In a new wide-ranging interview in GQ magazine, President Barack Obama chatted with HBO’s Bill Simmons about his presidency, managing crisis, favorite sports heroes, fatherhood and date nights with wife Michelle Obama.
Here are seven key things the leader of the free world revealed about himself in the interview.
Sports figure who most reflects his leadership style: “Maybe [Aaron] Rodgers in the pocket, in the sense of you can’t be distracted by what’s around you, you’ve got to be looking downfield. … So there was never a point, even early on — even in the first six months, where we weren’t sure whether we were going to dip into another Great Depression, we weren’t sure whether the steps we were taking on rescuing the auto industry or stabilizing the financial system were going to work — there weren’t moments where I thought, ‘Sheesh, feels like we’re in over our head.'”
He’ll interrupt a date night with Michelle to take phone calls from: “Malia and Sasha. [Laughs] And maybe my mother-in-law. My national security adviser, Susan Rice, and Denis McDonough, my chief of staff.”
How issues around police shootings, race and the criminal justice system taught him he can’t always be perfect: “I do think as you go on as president, you get a better feel for this, but you’re not always going to be perfect. When the Trayvon Martin case happened, I had an honest response as a father that I think resonated with a lot of people. When Ferguson happened, there was a gap between how quickly we could pull together a police task force, recommendations. … One thing you learn as president is you’re not always going to perform flawlessly and you have to be able to put that out of your mind and then look at the next problem coming down the pipe.”
Biggest challenge running a country in the age of Twitter: “Speed. You are on 24/7 — you have to respond immediately. The job of our office, to keep up and to respond quickly to anything that’s happening but not be consumed by it, is completely different. …
“It’s so interesting watching my daughters. Both are complete ninjas on the phone, right? And they can do things that I don’t even understand — they’re doing it in two seconds. But I even see a difference between Malia, who’s 17, and Sasha, who’s 14. There’s almost a mini-generational gap in terms of Sasha being so connected seamlessly to this smartphone in a way that Malia, who was already a little bit older when it really started to take, is not.”
The most entertaining conspiracy theory he’s read about himself: “That military exercises we were doing in Texas were designed to begin martial law so that I could usurp the Constitution and stay in power longer. Anybody who thinks I could get away with telling Michelle I’m going to be president any longer than eight years does not know my wife.”
“Game of Thrones” character he most identifies with: “My favorite character is probably … (Peter Dinklage’s character), what’s his name? The problem with ‘Game of Thrones,’ though, is that I don’t remember the names of any of the characters.”
Presidential perk he’ll miss most: “Air Force One: an amazing plane with an amazing crew, they clear out airspace so you don’t have to wait. And you land anytime, you leave anytime. But it may be Marine One, because even post presidency, I may be able to round up a private plane sometime, but it’s tough not to have your helicopter waiting for you.”
Martha Ross provides celebrity commentary for the Bay Area News Group. Follow her at twitter.com/marthajross.
