[Byron York]The New York Times magazine had a story yesterday by Ron Suskind which reconstructed the time in which Barack Obama decided to run for president. Obama was asked — by his wife — what he wanted to accomplish, and the answer he came up with was that he simply thought it would be a wonderful thing for everyone if he were in the White House.
[Obama strategist David Axelrod] thought back on what he called the original why question, what got all this started, back in December 2006. Barack, Michelle and eight others were in AxelrodÂ’s office in downtown Chicago. If Barack was going to run, he had to decide quickly, a point the group made by laying out primary schedules and game plans for fund-raising and building an organization. Insights were offered from around the room.
It was Michelle, Axelrod remembers, who stopped the show. “You need to ask yourself, Why do you want to do this?” she said directly. “What are hoping to uniquely accomplish, Barack?”
Obama sat quietly for a moment, and everyone waited. “This I know: When I raise my hand and take that oath of office, I think the world will look at us differently,” he said. “And millions of kids across this country will look at themselves differently.”