FRONTLINE’s Coverage of President Obama

Over the last four years, FRONTLINE has covered the battles, promises, successes and failures of Barack Obama’s White House, as well as the personal and political biography of the man himself. Explore more with this collection of films exploring the key stories from Obama’s first term.

The Choice 2012 [2012]

The Choice 2012 intimately follows the odyssey of young Barry Obama from near-poverty in Indonesia to his marijuana-smoking “Choom Gang” days in Hawaii, then to college in California and New York, where he moved inexorably toward finding a home in Chicago’s black community. Consumed by youthful angst, Obama’s own journals and letters reveal a confused young man on an identity quest. By the end of his journey, Barry becomes Barack, and a political method is born.

Money, Power and Wall Street [2012]

In hour three of this four-part series, FRONTLINE goes inside the Obama White House, telling the story of how a newly elected president with a mandate for change inherited a financial crisis that would challenge his administration and define his first term. From almost the very beginning, there was a division inside the administration’s economic team over how tough the White House should be on the banks that were at the heart of the crisis.

Lost in Detention [2011]

FRONTLINE correspondent Maria Hinojosa takes a penetrating look at Obama’s vastly expanded immigration net, explores the controversial Secure Communities enforcement program and goes inside the hidden world of immigration detention.

Kill/Capture [2011]

The death of Osama bin Laden exposed a much wider military campaign, an extraordinary expansion of manhunt missions during the Obama administration that have taken out thousands of Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

Obama’s Deal [2010]

In Obama’s Deal FRONTLINE went behind the headlines to reveal the political maneuvering behind the president’s effort to remake the American health system and transform the way Washington works.

Obama’s War [2009]

As the Obama administration weighed sending additional troops to combat the Taliban, correspondent Martin Smith traveled across Afghanistan and Pakistan to see first-hand how the counterinsurgency strategy was taking shape and reported on the internal debates over the president’s grand attempt to combat terrorism at its roots.

Dreams of Obama [2009]

On the evening of his inauguration, FRONTLINE examined Obama’s life story and political biography, drawing on interviews with insiders to illuminate the key moments that shaped the new president and formed his political vision.