“Obama was elected on a slogan of hope and change because both were in short supply: the military exhausted by two wars, the banks failing their public trust, the U.S. Congress a comedy of dysfunction, and a federal government that seemed designed to idle on the sidelines.”

American essayist, speaker, and presidential historian

Nancy Reid Gibbs is an American essayist, speaker, and presidential historian. She is known for writing and speaking on American public life, with a particular focus on the presidency. Her work combines essay writing with public commentary and historical analysis. As a presidential historian, she studies the office and its place in American history, and her writing often reflects that interest in politics and leadership.