 2008.
37. “Obama’s Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett: The Point of Government Is to Give People a Livelihood so They Can Provide for Their Families,” The Blaze, September 29, 2011. Video post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uqjIG5m-MI (accessed May 25, 2012).
38. Binyamin Appelbaum, “Grim Proving Ground for Obama’s Housing Policy,” Boston Globe, June 27, 2008.
39. Ibid.
40. “City Receives $30.5 Million Grant to Revitalize Woodlawn Neighborhood,” CBS Chicago News, August 31, 2011.
41. Tim Novak and Chris Fusco, “U. of C. Shunning Poor Patients? Hospital Dispute: Obama’s wife, 3 aides tied to plan to free up space,” Chicago Sun-Times, August 23, 2008.
42. Jason Grotto and Bruce Japsen, “Are Hospitals Passing Off Their Low-Profit Patients?,” Chicago Tribune, April 10, 2009.
43. Thomas Gionis, Carlos A. Camargo Jr. and Anthony S. Zito Jr., The Intentional Tort of Patient Dumping, December 12, 2002.
44. Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Patient Dumping Archive, http://oig.hhs.gov/reports-and-publications/archives/enforcement/patient_dumping_archive.asp (accessed December 30, 2011).
45. “Barack Obama: The Road to the White House.”
46. Draper, “The Ultimate Obama Insider.”
47. Ibid.
48. Ibid.
49. Ibid.
50. Terry, “In the Path of Lightning.”
51. Draper, “The Ultimate Obama Insider.”
52. Jodi Kantor, The Obamas (New York: Little, Brown & Company, 2012), 66.
53. Ibid.
54. Ibid.
55. Ibid.
56. Ibid.
57. Ibid.
58. Jason Horowitz, “Valerie Jarrett’s Latest Role: Shoring Up Obama’s Support Base,” Washington Post, October 25, 2011.
59. Horowitz, “Valerie Jarrett’s Latest Role.”
60. Kantor, The Obamas, 237.
61. Ibid., 253.
62. Ibid., 254.
63. Peter Baker and Jeff Zeleny, “For Obama, an Unsuccessful Campaign,” New York Times, October 2, 2009.
64. Peter Roff, “Obama’s Olympic Sales Pitch Oils the Daley Political Machine,” US News & World Report, September 28, 2009.
65. John McCormick, “Michelle Obama Plans Dramatic Pitch for Olympics, Jarrett Says,” Bloomberg News, September 17, 2009.
66. Ed Hula III, “Q&A with Valerie Jarrett, White House Olympic Chief,” Around the Rings, September 18, 2009.
67. “Obama to Front Chicago’s Olympics Bid,” CBS News, September 28, 2009.
68. McCormick, “Michelle Obama Plans Dramatic Pitch for Olympics, Jarrett Says.”
69. Baker and Zeleny, “For Obama, an Unsuccessful Campaign.”
70. Author interview with source.
71. “Michelle Obama,” Biography.com, http://www.biography.com/people/michelle-obama-307592 (accessed January 5, 2012).
72. Ibid.
73. Michael Powell and Jodi Kantor, “After Attacks, Michelle Obama Looks for a New Introduction,” New York Times, June 18, 2008.
74. Sally Jacobs, “Learning to Be Michelle Obama: At Princeton, she came to terms with being a black achiever in a white world,” Boston Globe, June 15, 2008.
75. Jeffrey Ressner, “Michelle Obama Thesis Was on Racial Divide.” Politico, February 23, 2008.
76. Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, “Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community,” Princeton, 1985.
77. Ibid.
78. Ibid.
79. Richard Wolffe, “Barack’s Rock,” Newsweek, February 25, 2008.
80. Liza Mundy, “When Michelle Met Barack,” Washington Post, October 5, 2008.
81. Ibid.
82. Ibid.
83. Ibid.
84. Ibid.
85. Powell and Kantor, “After Attacks, Michelle Obama Looks for a New Introduction.”
86. David Mendell, Obama: From Promise to Power (New York: HarperCollins, 2007).
87. Katie Couric, “Michelle Obama on Love, Family & Politics,” CBS Evening News, February 18, 2008.
88. Cassandra West, “Her Plan Went Awry, But Michelle Obama Doesn’t Mind,” Chicago Tribune, September 1, 2004.
89. “Bio of Michelle Obama,” http://www.treehousefoods.com/bio_michelle_obama.html (retrieved December 30, 2011).
90. Judy Keen, “Michelle Obama: Campaigning Her Way,” USA Today, May 11, 2007.
91. Ibid.
92. Kantor, The Obamas, 79.
93. Ibid, 82.
94. Linda Hervieux, “Michelle Obama enjoys Paris privilege barred to millions in France: Sunday Shopping,” New York Daily News, June 30, 2009.
