Changey White House Years, Obama: My Hopey, Thanks

David Litt recounts his experiences as a speechwriter in the WH with candor, humor, and grace. And it’s terrific. He manages to hit the highs - and the lows - of life in Obamaworld without sounding maudlin; no small feat for a book that was finished in the weeks after Trump took office.
I expected to like this book; I did not expect to love it. Litt surprised and delighted me, and he even gave me some new things to consider. I closed the book feeling hopeful - not just about the future, but about the present.
A must read for anyone who misses the Obama years (that’s all of us, right?!).

An enjoyable read from the first page to the last! I hear a lot of David Sedaris (whom I love) in this book - his wry tone and self-deprecating demeanor. Very funny and poignant, straight through. Thanks, Lips!

David Litt says “Eight years in Obamaworld taught me perseverance". His book made me laugh, cheer and weep in turns. He is one of the talented young eager staff who worked for President Obama. I so enjoyed his descriptions of his own awe at the situation he found himself in at a young age. He was playful as he shuddered at his own mistakes: “I wasn’t even the first speechwriter to piss off another country by mistake.”

There is passion here as well. The author’s own idealism clearly rings through. Read this book to remember yours. If you had questions about choices made during those 8 years, this is also good book to read. “The White House doesn’t play chess. The White House plays whack-a-mole.”

Reading along, I remembered the sheer caliber of the talent that swept into the White House alongside Barack Obama. I miss them and him. I appreciate the author for giving us this light-hearted, earnest glimpse inside those days.

I really enjoyed this book. I have read books from the perspectives of butlers and secret service members. This was my first speech writer. I really liked the modern touch that Mr. Litt added. Thanks!

If every US President had a speechwriter like David Litt the world would be in far better shape. President Obama was fortunate to have Litt and we are now fortunate to have this super entertaining memoir describing his adventures in the White House. From trying to sleep aboard Air Force One to raucous cocktail parties at the Washington Hilton Litt describes the cast of characters as only an insider can. So insightful and funny. Hard to put the book down once you get started. Sheds massive podium lights on the humanity of the Oval Office and he who occupies it. A book especially important in this year of contrasts and depictions. Bravo David Litt. Good luck on your continued journeys.

I really enjoyed this laugh-out-loud funny memoir from former Obama speechwriter David Litt. It's an honest, and sometimes wistful, portrayal of the Obama presidency--its highs and its lows. Litt is self-deprecating and candid as he examines whether Obama lived up to his "hopey, changey" potential.

The book humanized the president, his supporters and his staff. The comparisons to the West Wing (tv show) are apt and hilarious, showing the outsider the reality verses the fantasy. Litt has a way with words, his descriptions and words build a picture that is palpable.

Witty, Insightful, and Inspiring. Three words that don’t even begin to describe “Thanks Obama” by David Litt. This former Obama speechwriter tells his story of working at the White House, an odyssey that began with hero worship and ended with heroic understanding. Leveraging the same light-hearted sense of humor and wordplay he used with the Correspondents’ Dinner, Litt exposes the quarks of the Washington establishment and reminds us all of what we loved about the past administration. If you find yourself looking for a slight reprieve from today's concerns, I highly recommend purchasing a copy.

Fascinating on many levels! Fun to read about life inside the Administration and to understand how Presidential speeches are written. Loved that it was written through the eyes of a 20-something. Humorous, easy read. One of my favorite books this year!

I really enjoyed this book. It was easy reading and a real eye opener as to how things transpire in the White House as far as the speeches are written. Guess I just always thought the president wrote them. Wish Trump would listen to his and stop tweeting making himself look so stupid. Sorry!

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. David Litt is an incredible good story teller. He provided a vivid glimpse of what it's like to work in the White House. I laughed, I cried. Inspiring. Best book I've read this year.

