A month after his victory, Barack Obama discovered America was on the verge of a great depression. He puts his plans for change on hold to pass the largest stimulus in history. Obama promises to close Guantanamo within a year - and it is still open. His attorney general admits that evidence against many of the prisoners could not be used to prosecute because they had been tortured. And at the Copenhagen summit, the president crashed a meeting between three fellow heads of government in his desperation to do something about climate change.
With exclusive interviews from president Obama and his White House team, episode two tells the story of Obama's greatest legacy: healthcare. When Obama announced his proposals for affordable, accessible healthcare for every American, he sparked a bitter conflict. Within weeks of his launch, members of Congress were confronted by angry 'Tea Party' protesters. As opposition grew, Obama's top advisers asked him to go for a less ambitious bill - he refused. His chief of staff knocked heads together inside his own party, as Democrats in Congress began to fight amongst themselves. The final battle was over abortion - the Catholic bishops tried to kill the bill. The hero who saved him was Sister Carol Keehan. She mobilised 59,000 US nuns and faced down the bishops to get Obama the votes he needed. But in the midterm elections, Obama lost more seats in Congress than any president since 1938. The Tea Party now had 60 members and the Republicans would block all his future major reforms.
Episode three explores how Barack Obama set out to end George Bush's wars in the Middle East and reset relations with the rest of the world. In Cairo he speaks to the Arab world, calling democracy a human right. Two years later when protest erupts in Tahrir Square, the president is torn between secretary of state Hillary Clinton and defense secretary Robert Gates, who believe Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak provides regional stability, and his young advisors, who are in tune with the promise of the Arab Spring. Before long, a similar test arises in Libya, Hillary Clinton changes her position to back military intervention, and Obama agrees to join allies in airstrikes against Colonel Gaddafi. In Syria, when shocking evidence shows the use of chemical weapons, Obama decides to bomb. But when the British Parliament votes against intervention, he decides he needs the backing of a reluctant Congress. Foreign secretary William Hague explains why the British parliament voted against intervention in 2013, and President Obama explains why he then decided to seek the backing of Congress. This episode also explores how Obama scored a big win when he negotiated a secret deal to end the nuclear threat from Iran - behind the backs of his closest allies. Secretary of state John Kerry tells how he worked through the night, with President Obama on the phone, to secure the outlines of the deal.
The last instalment of this definitive account of Obama's presidency tells how Obama got re-elected for a second term and tried to tackle America's most intractable social problems - guns, immigration and race. Episode four begins with president Obama's decision to launch the special operation into Pakistan, to catch Osama Bin Laden. Former CIA director Leon Panetta describes how Obama decides to go ahead despite odds no better than 50:50 and the strong misgivings of top advisors. As his re-election campaign gears up, Obama has to make a tough choice on contraception - whether to side with the Catholic bishops, or health secretary Kathleen Sebelius and feminist activists. Obama chooses the women and they contribute to his convincing election victory. But soon after his re-election, America is shocked by the Sandy Hook massacre - 20 children are shot dead in a Connecticut school. The families of the victims and senior advisor Valerie Jarrett recall the president's attempts to strengthen gun legislation but they are defeated by the gun lobby. Obama's other ambitious reforms fared no better. Cecilia Muñoz and Valerie Jarrett reveal how Obama worked with allies in Congress to create a bipartisan consensus on immigration but is defeated by the Republicans. The president can move forward only through executive action. The background of the first black president is different from most African Americans'. Raised in Hawaii by white grandparents, Obama initially downplays racial issues but the shooting of black teenager Trayvon Martin provokes him to speak out. When Ferguson, Missouri, becomes a flash point of conflict between police and African Americans, Obama urges young activists to channel their anger into progressive change.