95. Julie Bosman, “Politics Can Wait: The President Has a Date.” New York Times, May 31, 2009.
96. Kenneth T. Walsh, “The Political Cost of the Obamas’ Date Night,” U.S. News & World Report, June 9, 2009.
97. Brian Montopoli, “Obama: Complaints About Date Night ‘Annoyed’ Me,” CBS News, October 29, 2009.
98. Lynn Sweet, “Obamas Rent Lavish Farm for Martha’s Vineyard Vacation: Michelle, daughters to arrive early,” Chicago Sun-Times, August 11, 2009.
99. “Michelle Obama’s Spain Trip Sparks Debate,” Huffington Post, August 6, 2010.
100. “Michelle Obama’s Africa Trip Cost More Than $424,142,” U.S. News & World Report, October 4, 2011.
101. Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, “Update III: Michelle, Our Belle, Grabs the Cover of US Weekly, Co-Hosts The View, NY Times Splash…” The Daily Kos, June 17, 2008.
102. Mark Leibovich, “Letters Offer a View into the Mind of Hillary Rodham as a College Student,” New York Times, July 29, 2007.
103. Bill Dedman, “Reading Hillary Clinton’s Hidden Thesis,” MSNBC, May 9, 2007.
104. Ibid.
105. Hillary Rodham, “There Is Only the Fight: An Analysis of the Alinsky Mode,” Wellesley, Massachusetts, May 2, 1969.
106. Barbara Olson, “Hil’s College Thesis Reveals Her Mind,” Free Republic, January 17, 2000.
107. Michael Tomasky, Hillary’s Turn: Inside Her Improbable, Victorious Senate Campaign (New York: Free Press, 2001), 10.
108. JoAnn Bren Guernsey, Hillary Rodham Clinton (New York: Lerner Publications, 2005), 46.
109. Todd S. Purdum, “The Clinton Pardons: The Brothers; Siblings Who Often Emerge In an Unflattering Spotlight,” New York Times, February 23, 2001.
110. Ibid.
111. Ibid.
112. David Maraniss and Susan Schmidt, “Hillary Clinton and the Whitewater Controversy: A Close-Up,” Washington Post, June 2, 1996.
113. Stephen Labaton, “Rose Law Firm, Arkansas Power, Slips as It Steps Onto a Bigger Stage,” New York Times, February 26, 1994.
114. Michael Weisskopf and David Maraniss, “The Uncertain Intersection: Politics and Private Interests—Hillary Clinton’s Law Firm Is Influential with State,” Washington Post, March 15, 1992.
115. Mary Voboril, “‘Elect Him, You Get Hillary’ Hillary Clinton Will Stand By Her Man, All Right, But She Has An Agenda. Love Her Or Hate Her For It.” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 4, 1992.
116. Steve Kroft interview, “The Clintons,” 60 Minutes, January 26, 1992.
117. Barbara C. Burrell, Public Option, the First Ladyship, and Hillary Rodham Clinton (New York: Taylor & Francis, 2001), 26.
118. Ted Koppel and Jackie Judd, “Making Hillary Clinton An Issue,” Nightline, March 26, 1992.
119. Maureen Dowd, “The 1992 Campaign: Candidate’s Wife; Hillary Clinton as Aspiring First Lady: Role Model, or a ‘Hall Monitor’ Type?” New York Times, May 18, 1992.
120. Marian Burros, “Now Is the Time to Come to the Aid of Your Favorite Cookies,” New York Times, July 15, 1992.
121. Al Kamen, “The Bobby Kennedy Law and Hillary Clinton,” Washington Post, December 1, 1992.
122. Susan Baer, “Hillary Clinton’s Office, Near Seat of Power, Signals Her Influential Role,” Baltimore Sun, January 22, 1993.
123. Cal Thomas, “Hillary Getting Ready to Grab Reins of Power,” Buffalo News, December 29, 1992.
124. Bill Clinton, “Statement of President Clinton,” The White House, January 25, 1993.
125. “Hillary Clinton Launches White House Bid: ‘I’m In’,” CNN, January 20, 2007.
126. Gail Sheehy, Hillary’s Choice (New York: Random House, 1999).
127. Adam Hanft, ‘The Curious Myth of Hillary Clinton’s Senate Effectiveness,” Huffington Post, February 20, 2008.
128. Gail Sheehy, “Hillaryland at War,” Vanity Fair, August 2008.
129. Alexander Bolton, “Clinton Was Brain Behind the War Room,” The Hill, May 13, 2008.
130. This Week with George Stephanopoulos, ABC News, December 30, 2007.
131. Peter Nicholas and Peter Wallsten, “Romney, Clinton Shake Up Tactics as Their Leads Vanish in Iowa: He plans to speak on his religion while she seeks to point up her differences with Obama,” Los Angeles Times, December 3, 2007.
132. Sheehy, “Hillaryland at War.”
133. Helen Kennedy, “Hillary Clinton attack on Barack Obama comes after she loses Iowa lead,” New York Daily News, December 3, 2007.
134. Sheehy, “Hillaryland at War.”
135. Gil Kaufman, “Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama Get Personal At Testy Debate,” MTV News, January 27, 2008.
