--- title: Ann Patchett: President Obama Shows His Love description: "How we see the world depends on our outlook. Barack Obama has given the American people his example." canonical: https://time.com/4639527/ann-patchett-president-obama/ author: Ann Patchett article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-19T17:39:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:43.425Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Ann Patchett: Barack Obama, Our President of Love og:description: 'Barack Obama has given the American people his example' og:url: https://time.com/4639527/ann-patchett-president-obama/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt63edd526dab1e615/6988b6320a4a2211ea9cc9d0/barack-obama-michelle-joe-biden-love-presidency.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2166 og:image:height: 1218 og:image:alt: Hillary Clinton Holds Get Out The Vote Rally With Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ann Patchett: Barack Obama, Our President of Love twitter:description: 'Barack Obama has given the American people his example' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt63edd526dab1e615/6988b6320a4a2211ea9cc9d0/barack-obama-michelle-joe-biden-love-presidency.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ann Patchett: Barack Obama, Our President of Love > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=9ef75ece-9f8a-46f0-8623-1bc19b46f05e&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | 540,000 | 45.6% | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 430,000 | 50.7% | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | 240,000 | 54.1% | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 40,000 | 31.7% | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | 85,000 | 37.0% | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | 40,000 | 34.2% | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | 25,000 | 28.6% | Source: TIME, August 2026. Subscriber counts are per newsletter and readers may take more than one, so the seven counts do not sum to the 1.1 million+ unique newsletter audience. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Highest open rate | 54.1%, Health Matters | TIME, August 2026 | | Largest list | 540,000, The Brief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=9ef75ece-9f8a-46f0-8623-1bc19b46f05e&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=9ef75ece-9f8a-46f0-8623-1bc19b46f05e&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: 10 Days that Define the Obama Presidency: Trump's Election [Watch (HLS stream): 10 Days that Define the Obama Presidency: Trump's Election](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/93eTfkcq.m3u8) (4:10)  _Published 2017-01-18. As President Obama's two terms in office come to a close, TIME is taking a look back at the most pivotal moments of his presidency._ by [Ann Patchett](https://time.com/author/ann-patchett/) ## Ann Patchett Jan 19, 2017 5:39 PM UTC  Michelle Obama and Barack Obama embrace during "The Night Before" campaign rally at Independence Hall on November 7, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Michelle Obama and Barack Obama embrace during "The Night Before" campaign rally at Independence Hall on November 7, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Taylor Hill—WireImage/Getty Images by [Ann Patchett](https://time.com/author/ann-patchett/) ## Ann Patchett Jan 19, 2017 5:39 PM UTC It’s an old story: a wise man walks into [the kingdom](http://time.com/collection/the-issues/) of [an angry and mistrustful king](http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2016-donald-trump/) and says, “Go out and find me [one truly good man](http://time.com/barack-obama-joe-biden-friendship-photos/).” The king puts on a disguise and for the next year he talks to every person he meets, not only in his own kingdom, but in all the neighboring kingdoms, and in the end he returns and reports this mythical creature, this truly good man, cannot be found. “Some came close,” says the king. “But when I really examined them, they were, in their hearts, all bad.” And so the wise man goes to the next kingdom, where the king is loving and kind, and he says, “Go out and find me one truly bad man.” This king, too, fails at his task. “I met some people who seemed bad at first,” the king says. “But once I got to know them, I found that there was always some good.” **A great deal** of how we see the world depends on our outlook. For the past eight years, [President Obama](http://time.com/4636294/president-barack-obama-highlights/) has given the American people the example of his careful consideration, compassion, rigorous intelligence and, wonder of wonders, his love. Love was not something I would have previously thought to look for in a President, but now I’m wondering how I’ll do without it. It’s there in all those pictures taken of the President with children, the mutual joy in every encounter. It’s in the expansive tenderness and respect he showed his family: mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, sisters, daughters, Michelle. [Michelle and Barack Obama](http://time.com/barack-michelle-obama-love-story-photos/). If you’ve lived without an example of respectful adult love in your family, all you had to do was look to the White House to see how it should be done. There’s been love in the constant celebration of the achievements of others, in the President’s willingness to shine the klieg light of his attention onto veterans, scientists, artists and educators. He loves [books](http://time.com/4638127/barack-obama-book-list/)! Obama has given more Presidential Medals of Freedom than any other President, saving the last one for his Vice President, [Joe Biden](http://time.com/4633555/joe-bien-presidential-medal-freedom/), whom he called “my brother” at the surprise ceremony. Biden, like the rest of us watching, was in tears. Obama’s final days in the White House have been a fire sale of love: he got it out there as fast as he could, trying to release as much good as the law allowed, and it was not just the attempt to make sure some 18 million Americans will continue to have the right to health insurance, an effort that may well prove futile. It was bigger than that, and it was smaller. One of his Administration’s final acts was to declare the [rusty patched bumblebee](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/01/bumblebees-endangered-species-rusty-patched/) an endangered species, the first bee species in the continental U.S. to be awarded protection. If God has his eye on the sparrow, as I was assured as a girl in Catholic school, then Obama had his eye on the bumblebee. **For eight years,** Americans were the beneficiaries of the President’s example, and I am going to miss it. Love seeps in over time, just like hate. I’d gotten so used to the decency of our President that I had come to think of decency as a right rather than a privilege. I was wrong about that. Presidents, like gods and fathers, have a long tradition of showing their concern through discipline. Obama, who was never short on discipline, seemed to believe that rigor was not undermined by kindness and joy. I keep trying to dissect the enormous lump in my throat as we face the end of Obama’s presidency. Certainly part of it is a fear of the future, and the specter of a new President who stands in stark opposition to everything Obama has worked for and achieved these past eight years. But part of the lump in my throat is gratitude. Obama spent eight years showing us how it’s done. He saw the good in us, he saw the love, and he told us so. Now all we have to do is live up to it. _This appears in the January 30, 2017 issue of TIME._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4639527/ann-patchett-president-obama/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4639527/ann-patchett-president-obama/"},"headline":"Ann Patchett: Barack Obama, Our President of Love","datePublished":"2017-01-19T17:39:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:54:43.425Z","description":"'How we see the world depends on our outlook. Barack Obama has given the American people his example'","url":"https://time.com/4639527/ann-patchett-president-obama/","keywords":["Love","Barack Obama"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt63edd526dab1e615/6988b6320a4a2211ea9cc9d0/barack-obama-michelle-joe-biden-love-presidency.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ann Patchett","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ann-patchett/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt63edd526dab1e615/6988b6320a4a2211ea9cc9d0/barack-obama-michelle-joe-biden-love-presidency.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hillary Clinton Holds Get Out The Vote Rally With Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi","caption":"Hillary Clinton Holds Get Out The Vote Rally With Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi","creditText":"Taylor Hill—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/love/","name":"Love"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4639527/ann-patchett-president-obama/","name":"Ann Patchett: Barack Obama, Our President of Love"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"10 Days that Define the Obama Presidency: Trump's Election","description":"As President Obama's two terms in office come to a close, TIME is taking a look back at the most pivotal moments of his presidency.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/93eTfkcq/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-01-18T21:21:56.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/93eTfkcq.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4639527/ann-patchett-president-obama/","duration":"PT4M10S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4639527/ann-patchett-president-obama/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```