David Maraniss:
“Even now, on Day 1,460 of his presidency, the question persists: Who
is he, really? There is a common refrain that Obama seems elusive, if
not mysterious; less easily categorized and understood than the last
Democratic president. Bill Clinton’s traits were so extra-large and
variegated, for better and worse, that something in him seemed to
connect to almost anybody and anything. No doubt Obama is a different
breed of cat. Aspects of his political personality are less vivid than
Clinton’s. But he is not overly elusive. His mystery is hiding in plain
sight. There is a pattern to his behavior, just as there was with
Clinton. Where Clinton was protean, Obama is more slowly evolving.
People tend to forget, or underestimate, that he had scant executive
experience before becoming president. Behind his veneer of ultra-cool
control he was struggling to figure things out. Now, after four years,
his presidential identity has started to approach its full shape, which
will become clearer from now to 2016.”
About Political Wire
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.