136. Sheehy, “Hillaryland at War.”
137. “Bill Clinton says race, gender to decide S.C. vote,” USA Today, January 24, 2008.
138. John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, Game Change (New York: HarperCollins, 2010).
139. Susan Milligan, “Ted Kennedy Endorsing Obama,” Boston Globe, January 27, 2008.
140. Sheehy, “Hillaryland at War.”
141. Chris Cillizza, “Clinton’s ‘3 a.m. Phone Call’ Ad,” Washington Post, February 29, 2008.
142. John Swaine, “Birther Row Began with Hillary Clinton,” Daily Telegraph, April 27, 2011.
143. Richard Berg-Andersson,“Pennsylvania Democrat Presidential Nominating Process,” Green Papers (retrieved January 10, 2011).
144. Adam Nagourney and Jeff Zeleny, “Clinton Ready to End Bid and Endorse Obama,” New York Times, June 5, 2008.
145. Al Kamen and Philip Rucker, “Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State?,” Washington Post, November 13, 2008.
146. Patrick H. Caddell and Douglas E. Schoen, “The Hillary Moment,” Wall Street Journal, November 21, 2011.
Chapter 2: Health Care, by Hook or Crook
1. Carolyn Lochhead, “Pelosi: Pole Vaults and Parachutes,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 28, 2010.
2. David Corn, Showdown: The Inside Story of How Obama Fought Back Against Boehner, Cantor, and the Tea Party (New York: William Morrow, 2012), 3–4.
3. Lee Igel, “The History of Health Care as a Campaign Issue,” Physician Executive, May–June 2008.
4. Bob Cohn and Eleanor Clift, “The Lost Chance,” Newsweek, September 19, 1994.
5. John Bresnahan, “Pelosi Lays Down the Law with Rahm,” Politico, December 16, 2008.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Michelle Cottle, “House Broker: Nancy Pelosi doesn’t like to be threatened,” New Republic, June 11, 2008.
11. Ibid.
12. Jonathan Alter, The Promise: President Obama, Year One (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010).
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Richard Wolffe, “New Obama Book’s Revelations,” Daily Beast, November 15, 2010.
16. Alter, The Promise: President Obama, Year One.
17. Jane Hamsher, “Rahm goes Apeshit on Liberals in the Veal Pen,” FireDogLake, a liberal blog, August 7, 2009. Hamsher claimed she had sources directly in the meeting and there is no reason to doubt her.
18. Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Jeff Zeleny, and Carl Hulse, “Health Vote Caps a Journey Back from the Brink,” New York Times, March 20, 2010.
19. Alexander Bolton, “Harkin: Health deal was reached days before Brown’s Senate victory,” The Hill, January 30, 2010.
20. Carrie Budoff Brown and Glenn Thrush, “Nancy Pelosi Steeled White House for Health Push,” Politico, March 20, 2010.
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid.
23. Wolffe, “New Obama Book’s Revelations.”
24. Brown and Thrush, “Nancy Pelosi Steeled White House for Health Push.”
25. Stolberg, Zeleny, and Hulse, “Health Vote Caps a Journey Back from the Brink.”
26. Rachel Morris, “Healthcare reform? Thank Nancy Pelosi,” Guardian, March 23, 2010.
27. Ibid.
28. Brown and Thrush, “Nancy Pelosi Steeled White House for Health Push.”
29. Stolberg, Zeleny, and Hulse, “Health Vote Caps a Journey Back from the Brink.”
30. Ibid.
31. Author interview with senate staffer involved in negotiations between Reid and Pelosi. The source is apparently referring to Brigadier Gen. George Armstrong Custer, who rallied Union forces to close ranks and repel a confederate advance, turning the Battle of Gettysburg from a rout to a victory for federal troops. See “Report of Brigadier Gen. George A. Custer,” September 9, 1863.
32. Dick Morris and Eileen McGann, “Pelosi and Reid Plot Secret Plan for Obamacare,” DickMorris.com, January 25, 2010.
33. Lochhead, “Pelosi: Pole Vaults and Parachutes.”
34. Noam N. Levy, “Pelosi Suggests Maneuver to Pass Healthcare Overhaul,” Los Angeles Times, January 28, 2010.
35. Brown and Thrush, “Nancy Pelosi Steeled White House for Health Push.”
36. Stolberg, Zeleny, and Hulse, “Health Vote Caps a Journey Back from the Brink.”
Chapter 3: Nothing Is Sure but Debt and Taxes
1. David Corn, Showdown: The Inside Story of How Obama Fought Back Against Boehner, Cantor, and the Tea Party (New York: William Morrow, 2012), 43.
2. Lucy Madison, “Obama’s 2010 ‘Shellacking’ is Like Bush’s 2006 ‘Thumping,’” CBS News, November 3, 2010.
3. Corn, Showdown, 48–49.
4. Ibid., 18.
5. Ibid., 32.
6. Ibid., 31.
7. Sunlen Miller, “Obama Says Republicans Cannot Have the Keys Back to the Car: ‘No! You Can’t Drive,’” ABC News, May 13, 2010.
8. Corn, Showdown, 20.
9. Jared A. Favole, “Obama Blames Bush and GOP,” Wall Street Journal, August 2, 2010.
10. Corn, Showdown, 43.
11. Ibid., 45.
12. Ibid., 47.
13. Ibid., 48–49.
14. Executive Order 13531, “National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform,” The White House, February 18, 2010.
15. Jackie Calmes, “Deficit Reduction Plan Draws Scorn From Left and Right,” New York Times, November 11, 2010.
16. Matt Bai, “Obama vs. Boehner: Who Killed the Debt Deal?,” New York Times, March 28, 2012.
17. Ibid.
18. Fred Kaplan, “Obama’s ‘Sputnik Moment,’” Slate, January 25, 2011.
19. “Republicans Say Obama Budget Plan Not Serious,” Fox News, February 15, 2011.
20. Dana Milbank, “In His New Budget, Obama Kicks the Can One More Time,” Washington Post, February 15, 2011.
21. Jackie Calmes,“The Obama Budget,” New York Times, February 14, 2011.
22. Perry Bacon Jr., “Obama’s Budget Speech Has Partisan Tone,” Washington Post, April 13, 2011.
23. Margaret Talev and Mike Dorning, “Obama’s Grand Deficit Bargain Lost Out to 2012 Politics,” Bloomberg News, August 1, 2011.
24. Bill Hemmer, “Boehner: Budget Deal Was First Step in the Right Direction,” Fox News, April 11, 2011.
25. Sam Stein, “Reid: The Senate Will Vote On Paul Ryan’s Budget,” Huffington Post, April 27, 2011.
26. Carrie Dann and Libby Leist, “Senate Rejects Ryan Budget; Vote Puts GOP on the Spot,” MSNBC, May 25, 2011.
27. Timothy Geithner, Letter to Sen. Michael Bennett of Colorado, May 12, 2011.
28. Carl Hulse, “Boehner Outlines Demands on Debt Limit Fight,” New York Times, May 9, 2011.
29. Alan Silverleib, “Biden hosts budget talks as debt limit nears,” CNN, May 5, 2011.
30. Ibid.
31. Ibid.
32. Dennis Jacobe, “Americans Oppose Raising Debt Ceiling, 47% to 19%,” Gallup, May 13, 2011.
33. Andy Sullivan, “Debt-Limit Hike Fails in House in Symbolic Vote,” Reuters, May 31, 2011.
34. Ibid.
35. Janet Hood and Carol E. Lee, “Budget Face-Off at the White House,” Wall Street Journal, June 1, 2011.
36. Devin Dwyer, “A ‘Frosty’ and ‘Frank’ Meeting Between President Obama and House GOP,” ABC News, June 1, 2011.
37. Virginia Foxx at @virginiafoxx. https://twitter.com/#!/virginiafoxx, Twitter, June 1, 2011.
38. Mark Knoller, “Obama, House GOP Hold ‘Very Frank’ Meeting on Debt Limit,” CBS News, June 1, 2011.
39. Jennifer Bendery, “House GOP Signals Little Progress In ‘Frosty’ Deficit Meeting With Obama,” Huffington Post, June 1, 2011.
40. Dwyer, “A ‘Frosty’ and ‘Frank’ Meeting Between President Obama and House GOP.”
41. Ibid.
42. Ibid.
43. John Brummett, “The Audacity of Paul Ryan’s Whining,” Las Vegas Review Journal, June 5, 2011.
44. Bai, “Obama vs. Boehner: Who Killed the Debt Deal?”
45. Eric Cantor, “Leader Cantor Statement on Biden Debt Limit Talks,” Office of the U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader, June 23, 2011.
46. Dwyer, “A ‘Frosty’ and ‘Frank’ Meeting Between President Obama and House GOP.”
47. Political Capital with Al Hunt, Bloomberg Television, June 25, 2011.
48. Heidi Przybyla, “Obama Wants to Scrap $72-Billion Business Tax Break as Republicans Balk,” Bloomberg, June 27, 2011.
49. Bai, “Obama vs. Boehner: Who Killed the Debt Deal?”
50. Brian Montopoli, “Obama: ‘Real Differences’ Remain on Debt Deal,” CBS News, July 5, 2011.
51. “Obama, Hill leaders hold ‘constructive’ debt talks, schedule more,” CNN, July 7, 2011.
52. Bai, “Obama vs. Boehner: Who Killed the Debt Deal?”
53. Jonathan Allen and Jake Sherman, “Obama Abruptly Walks Out of Talks,” Politico, July 13, 2011.
54. Ibid.
55. Michael D. Shear, “What Happened Between Cantor and Obama?,” New York Times, July 14, 2011.
56. Andy Sullivan, “Obama says has reached his limit in debt talks—aide,” Reuters, July 13, 2011.
57. Allen and Sherman, “Obama Abruptly Walks Out of Talks.”
58. Ibid.
59. Paul Smalera, “Cantor Describes Obama Walking Out of Debt Talks,” Reuters, July 13, 2011.
60. Jeff Mason and Andy Sullivan, “Moody’s adds pressure to stalled debt talks,” Reuters, July 13, 2011.
61. “Moody’s Report Reinforces Need for White House to Cut Spending,” Office of the Speaker of the House John Boehner, July 13, 2011.
62. Bai, “Obama vs. Boehner: Who Killed the Debt Deal?”
63. Talev and Dorning, “Obama’s Grand Deficit Bargain Lost Out to 2012 Politics.”
64. Eric Alterman, “Obama’s Next Budget Deal Cave-In,” Daily Beast, April 12, 2011.
65. Peter Wallsten, Lori Montgomery, and Scott Wilson, “Obama’s Evolution: Behind the Failed ‘Grand Bargain’ on the Debt,” Washington Post, March 17, 2011.
66. Jennifer Bendery, Ryan Grim, and Sam Stein, “Obama: Debt Ceiling Talks Fell Apart, Boehner Walked Out,” Huffington Post, July 22, 2011.
67. Jay Newton-Small, “The Inside Story of Obama and Boehner’s Second Failed Grand Bargain,” Time, July 23, 2011.
68. Bai, “Obama vs. Boehner: Who Killed the Debt Deal?”
69. Newton-Small, “The Inside Story of Obama and Boehner’s Second Failed Grand Bargain.”
70. Wallsten, Montgomery, and Wilson, “Obama’s Evolution: Behind the Failed ‘Grand Bargain’ on the Debt.”
71. Ibid.
72. Bai, “Obama vs. Boehner: Who Killed the Debt Deal?”
73. Trish Turner, “Support for Senate ‘Gang’ Plan Could Signal Breakthrough on Debt Reduction Deal,” Fox News, July 19, 2011.
74. Ibid.
75. Thomas Ferraro and Laura MacInnis, “New Plan Offers Hope for Debt Talk Progress,” Reuters, July 19, 2011.
76. Kwame Holman, “‘Gang of 6’ Debt Plan Gains Momentum as Aug. 2 Deadline Looms,” PBS NewsHour, July 19, 2011.
77. Linda Feldmann, “‘Gang of Six’ Revives Hope for Big Deal in Stalled Debt-Ceiling Talks,” Christian Science Monitor, July 19, 2011.
78. Wallsten, Montgomery, and Wilson, “Obama’s Evolution: Behind the Failed ‘Grand Bargain’ on the Debt.”
79. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on the Status of Efforts to Find a Balanced Approach to Deficit Reduction,” The White House, July 19, 2011.
80. Wallsten, Montgomery, and Wilson, “Obama’s Evolution: Behind the Failed ‘Grand Bargain’ on the Debt.”
81. Ibid.
82. Peter Nicholas and Lisa Mascaro, “How the Obama-Boehner Debt Talks Collapsed,” Los Angeles Times, July 22, 2011.
83. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President,” The White House, July 21, 2011.
84. Jonathan Karl, et al, “House Passes Debt Ceiling Bill; Gabrielle Giffords Votes,” ABC News, August 1, 2011.
85. Lucy Madison, “Senate Passes Bill to End Debt Showdown,” CBS News, August 2, 2011.
86. Frank Newport, “Obama’s Weekly Job Approval at 40%, Lowest of Administration,” Gallup, August 15, 2011.
87. Maureen Dowd, “Tempest in a Tea Party,” New York Times, July 30, 2011.
Chapter 4: Killing bin Laden Loudly
1. David Remnick, “Behind the Curtain,” New Yorker, September 5, 2011.
2. Bill Keller, “Fill in the Blanks,” New York Times, September 18, 2011.
3. Darlene Superville, “Obama Golf Shoes Could Have Been Clue to bin Laden,” Associated Press, May 4, 2011.
4. Author interview with intelligence officer, May 2003.
5. Jose A. Rodriguez, “The Path to bin Laden’s Death Didn’t Start with Obama,” Washington Post, April 20, 2012.
6. Ibid.
7. Sam Greenhill, David Williams, and Imtiaz Hussain, “How a 40-minute raid ended ten years of defiance, as American troops’ head cameras relayed every detail to the President,” Daily Mail, May 3, 2011.
8. Mark Memmott, “Bin Laden’s Courier, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, Had Several Responsibilities,” NPR, May 4, 2011.
9. Luis Martinez and Teri Finneman, “Panetta Sworn in As New CIA Director,” ABC News, February 19, 2009.
10. Leon Panetta, “Lawyers Who Lead, Santa Clara Law Alumni Profiles” (accessed December 20, 2011).
11. “Obama names Panetta for CIA,” Associated Press, January 9, 2009.
12. Mary Lu Carnevale, “Leon Panetta Gets a Rock Star Welcome at CIA Headquarters,” Wall Street Journal, February 19, 2009.
13. Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann, “The Drone War,” New Republic, June 3, 2009.
