Quick Takes: Two Obama Administration Memoirs

For the last year or so, I’ve been obsessed with memoirs by people from the Obama administration. Our current political culture is such a trash fire that it’s giving me major nostalgia for like… three years ago, a simpler time. Today I’ve got quick reviews of two recent political memoirs, both that I enjoyed very much but for very different reasons.

From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein

Just out of college and not sure what to do with her life, Beck Dorey-Stein answered a mysterious Craigslist ad that turned out to be for a position as an official White House stenographer. She had the unique position of joining the White House as an outsider – she wasn’t part of the Obama campaign, and the stenographer’s office is a non-partisan position. As a stenographer, Dorey-Stein traveled with the administration around the world and got a front row seat to major world events.

But From the Corner of the Oval really isn’t about that. Instead, it’s a sort of Bridget Jones-esque account of her friendships and relationships with other staff at the White House. It’s also a coming-of-age story about a woman trying to find her place in the world while also being given the surreal chance to ride on Marine One for her birthday. The backdrop of the White House and major world events gives the book some umph that I think it would have otherwise been missing.

My only criticism of the book is one of my pet peeves. I hate when memoirs about someone trying to figure out if they can be a writer includes stories about other people in their lives telling them what a great writer they are… it always feels like information I don’t need because I am reading their book and can judge for myself whether their writing is great or not. But really, that’s a super minor issues in a book that I otherwise found smart and funny and optimistic in a way that I appreciated right now.

Yes We (Still) Can by Dan Pfeiffer

I know it’s important to read viewpoints that are different from my own and to get other perspectives on the world… but sometimes I just want to read a book that agrees entirely with what I think so I can feel both smart and smug. Enter Yes We (Still) Can by Dan Pfeiffer.

Before leaving the White House in 2015, Pfeiffer was a long-time aide to President Obama. He was one of the first staff members of his presidential campaign, and served in various communications and advisory positions in the White House. He’s currently the co-host of the Pod Save America podcast and also contributes to CNN.

Yes We (Still) Can is part political memoir and part political manifesto. Pfeiffer looks at the successes and challenges of the Obama administration, tries to analyze how we managed to elect someone as terrible as Trump, and offers some suggestions about what Democrats should do in response. He also offers some critiques of the media — particularly Fox News — that I thought were interesting.

Because Pfeiffer’s politics are pretty much right in my wheelhouse, at least as articulated in the book, I don’t feel like this book stretched me to think much differently. But that’s ok, I’m not reading these Obama administration memoirs to be challenged… the regular news does enough of that every day. This book was a perfect mix of nostalgia and call to action that I enjoyed.