The Obama’s Marriage was on the Rocks 8 years ago
President Barack Obama whispers into First Lady Michelle Obama’s ear during the White House Cinco de Mayo celebration this year Photo: PETE SOUZA/THE WHITE HOUSE
Their regular Friday "date nights" make the television news, and there was a stir recently when they caught Air Force One for a night at the theatre in Manhattan.
This weekend, in the aftermath of the D-Day celebrations, they are in Paris with their young daughters – having turned down an invitation for dinner with President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla in favour of a more intimate family event.
But it was not always wedded bliss for the First Couple. A new book, Renegade, about Mr Obama’s unlikely run for the presidency, recounts a tense period in 2000 when the Obamas’ marriage was on the brink of collapse because of his restless political hunger and the family’s shattered finances.
"There was little conversation and even less romance," wrote the Birmingham-born Mr Wolffe, who covered Obama’s campaign for Newsweek magazine. "She was angry at his selfishness and careerism; he thought she was cold and ungrateful."
At the time, Mr Obama was stuck on the lowest step of the political ladder. As a mere state senator in Illinois, he had challenged a popular incumbent in a Democratic primary by running against Bobby Rush, a former Black Panther from Chicago. Mr Obama was trounced by a dismal 2-1 margin.