I don’t normally forgive careless profanity, and this book literally starts off with an X-rated bomb in the first sentence. But the rest of it is a funny, often inspirational look at what it was like for a gifted young writer barely out of his teens to serve on the Obama speechwriting team.
Litt’s tell-all has its candid and wrenching moments. The Affordable Care Act’s rollout was an unmitigated disaster for Team Obama, and he blasts the President for not getting that right. The President’s first debate against Gov. Romney was another gut-squeezing failure, and even most Democratic loyalists and pundits rightly blamed Obama for not taking this political tradition seriously and doing his homework. The author’s gifted use of metaphors is one reason why he landed his job as speechwriter, and at this point in the narrative, he sighs: “Metaphorically speaking, the nation had noticed that its leader left dishes in the sink.”
But after the juicy tidbits about all-nighters and the White House mess and getting to ride on Air Force One, this very good book reveals the heart of the Obama presidency. For one thing, accuracy and honesty were highly regarded virtues. “There was an entire research office,” Litt writes, “responsible for making sure that the president’s statements were true.”
He was on the inside long enough to observe Mr. Obama in his interpersonal relationships “Not all good presidents are good people. But Barack Obama was the kind of person who noticed when a member of his staff was being insulted and refused to walk away. He used his power to defend the dignity of others.”
And I appreciate his insight about how the President worked tirelessly to understand and grasp the incredibly challenging issues that rear their ugly heads and beset any world leader. Scott McClellan, Bush’s (41) press secretary, similarly affirmed his own boss, but Litt writes about Obama: “I’d often heard senior staff describe President Obama as the smartest guy in the room, but only now did I realize what they meant. He didn’t speak seven languages or know the Latin names of species or multiply large numbers in his head. What he did, more quickly than anyone, was strip away complicated issues to their essence and make the most of the information obtained. No one was better at getting to the point.”
One of the best bits, though, is how he describes the President’s passion for moms who struggle with a chronically sick kid. A little girl named Zoe Lihn was diagnosed with a rare and often fatal congenital heart defect – Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). Her mother, Stacey, became an ardent advocate for Obamacare, which would give her child lifetime protection as she battled to stay well.
I think any fair-minded reader will appreciate knowing more about how communication happens in the White House, and this book is a valuable resource in that goal.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and so will anyone interested in politics. Litt's stories are witty and insightful. They also took me back to the days when I worked for a NYC Mayor, volunteered for Obama in 2008, and so on. I remember writing speeches for politicians or looking over the speeches and spending hours debating semantics. Litt will explain how choosing the wrong word, or omitting the wrong word can land you on Fox News or the front page of Kenya's newspapers. His tale of how he had to videotape Obama wishing Betty White a 90th BD is priceless. It was so funny, my hubby asked me to read aloud what was so funny, and he was cracking up too. Litt also campaigned in Ohio where I'm from and boy could I relate! You don't have to be a Democrat or Obama supporter to love this book, all you have to be is interested in good writing, and what trials and tribulations a speechwriter might go through. I just wish I had entered politics a little later than I did so I might have earned my badge at the White House!

Good view of working in the White House during the Obama Presidency for a young man.Not bad for first job out of college. I found the book light-hearted, funny and full of just day to day life of a Presidential speechwriter. I enjoyed this book very much.

This is a pleasantly humorous autobiography of David Litt, a young speechwriter who worked in the Obama White House. This is not a book about Barack Obama, though of course his presence is naturally a part of the story. But, you don't have to be an Obama supporter to enjoy the book. This is light reading, but you will learn a bit about the operation of the White House. The book is not laugh-out-loud funny, but it is amusing and enjoyable.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. David Litt did a wonderful job. I've lost count of the books on the White House and the Presidency that I've read, but this was by far the most entertaining. Litt is funny and this book is very funny. I found myself laughing out loud many times. Litt didn't give us much insight into the Obama presidency or the inner workings of the White House, but he did relay the passion and enthusiasm of the Obama fan. The optimism that you can really make America a better place, that a "nobody" can make a difference, and in the end, the importance and value of service to the nation. Litt's America might seem strange or nostalgic just a year into the Trump Presidency, but he illustrates the America that many still believe in and long for.
One incident that disturbed me as a Jew reading this book, was an incident that Litt describes about a Passover message that he wrote for President Obama. Upon reaching the quote in the Hagadah, "In every In each and every generation they rise up against us to destroy us. And the Holy One, blessed be He, rescues us from their hands," President Obama ordered a change to something more upbeat. Litt describes how President Obama couldn't believe that we would be so negative at a celebratory meal. While I don't blame President Obama for not knowing his Hagadah, I think it shows a certain misunderstanding President Obama had about Jewish history and a Jew's relationship to history. While most people don't fear their history coming back to harm them again, the Jew is neurotic about antisemitism and persecution. It's no wonder Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Obama could never find themselves on the same page. President Obama felt delaying Iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon was sufficient. Like many Israelis, Prime Minister Netanyahu couldn't fathom allowing yet another enemy of the Jewish people the possibility, no matter how remote, of acquiring the means to annihilate us. Had President Obama understood where Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israelis were coming from - the absolute terror of another generations' genocide, he might've found the common ground to work out a deal that all would've been satisfied with.

A light, often funny, read about the Obama years in the White House. David Litt was a speechwriter in the Obama White House. Litt’s style is easy to read and leaves the reader hungering for a normal presidency with normal problems. He gives us a behind the scenes look at some of my the major events of the last 10 years.

Good view of working in the White House during the Obama Presidency for a young man.Not bad for first job out of college. I found the book light-hearted, funny and full of just day to day life of a Presidential speechwriter. I enjoyed this book very much.

