TV preview - Inside Obama's White House: 100 Days

For millions of people, the election of the first African American President, Barack Obama marked a new era of hope. The young President was eager to end the war in Iraq, close Guantanamo, fight climate change, and provide healthcare for all.

What happened instead was the worst economic collapse in living memory, minimal cooperation from the Republican opposition, and the rise of a populist anti-big-government Tea Party. This four-part series, made by Brook Lapping for BBC Two, is an authoritative account of Obama’s successes and failures as told by his inner circle and his chief adversaries.

The programme shows how, overcoming constant criticism and blocking from his Republican opponents, Obama passed an $800bn stimulus package – the largest in US history.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

This first episode also tells how Obama crashed a private meeting of fellow heads of government to persuade the Chinese to tackle climate change at the Copenhagen summit. It also focuses of his struggle to shut down Guantanamo.

Later programmes explore the battle to pass Obamacare, the Arab Spring and the secret nuclear negotiations with Iran, as well as his struggle for gun control.

Inside Obama’s White House: 100 Days, BBC2, Tuesday, 9pm.

Related topics: