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How He Almost Didn't Run

Obamas struggled for months about Barack's White House bid

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 7, 2008 2:20 PM CST

(Newser) – Barack Obama needed months to be persuaded that he should run for the White House, and wife Michelle, who had veto power, finally agreed on one condition: that he give up smoking. The tidbit appears in Part 1 of a seven-installment Newsweek series reported along the campaign trail on the condition that it be embargoed until after the election.

Obama listened to the advice of former staffers of Bobby Kennedy and Bill Clinton, but it wasn't until a Hawaiian vacation in December 2006 that the family reached consensus. Yet even after the race had begun, Michelle harbored her doubts; at one point, she asked his fellow Illinois senator Dick Durbin, "They're not setting him up, are they?"

Barack Obama speaks at a fund raiser Friday, June 8, 2007 in Chicago with his wife Michelle.
Barack Obama speaks at a fund raiser Friday, June 8, 2007 in Chicago with his wife Michelle.   (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Barack Obama smiles as he eats ice cream with his wife Michelle during a campaign stop in Berlin, N.H., on Sunday, May 27, 2007.
Barack Obama smiles as he eats ice cream with his wife Michelle during a campaign stop in Berlin, N.H., on Sunday, May 27, 2007.   (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
Barack Obama listens and smiles as he is introduced by his wife Michelle at a campaign stop in Berlin, N.H., Sunday, May 27, 2007.
Barack Obama listens and smiles as he is introduced by his wife Michelle at a campaign stop in Berlin, N.H., Sunday, May 27, 2007.   (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, and daughter Sasha sing happy birthday to his daughter Malia, right, during an Independence Day house party, Wednesday, July 4, 2007, in Pella, Iowa.
Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, and daughter Sasha sing happy birthday to his daughter Malia, right, during an Independence Day house party, Wednesday, July 4, 2007, in Pella, Iowa.   (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
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COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 2 comments
Shannonals
Nov 7, 2008 11:21 PM CST
How does that one line go....."listen to the woman"
Mr.C
Nov 7, 2008 9:43 PM CST
he has been set up -- 'tis all a joke still

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