The Audacity of Hope
Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
Ratings52
Average rating4
Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics--a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the "endless clash of armies" we see in Congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of our democracy. He explores those forces--from the fear of losing, to the perpetual need to raise money, to the power of the media--that can stifle even the best-intentioned politician. He examines the growing economic insecurity of American families, the racial and religious tensions within the body politic, and the transnational threats--from terrorism to pandemic--that gather beyond our shores. And he grapples with the role that faith plays in a democracy. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to our Constitution, he says, can Americans repair a broken political process, and restore to working order a government dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans.--From publisher description.
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It's really weird reading this book more than a decade later and having so much of it still be relevant. I have never read anything by a politician but I saw it at the library and thought to give it a shot. It is reminiscent of most of the things I've heard Obama talk about. I think what got me thinking about him again was seeing him on the Netflix show with David Letterman. Seeing him and reading him in today's political climate made such a stark contrast.
I would highly recommend giving it a read.
This book should be a must read for anyone considering voting for Obama this November. It provides insights into his political beliefs and you get a very good idea of his justifications for his stances. It is also a very accurate reflection of the ideals of the progressive liberal movement.
I thought this was an excellent book for several reasons:
First was Obama's writing style. I think that most who have seen him will agree that he's a gifted orator (even if they disagree with his policies), and his speaking style translates into his writing style rather well. He's good at capturing his own voice.
Second was the way in which he seamlessly blends the personal with the universal, telling stories about his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia, and of his relationship with his family, and using them to illustrate larger truths about society and American polity. For a book that could have been little more than the first step in Obama's election campaign, it reads a lot better than that.
Lastly, there's the actual content of the book. Obama distills his thoughts on most major policy issues that a US president would face, and does so in a way that illustrates why his policies would be beneficial from a standpoint that tries to speak to both Republicans and Deomcrats. It's in keeping with his general attitude about bipartisanship, and it's the type of attitude that's really needed if the US is going to adopt more liberal social policies.
