I recommend that everybody read "The Audacity of Hope"

If you've already read it, I'd be interested if you agree with my thoughts. If you have not, please read on.

The reason to read the book is so you get a sense of Barack Obama as a man and how he thinks personally and politically. This is not an attempt to change your mind, but to help you understand how our next President thinks and where he's coming from. One of the problems with the President of the United States is that, we the people, are not allowed a window into the mind of our leader. The PotUS is walled off from the unwashed masses and there's an inevitable disconnect with the people and our leader. Barack Obama's book gives us a rare window in to the mind of, soon to be, the most powerful man in the world.

So, I recommend that everybody read this book, even if you disagree with him and his positions to any extent. Understand the man that will have an enormous impact on the next 4 years of your life.

I've found it very helpful during this transition period, for example:

I deeply disagree with Obama's inclusion of Warren for the Invocation on Inauguration Day, not just because of Warren's homophobia, but also because I am a atheist and I'm appalled at any use of religion in an function of government. However the section on "Faith" has been illuminating and has helped me understand better where Obama is with religion and public life. (Plus its the section that has the juicy Alan Keyes bits in it) It also disappointed me considerably, again as an atheist, because he had a secular upbringing but found his faith, later, in adult life. A step backwards, I think, but I do now understand how and where faith is involved in his life, and also understand, that he is deeply respectful to all faiths including those, like myself, with out any.

Having read 2/3 of the book so far, I've come to understand what he means by "Change" and that it is not what many other people believe is "Change" And, so far, he has delivered on his promised "Change" but that "Change" is not necessarily what many people on DU want (or rather, the "change" thus far, is not enough) His picks and positions no longer come as a surprise to me and, so far, he's made good on every promise he's made on the campaign trail. In fact, he has been very consistent with his promises because in the book, you can see his positions on many of the things being implemented now (examples: middle-class tax cuts, tax incentives for businesses that keep jobs in the US, relief for small businesses) were laid out all the way back in 2004-2005.

Read the book if you haven't already, understand the man. Disagree with him if you must, tell him and others that you disagree, suggest other courses of action. But, most importantly, try to understand him as much as possible. It will help your sanity greatly over the next 4 years.

After reading both books I understand Barack Obama's way of thinking better.

I was leaning Obama but wanted to get inside his head and this book provided a good way to do that. I agree that he has been largely consistent. The book paints a picture of an extremely intelligent, thoughtful, centre-left consensus builder -- and someone who is tolerant but not a pushover.

After reading it, I knew he was what we needed -- a person of compelling competence, strength, vision, and humility -- even though I, like you, am an atheist.

:hi:

Great book, and I agree with you (although I'm a Christian who understands his inclusion of Rick Warren). It really lets you understand not only what he thinks, but that he tries to see good in both liberal and conservative solutions.

And, in a sense, the man. Though you and I disagree on faith, we both feel included in Obama's envelope. That's a good thing, and the right thing America needs. We should be inclusive, something we haven't been for the past 8 years. That is change I can believe in.

It's why I was not surprised about his position on Lieberman. I wasn't particularly surprised about Hillary. He is about coalition building. He is about inclusion. So I won't be surprised if he has a Rick Warren on a health care commission. I won't be surprised when he appoints republicans. But Warren is a sign of concerns I had after reading his book. Warren is not inclusive and won't help him build coalitions. He is divisive and will use this honor bestowed upon him by Obama to further Warren's agenda, not an inclusive agenda.

The experience factor has always concerned me. But by the time it was down to Hillary, Obama, and McCain that whole question seemed to be "off the table". None of them really had excessive amounts of leadership experience at the federal level. But I'm still concerned that Obama doesn't "get it". He doesn't get that he's not the same guy that wrote that book. He's going to be the "Office of the President of the United States of America". Everything he says, every place he goes, every person he honors, or ignores, or speaks to has multiple audiences with multiple understandings and multiple effects. Inviting Warren was an extraordinary gesture for which he has since attempted to down play. That seems to imply he didn't understand what he was doing, or he would have invited someone who had the ability to use the honor for extraordinary purposes. As someone else around here said, it would have been better to elevate someone who could have established a "liberal" credibility on the subject of religion and morality. Instead he seems to want to cede credibility on this subject to the right. Coalition building isn't accomplished by deciding everybody else knows better than you. It's accomplished by collecting the like minded and finding the common ground. Considering the magnitude of the honor he is bestowing upon Warren, there isn't that much common ground from which to work. Or there is, and that is an even bigger problem. Because Warren's kind of change isn't what most of the folks that supported Obama was looking for.

One of many I expect. Look, nobody is really ready to be President of the United States no matter what their credentials and experience say. Even Vice Presidents really aren't prepared for the job. The only people ready for the job are the Presidents that won re-election. The job is so unique and difficult (and overwhelming in Bush's case) that there is no amount of preparation, training or qualifications that can ever amount to being "ready" for the job. Its like training to be God, an impossible task.

Everybody has to learn on the job, recall Bill Clinton in the early days as a good example. H.W Bush as a miserable failure, and that came after 8 years of watching (training?) and helping Regan. If anybody was close to being ready, it should have been him, and he screwed the pooch badly. Bush was never ready either, and to this day, still isn't ready. He fundamentally misunderstands what the Office is and how to execute it.

Having read the book I am less concerned with the "experience" thing than I was before. His heart and mind is in the right place and I believe Obama's intelligence and willpower are strong enough to tackle the job.

Having said all that, I'll reiterate again, that I expect more mistakes early on as he learns how to operate the levers of power. He'll learn on the job and things will turn out OK in the end.

If it turns out it is a misstep, fine, as you suggest there will be many. However, if it is one of many steps and represents his reaction to his power, it won't be pretty. And it is beholden upon us to at least let him know that it IS a misstep. And let us hope they are all this small. Because Clinton's started out with DADT and Kennedy's was the Bay of Pigs. Those "missteps" had real consequences. And those things didn't turn out "okay in the end".

Nobody is going to die because Warren had two minutes to recite a prayer. DADT might be a good application here if there is genuine homophobia comming from Obama. So far I have seen none of that from him, but then I saw none of that from Bill Clinton either. So I'll freely admit anything is possible. But for the time being we have no evidence that Warren is an indicator of anything so we shouldn't assume.

But yes it is beholden to us to call Obama out on his mistakes. In his acceptance speech in November he actually asked us, all of us Americans, to call him on this stuff. Personally I appreciated hearing that. So we have (and should have) free license to bellow about Warren's speech but we should also be mindful that Warren might not actually signify hatred toward homosexuals on Obama's part.

I basically did not equate them. In fact, what I suggested is that there are bigger missteps to make. What I did suggest, and what you admit, is that Warren could be a misstep, or he could be an indication of a direction on a particular issue, and in fact how he will handle power.

Neither answer is particularly encouraging. If it is a misstep, it is an indication that he may not really be ready for the office he is about to take. And considering Gaza, Afganistan, and the economy are going to hit his desk on "day one" at "3 am" this isn't the kind of impression that is going to make anyone feel good. If it is a case of an indication of his position on civil rights for all (as many in the GLBT community were concerned prior to this) it means we're headed towards DADT and DoMA all over again. As such, which one makes you feel more optimistic?

I was a republican but after reading his book decided to vote for him. I'm an atheist as well. I wholeheartedly agree with your comments regarding him taking a step back finding his faith. However, I'm not convinced he is a Christian. And there are a lot of other people who think he's probably not either. I do know, he will not let the Christian Right rule the roost like Bush did. He does speak of them in the book as well and how making policies on ideology is a dangerous thing.

Anyways, thanks for your post.

since he won the election.

Anyone who hasn't read these books and questions where he stands, should. He has been telling us all along. He is the most consistent politician that I have ever had the pleasure to vote for.

Some will call me a "fan"; while I call myself informed on such matters. To date, there is nothing that he has done or said that surprised me; nothing.

But Fandom does not mean blindness to whatever it is you're a fan of. I'm a big Detroit Red Wings fan (yeah I live in Chicago, but its a long story) I love my team and I'm 100% emotionally invested in them. Having said that I get pissed with them when they do boneheaded things. Poor acquisitions, and poor execution of play, questionable hits, and other things. In short, on can be a fan and still disagree.

I think many people misunderstand this.

It helps explain a lot of things about where he's coming from with his decisions.

And much of what he's doing now is in the book. Hidden here and there.

The President of my company, a die-hard anti-tax Republican, read it and did feel better about PE Obama. He did, however, was disappointed that there wasn't any clearly laid out, in bold and italics, underlined and indexed while written in simple terms his policies for any and all things under the sun. I told him to read the book again, its all there just tucked in with the overall narrative of each section of the book.

I find it very interesting how two people can read the same text and come to do different conclusions.

Obama's priorities are not going to be with making any kind of drastic or revolutionary changes in social issues such as gay rights, women's rights, or other civil rights. He's made this very clear in both his statements and his decisions to date.

Instead, Obama is going to focus on improving U.S. infrastructure and systems, both here and abroad. I believe that he will seek to re-regulate industries, notably finance, that have gone completely off the rails over the past two decades. He will also do whatever he can to bring the U.S. out of its foreign wars. He will seek to shore up our economy and attempt to prevent a global depression. If he succeeds at these things his presidency will be highly successful.

Like you, I am no longer surprised at Obama's inclusion of Warren, choice of Tim Kaine for DNC chair, and other appointments. He will set up a fairly conservative administration and seek to achieve bipartisan consensus on measures needed to stop the bleeding.

It's a vast improvement over the past eight years, but a long, long way from where this country needs to go after we get it stabilized. nd who knows? Obama might find himself at the vanguard of an important social reform - such as health care - whether he chooses it or not.

question all of the people who are shocked and upset with him. He is going to be a brilliant President for All of the people!!