14. Bill Dedman, “How the US Tracked Couriers to Elaborate bin Laden Compound,” MSNBC, May 3, 2011.
15. “Shot dead ‘with money sewn into his clothes’: Bin Laden was captured alive and then executed, ‘claims daughter, 12,’” Daily Mail, May 4, 2011.
16. Mushtaq Yusufzai, “Bin Laden’s daughter confirms her father shot dead by US Special Forces in Pakistan,” Al-Arabiya News, May 4, 2011.
17. Greenhill, Williams, and Hussain, “How a 40-minute raid ended ten years of defiance, as American troops’ head cameras relayed every detail to the President.”
18. Ibid.
19. Greg Miller, “CIA Spied on bin Laden from Safe House,” Washington Post, May 5, 2011.
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid.
22. Mark Mazzetti, Helene Cooper, and Peter Baker, “Behind the Hunt for bin Laden,” New York Times, May 2, 2011.
23. Miller, “CIA Spied on bin Laden from Safe House.”
24. Nicholas Schmidle, “Getting bin Laden: What Happened that Night in Abbottabad,” New Yorker, August 8, 2011.
25. Greenhill, Williams, and Hussain, “How a 40-minute raid ended ten years of defiance, as American troops’ head cameras relayed every detail to the President.”
26. Jake Tapper, “In March, President Obama Authorized Development of Plan to Bomb Compound but Wanting Evidence of OBL’s Death, Did Not Execute,” ABC News, May 2, 2011.
27. Mazzetti, Cooper, and Baker, “Behind the Hunt for bin Laden.”
28. Miller, “CIA Spied on bin Laden from Safe House.”
29. Ibid.
30. Mazzetti, Cooper, and Baker, “Behind the Hunt for bin Laden.”
31. Ibid.
32. Author interview with Crowley, April 2012.
33. Fred Kaplan, “The Transformer,” Foreign Policy Magazine, September/October 2010.
34. Jason Ukman, “Gates, on Eve of Retirement, Is Sent Off in Fashion,” Washington Post, June 30, 2011.
35. “JTF-GTMO Detainee Assessment of Abu al-Libi,” September 10, 2008, Department of Defense (retrieved from Wikileaks/Switzerland Site 12/30/2011: http://wikileaks.ch/gitmo/pdf/ly/us9ly-010017dp.pdf).
36. Schmidle, “Getting bin Laden.”
37. Mazzetti, Cooper, and Baker, “Behind the Hunt for bin Laden.”
38. Ibid.
39. Keith Koffler, “Obama Golfs for the Fifth Weekend in a Row,” White House Dossier, May 1, 2011.
40. Jeremy Scahill, “Osama’s Assassins,” Nation, May 4, 2011.
41. Superville, “Obama Golf Shoes Could Have Been Clue to bin Laden.”
42. Mazzetti, Cooper, and Baker, “Behind the Hunt for bin Laden.”
43. Dana Hughes, “Hillary Clinton on Bin Laden Death: No One Watching ‘Could Breathe for 35 Minutes,’” ABC News Blogs, April 11, 2012.
44. Schmidle, “Getting bin Laden.”
45. Author interview with an intelligence source with knowledge of the operation.
46. Schmidle, “Getting bin Laden.”
47. Office of the Press Secretary, “Remarks by the President on Osama bin Laden,” The White House, May 1, 2011.
48. George H. W. Bush, “Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the Nation,” September 20, 2001.
49. Mark Landler and Mark Mazzetti, “Account Tells of One-Sided Battle in Bin Laden Raid,” New York Times, May 4, 2011.
50. Matt Negrin and M. J. Lee, “Carney: ‘Even I’m Getting Confused,’” Politico, May 3, 2011.
51. James Rosen, “Bin Laden Killing: How the White House, Pentagon and CIA Botched the Storyline,” Fox News, May 6, 2011.
52. Ibid.
53. Yusufzai, “Bin Laden’s daughter confirms her father shot dead by US Special Forces in Pakistan.”
54. Lynn Sweet, “Bin Laden Raid: U.S. Has Plan to Take Him Alive. Hiding in Plain Sight?” Chicago Sun-Times, May 2, 2011.
Chapter 5: Iran’s Bomb, Israel’s Dilemma
1. Julian Borger, “Sarkozy: ‘Netanyahu’s a “Liar,”’” Guardian, November 8, 2011.
2. Peter Beinart, The Crisis of Zionism (New York: Times Books, 2012), 92.
3. “Mr. Obama’s Neighborhood,” Jerusalem Post Magazine, February 15, 2010.
4. Beinart, The Crisis of Zionism, 95.
5. Ibid., 92.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid., 80.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid., 81–82.
10. Dave Newbart, “Prominent Rabbi, Friend of Obama Dies at 84,” Chicago Sun-Times, December 24, 2008.
11. Beinart, The Crisis of Zionism, 84.
12. “Mr. Obama’s Neighborhood.”
