The World As It Is: A Memoir of the Obama White House

by Ben Rhodes

“Ben and I have had this debate over the years about what makes history: individuals, or movements.” He stopped and looked at me. “But I think the answer is actually that it takes a team of people.”

“I came to see the presidency like a game of Pac-Man,” he told me, moving his hand as if using a joystick in front of him. “Sometimes I felt like I was just outrunning people, trying to avoid getting tripped up before I got to the end of the board.” He was nestled between two presidents far less qualified than he was, yet he—the only black person to hold the office—had been held to a higher bar, and he’d cleared it.