This is a pleasantly humorous autobiography of David Litt, a young speechwriter who worked in the Obama White House. This is not a book about Barack Obama, though of course his presence is naturally a part of the story. But, you don't have to be an Obama supporter to enjoy the book. This is light reading, but you will learn a bit about the operation of the White House. The book is not laugh-out-loud funny, but it is amusing and enjoyable.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. David Litt did a wonderful job. I've lost count of the books on the White House and the Presidency that I've read, but this was by far the most entertaining. Litt is funny and this book is very funny. I found myself laughing out loud many times. Litt didn't give us much insight into the Obama presidency or the inner workings of the White House, but he did relay the passion and enthusiasm of the Obama fan. The optimism that you can really make America a better place, that a "nobody" can make a difference, and in the end, the importance and value of service to the nation. Litt's America might seem strange or nostalgic just a year into the Trump Presidency, but he illustrates the America that many still believe in and long for.
One incident that disturbed me as a Jew reading this book, was an incident that Litt describes about a Passover message that he wrote for President Obama. Upon reaching the quote in the Hagadah, "In every In each and every generation they rise up against us to destroy us. And the Holy One, blessed be He, rescues us from their hands," President Obama ordered a change to something more upbeat. Litt describes how President Obama couldn't believe that we would be so negative at a celebratory meal. While I don't blame President Obama for not knowing his Hagadah, I think it shows a certain misunderstanding President Obama had about Jewish history and a Jew's relationship to history. While most people don't fear their history coming back to harm them again, the Jew is neurotic about antisemitism and persecution. It's no wonder Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Obama could never find themselves on the same page. President Obama felt delaying Iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon was sufficient. Like many Israelis, Prime Minister Netanyahu couldn't fathom allowing yet another enemy of the Jewish people the possibility, no matter how remote, of acquiring the means to annihilate us. Had President Obama understood where Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israelis were coming from - the absolute terror of another generations' genocide, he might've found the common ground to work out a deal that all would've been satisfied with.

A light, often funny, read about the Obama years in the White House. David Litt was a speechwriter in the Obama White House. Litt’s style is easy to read and leaves the reader hungering for a normal presidency with normal problems. He gives us a behind the scenes look at some of my the major events of the last 10 years.

I love getting a behind the scenes look at anything involving the political process. David Litt not only gives this from a speechwriter point of view, he manages to do it with such humor i will long remember some of his real-life anecdotal experiences.

I liked this book because it was so incredibly refreshing to read about the Obama campaign and administration compared to current events! I have read many books about President Obama, but this book added so much insight to his personality and style! (And I recently read that the author David List married Jacqui on August 4-----President Obama's birthday!!! Congratulations and Best Wishes!!!)

Whirlwind trip back through a presidency I desperately miss. I plan to re-read this book every time I need a boost of hope & perspective to carry me through those times where America seems intent to 'reanimate its darkest instincts,' especially during this embarrassment of an administration.

I really can't say enough good things! I listened to the CD, which was read by the author (who, by the way, can do a good impression of Obama's voice). The book is sincere, funny, intelligent, deep, fast-paced, and thought-provoking. It's the story of a young man refining his own values while doing this amazing job. And a year into the Trump era, it was, for me, a welcome relief and an opportunity to put all recent political history into perspective. Great detail, and fascinating behind-the-scenes information--all in all, a hopeful, wonderful, riveting book. Thanks, David Litt!

At its best, this book is an amusing memoir about working as a presidential speechwriter, and a patriotic assessment of what government can do to help people. It doesn't always maintain that level though. List tells his story in roughly chronological order, but there isn't anything like a traditional dramatic arc here -- we get discussion of a good political thing, then a speech about infrastructure, a speech about correctional policy, the White House Correspondents' Dinner, a bad political thing, a speech about health care, another White House Correspondents' Dinner, etc. Books by political insiders can be fascinating but Litt was not really an insider. Stories are fueled by proximity to power and to important decisions, but Litt never really got that. He shares with us some funny jokes, and these are the best part of the book. A collection of his favorite Obama humor might have worked better than the book we actually got.

Yes, we get the story of how Litt got his job in the White House, buffered by his assurance to the reader that he didn't really deserve the job and repeated apologies for being white (starting on page 40 when he gets an internship with West Wing Writers). Litt does have some nice turns of phrase in the book; I particularly liked his judgment that the president doesn't play chess, he plays whack-a-mole. Many famous people appear in cameos, including an unpleasant run-in with Harvey Weinstein that's a lot more interesting to read now than it would have been a month ago. The Republican party's weird love affair with Vladimir Putin starting in 2014 gets called out as well; I suspect we'll hear more about that over time.

The book is at its darkest when discussing early problems with the Affordable Care Act website. Was that really so terrible? I remember that it didn't work well, but I would have thought that the Democrats' midterm losses would have been worse, from the point of view of the White House.