13. Beinart, The Crisis of Zionism, 88.
14. “About NIF,” New Israel Fund, February 2010.
15. This Week, ABC News, March 14, 2010.
16. Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope (New York: Three Rivers Press, 1995).
17. David Remnick, “The Spirit Level,” New Yorker, November 8, 2004.
18. Amos Oz, How to Cure a Fanatic (Princeton: Princeton University Press, reprinted January 2006).
19. Mark Weisbrot, “‘The Audacity of Hope’ Waits to Sail for Gaza,” Al Jazeera, June 30, 2011.
20. Gabrielle Birkner, “Rabbi Arnold Wolf, 84, Was Progressive Leader,” Jewish Daily Forward, December 26, 2008.
21. “Mr. Obama’s Neighborhood.”
22. Ibid.
23. Ibid.
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. Beinart, The Crisis of Zionism, 124.
28. Andrea Stone, “Mideast Envoy George Mitchell Resigns, ‘Hit a Brick Wall’ On Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks,” Huffington Post, May 13, 2011.
29. Toby Harnden, “Barack Obama: Israel must recognise 1967 borders,” Telegraph, May 20, 2011.
30. Stone, “Mideast Envoy George Mitchell Resigns.”
31. Ibid.
32. Harnden, “Barack Obama.”
33. Huma Kahn, “In Oval Office, Bibi Offers History Lessons to Obama,” ABC News, May 20, 2011.
34. Benjamin Netanyahu Biography, www.netanyahu.org (accessed April 28, 2012).
35. Benjamin Netanyahu, A Durable Peace: Israel and Its Place Among Nations (New York: Warner Books, 1993), xi.
36. Kahn, “In Oval Office, Bibi Offers History Lessons to Obama.”
37. Netanyahu, A Durable Peace, xiii.
38. Edward Luce and Andrew Ward, “Obama Fails to Coax Netanyahu,” Financial Times, May 19, 2009.
39. Scott Wilson, “At White House, Obama and Israel’s Netanyahu Differ on Mideast Emphasis,” Washington Post, May 19, 2009.
40. Beinart, The Crisis of Zionism, 129.
41. Ibid., 136.
42. Ibid., 124.
43. Ian Black, “Barack Obama pledges new beginning between US and Muslims,” Guardian, June 4, 2009.
44. Benjamin Netanyahu, Full Text of the Prime Minister’s Speech at Bar-Ilan University, June 14, 2009.
45. Beinart, The Crisis of Zionism, 136.
46. Ibid., 138–39.
47. Ibid., 152.
48. Ibid., 145–46.
49. Ibid., 151.
50. Ibid., 152.
Chapter 6: Fast and Loose and Furious
1. “Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the National Action Network 14th Annual Convention Washington, D.C.—Wednesday, April 11, 2012,” prepared remarks, U.S. Department of Justice, Justice News, http://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/ag/speeches/2012/ag-speech-120411.html (accessed May 25, 2012).
2. Andrew Longstreth, “Making History with Obama,” American Lawyer, June 5, 2008.
3. Ibid.
4. No. 454, Justice Undone: Clemency Decisions in Clinton White House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2004.
5. Ibid.
6. Longstreth, “Making History with Obama.”
7. Leo W. Banks, “Smugglers’ Paradise: Perhaps Janet Napolitano should visit the Peck Canyon Corridor outside of Nogales—with an armed escort,” Tucson Weekly, November 25, 2010.
8. Son Lisaius, “The Murder of Agent Brian Terry: One Year Later,” KOLD-TV, December 24, 2011.
9. Ibid.
10. J. B. Miller, “Border Patrol Apprehends Suspected ‘Rip Crew,’” Nogales International, March 30, 2012.
11. Affidavit of Special Agent Scott Hunter of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, filed on December 29, 2010.
12. Ibid.
13. Jerry Seper, “Armed Illegals Stalked Border Patrol: Mexicans Were ‘Patrolling’ When Agent Was Slain, Indictment Says,” Washington Times, November 22, 2011.
14. Office of the Medical Examiner, Pima County, Arizona, “Autopsy of Agent Brian A. Terry,” March 3, 2010.
15. Seper, “Armed Illegals Stalked Border Patrol.”
16. Tim Steller, “Case of Slain Border Agent’s Killers Sealed in Court,” Arizona Daily Star, November 15, 2011. Office of the Medical Examiner, Pima County, Arizona, “Autopsy of Agent Brian A. Terry,” March 3, 2010.
17. Devin Dwyer, “Bean Bags Fired First in Arizona Shootout Killing Border Patrol Agent,” ABC News, March 4, 2011.
18. Sharyl Attkisson, “Gunrunning Scandal Uncovered at the ATF,” CBS News, February 23, 2011.
19. David Voth, ATF Group Supervisor, Phoenix Group VII, Letter to “redacted,” U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, June 1, 2010.
20. Attkisson, “Gunrunning Scandal Uncovered at the ATF.”
21. Joint Press Conference with President Barack Obama and President Felipe Calderón of Mexico, Los Pinos, Mexico City, Mexico, April 6, 2009.
