The World as It Is audiobook cover - A Memoir of the Obama White House

The World as It Is

A Memoir of the Obama White House

Ben Rhodes

★ 4.4 / 5(36 ratings)
Start ListeningDownload App
Categories:
Biography & MemoirPolitics

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

Listen to The World as It Is — Free Audiobook

Loading player...

Key Takeaways from The World as It Is

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from The World as It Is

Mind Map

The World as It Is
A New Approach to Power+
Engaging the Muslim World+
Hard Choices in Foreign Policy+
Domestic Struggles & Race+
Disinformation & The 2016 Election+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 11
Why did Barack Obama take an unusually long campaign tour of European and Middle Eastern nations during his 2008 presidential run?
  • A. To secure campaign funding from international donors and expatriates.
  • B. To prove his ability to handle international diplomacy and the demands of being commander-in-chief.
  • C. To distract the media from his lack of domestic policy experience.
  • D. To negotiate early trade agreements ahead of his potential presidency.
Question 2 of 11
How did Obama choose to address the controversial issue of Turkey's treatment of minority groups during his speech to the Turkish parliament?
  • A. He threatened economic sanctions if Turkey did not immediately improve its human rights record.
  • B. He ignored the issue entirely to maintain a strong military alliance with a key regional partner.
  • C. He referenced it through the prism of America's own historical struggles with minority groups, such as Native and African Americans.
  • D. He demanded a formal public apology from the Turkish government to the affected minority populations.
Question 3 of 11
Why did President Obama decide NOT to visit Israel immediately following his 2009 speech at Cairo University?
  • A. He wanted to avoid any perception that the Israel-Palestine conflict was at the heart of his speech to the Muslim world.
  • B. The Israeli government officially requested that he delay his visit due to heightened security concerns.
  • C. He was privately protesting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent expansion of settlements.
  • D. His advisors warned him that visiting Israel would immediately spark violent protests in Egypt.
Question 4 of 11
How did the Obama administration internally react to the outbreak of the Arab Spring protests in Egypt?
  • A. There was unanimous agreement to immediately demand Hosni Mubarak's resignation.
  • B. The administration was divided, with younger staffers supporting the protesters and older establishment figures favoring stability.
  • C. The entire administration agreed to provide covert military support to Mubarak's government to maintain order.
  • D. The administration completely ignored the protests to focus exclusively on domestic economic recovery.
Question 5 of 11
What was President Obama's primary reason for deciding NOT to release the photographs of Osama bin Laden's corpse?
  • A. The photographs were highly classified by the CIA and could not legally be released to the public.
  • B. He believed the images were too graphic and would cause psychological distress to the American public.
  • C. He felt that justice had been done and did not need to put the photos out there as trophies.
  • D. He wanted to protect the identities and tactics of the Navy SEALs visible in the background of the photos.
Question 6 of 11
What event served as an early indicator to the Obama administration that Cuba was serious about improving diplomatic relations?
  • A. Cuba's decision to unconditionally release 50 political prisoners ahead of schedule.
  • B. Cuba's refusal to allow US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden to fly to Havana from Moscow.
  • C. Raúl Castro's public endorsement of Obama's second-term election campaign.
  • D. Cuba's agreement to allow American telecommunications businesses to operate freely in Havana.
Question 7 of 11
According to the text, how did President Obama generally handle the topic of race and racism in public prior to the Charleston church shooting?
  • A. He frequently gave prime-time national addresses specifically focused on dismantling systemic racism.
  • B. He aggressively confronted his critics by accusing them of racial bias during press conferences.
  • C. He rarely addressed it directly, often attributing the intense opposition to his presidency to other factors.
  • D. He created a dedicated, highly publicized cabinet-level department to address racial disparities.
Question 8 of 11
Why did President Obama ultimately avoid taking military action against the Syrian regime after his 'red line' on chemical weapons was crossed?
  • A. The UN Security Council passed a binding resolution that legally prohibited US military intervention in the region.
  • B. He faced weak international support, strong congressional pushback, and eventually reached an agreement with Russia to destroy the weapons.
  • C. US intelligence agencies definitively concluded that the chemical weapons attack had actually been staged by rebel forces.
  • D. He decided to deploy a massive force of ground troops instead of launching the initially planned airstrikes.
Question 9 of 11
What was the primary argument used by the 'Antiwar Room' unit to secure congressional support for the Iran nuclear deal?
  • A. The deal would financially benefit the United States through lucrative new trade agreements with Iran.
  • B. Failing to pass the diplomatic deal would inevitably lead to military action against Iran.
  • C. The deal would immediately lead to sweeping democratic reforms within the Iranian government.
  • D. Iran had already acquired a nuclear weapon, making diplomacy the only safe remaining option.
Question 10 of 11
What structural challenge did the Obama administration face when trying to counter Russian disinformation campaigns?
  • A. The US government was legally prohibited from giving editorial direction to broadcasting and lacked a state-funded media apparatus like Russia's RT.
  • B. US intelligence agencies could not definitively trace the origins of the disinformation back to the Russian government.
  • C. The administration believed that officially responding to the fake news would violate international cyber-warfare treaties.
  • D. Congress passed a bipartisan law specifically forbidding the White House from publicly criticizing Russian state media.
Question 11 of 11
Following Donald Trump's election victory, what introspective question did President Obama ask regarding the liberal platform?
  • A. He wondered if the Democratic party had failed to raise enough campaign funds to compete with Trump's media presence.
  • B. He wondered if liberals had lost sight of the importance of identity and the skepticism many Americans had toward metropolitan globalism.
  • C. He questioned whether his administration had been too aggressive in pursuing conservative economic policies.
  • D. He asked if the campaign should have relied more heavily on celebrity endorsements to drive voter turnout.

The World as It Is — Full Chapter Overview

The World as It Is Summary & Overview

The World as It Is (2018) is a deeply personal look at the Obama presidency, written by a man who not only worked closely with the forty-fourth president, but also became his friend. Taking us on a behind-the-scenes tour of Obama’s presidency, from his first campaign to Trump’s inauguration, these blinks also chronicle the author’s personal journey from fresh-faced staffer to hardened national security operator.

Who Should Listen to The World as It Is?

  • History and politics buffs
  • Anyone interested in an inside look at the highest levels of government
  • People who want a better understanding of the state of US politics today

About the Author: Ben Rhodes

After working on Barack Obama’s first election campaign as a senior speechwriter, Ben Rhodes served as Obama’s deputy national security adviser from 2009 to 2017. In that role, he oversaw communications and speechwriting for the administration's national security policy. Previously a congressional staffer and a writer, he coauthored Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission.

🎧
Listen in the AppOffline playback & background play
Get App