The World As It Is: Inside the Obama White House

by Ben Rhodes

The Japanese felt they had no choice but to strike up a relationship with a man who had threatened to charge Japan for the troops that we stationed there.

We prefer to have a good relationship with the United States, he said, folding his hands in front of him. That is good for the world. But every action will have a reaction. And if an immature leader throws the world into chaos, then the world will know whom to blame.

“Progress doesn’t move in a straight line.”

we’re about to find out just how resilient our institutions are, at home and around the world.”

in a time of crisis, bring in the most experienced people; in a potential second Great Depression, have continuity in national security; in a city where you’re an outsider, keep your political adversaries close.

“I say this as the president of a country that not very long ago made it hard for somebody who looks like me to vote, much less be president of the United States. But it is precisely that capacity to change that enriches our countries.”

stood there watching, thinking that Obama would never have become president without the mistake America had made in Iraq,