22. E-mail from Mark R. Chait to William D. Newell, Subject: SIR, Date: July 14, 2010.
23. Sharyl Attkisson, “ATF Manager Says He Shared Fast and Furious Info with White House,” CBS News, July 26, 2011.
24. Transcript Testimony by former Phoenix Field Division Special Agent in Charge William Newell to the House Oversight Committee on Government, July 26, 2011.
25. Remarks of Attorney General Eric Holder at the Mexico/United States Arms Trafficking Conference, Cuernavaca, Mexico, April 2, 2009.
26. Sharyl Attkisson, “ATF Fast and Furious: New Documents Show Attorney General Eric Holder Was Briefed in July 2010,” CBS News, October 3, 2011.
27. Attkisson, “Gunrunning Scandal Uncovered at the ATF.”
28. Richard A. Serrano, “Gun Store Owner Had Misgivings about ATF Sting,” Los Angeles Times, September 11, 2011.
29. William Lajeunesse, “‘Fast and Furious’ Whistleblowers Struggle Six Months After Testifying Against ATF Program,” Fox News, November 30, 2011.
30. Dennis Wagner, “Sen. Chuck Grassley: Guns in ATF Sting Tied to Agent’s Death,” USA Today, February 1, 2011.
31. Letter from Charles Grassley, U.S. Senate to Kenneth E. Melson, Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Washington, D.C., January 27, 2011.
32. Letter from the Honorable Charles Grassley, U.S. Senate to Kenneth E. Melson, Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Washington, D.C., January 31, 2011.
33. Dennis Wagner, “Claims Tie ATF Sting to Guns in Shootout,” Arizona Republic, February 1, 2011.
34. Letter from Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice to the Honorable Charles Grassley, U.S. Senate, February 4, 2011.
35. Jorge Ramos, “Interview with U.S. President Barack Obama,” Univision, March 23, 2011.
36. Testimony by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder before the Committee on the Judiciary, Oversight Hearing on the United States Department of Justice, Rayburn Building, Washington, D.C., May 3, 2011.
37. Testimony by Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich before the Committee on the Judiciary, Oversight Hearing on the United States Department of Justice, Rayburn Building, Washington, D.C., June 15, 2011.
38. “Clemens Hires Clinton’s High-Powered Washington Lawyer,” Houston Chronicle at http://blog.chron.com/legaltrade/2008/01/clemens-hires-clintons-high-powered-washington-lawyer-updated/ (accessed May 25, 2012).
39. E-mail from James Trusty to Kevin Carwile, Subject: How did the meeting go with Lanny?, Sent: April 19, 2011.
40. E-mail from Jason Weinstein to Lanny A. Breuer, Subject: Operation Wide Receiver, Sent: April 20, 2010.
41. “Documents Show Justice’s Breuer Misled On ‘Furious,’” Investor’s Business Daily, December 14, 2011.
42. Carrie Johnson, “Justice Withdraws Inaccurate ‘Fast And Furious’ Letter It Sent to Congress,” NPR, December 2, 2011.
43. Testimony by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder before the Committee on the Judiciary, Oversight Hearing on the United States Department of Justice, Rayburn Building, Washington, D.C., December 8, 2012.
44. Chairman Darrell Issa Hearing Preview Statement, Hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to examine the effects of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) program dubbed Operation Fast and Furious, July 26, 2011.
45. Sharyl Attkisson, “New Fast and Furious Docs Released by White House,” CBS News, September 30, 2011.
46. Serrano, “Gun Store Owner Had Misgivings about ATF Sting.”
47. William Lajeunesse, “Lawmakers Claim Justice Inspector Obstructed Probe Into ‘Fast and Furious,’” Fox News, September 21, 2011.
48. Tim Mak, “Issa: DOJ compromised gun probe,” Politico, September 22, 2011.
49. Josh Gerstein and Tim Mak, “Sparks Fly Between Holder, Issa,” Politico, December 8, 2011.
50. Charlie Savage, “A Partisan Lightning Rod Is Undeterred,” New York Times, December 17, 2011.
51. Serrano, “Gun Store Owner Had Misgivings about ATF Sting.”
52. Sharyl Attkisson, “Another Murder Linked to US Gunwalker Case,” CBS News, June 23, 2011.
53. Frank Miniter, “Inside President Obama’s War On The Fast & Furious Whistleblowers,” Forbes, December 7, 2011.
54. Josh Gerstein, “Eric Holder: Black Panther Case Focus Demeans ‘My People,’” Politico, March 1, 2011.
55. Jane Mayer, “The Trial: Eric Holder and the battle over Khalid Sheikh Mohammed,” New Yorker, February 15, 2010.
56. Richard A. Serrano, “Obama Defends Atty. Gen. Eric Holder Amid Fast and Furious Probe,” Los Angeles Times, October 6, 2011.
57. Eric Umansky, “Obama Details Promises for Transparency,” ProPublica, November 7, 2008.