That partnership meant Barack soon had to broach another serious topic with his bride-to-be. “As law school was coming to an end, I told Michelle of my plan,” he said. “I wouldn’t clerk. instead, I’d move back to Chicago, try to keep my hand in community work while also practicing law at a small firm that specialized in civil rights. If a good opportunity presented itself, I said, I could even see myself running for office.”
Having already watched him do his thing during an organizing workshop at his friend’s South Side community center, “None of this came as a surprise to her,” he wrote. “She trusted me, she said, to do what I believed was right.”
She was rightfully cautious, however. “‘I need to tell you, Barack,’ she said, ‘I think what you want to do is really hard. I mean, I wish I had your optimism. Sometimes I do. But people can be so selfish and just plain ignorant. I think a lot of people don’t want to be bothered. And I think politics seems like it’s full of people willing to do anything for power, who just think about themselves. Especially in Chicago. I’m not sure you’ll ever change that.'”
His response was pretty much what you’d expect from the man who coined the phrase, “Yes we can” and the overarching idea of hope. “‘I can try, can’t I?’ I said with a smile. ‘What’s the point of having a fancy law degree if you can’t take some risks? If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. I’ll be okay. We’ll be okay.'”
