One of my New Year resolutions is to do better with my book reports. From the number of Amazon links on this page I’m starting to look like a real book pimp, but honestly, it’s just a nice way to share some insight and a link to surf. I think you often can tell a lot about a book by its cover, and a lot about a person by what they read. But I digress.
Obama-mania, hard to miss it isn’t it? And good for him. But the hype remains a bit of a mystery to me. I’m all about counting down the days until President Nimrod leaves office, and assuming we still hold elections in our county by that point, the 2008 race for the White House will be huge. But it’s sadly a long way away. Remember, Howard Dean was a shoo-in to win the Democratic nod in 2004, right up until people got to cast a vote. So while trying to be wise enough not to race to any early anointments, I’m curious enough to want to learn more, and so my first book finished in 2007 was Barack Obama’s ‘Dreams from My Father‘, and I found it to be a very interesting and enjoyable read.
As a genealogist, I genuinely appreciated and enjoyed reading about Barack’s journey to discover his personal history. It’s not a typical political bio. In fact, the book was written long before he entered politics and there’s been speculation that his candor about drug use could come back to haunt him on the campaign trail. I hope that the opposite is true. Recently when appearing on Leno, Jay had to jokingly ask ‘did you inhale’, and Barack replied without hesitation, “Jay, that was the point”. We don’t need any more liars who pretend to be saints in the White House. We need real people who can admit to being human.
Another appealing trait about Barack Obama is his sense of humor and ability to recognize and laugh at the absurd amount of attention and speculation he has generated. His important announcement on Monday Night Football a few weeks ago was classic. He knows he’s in the spotlight, and he’s not afraid to have fun with it. At the same time, he recognized that the spotlight is now on all Democrats, and he wrote an opinion piece this week about the need for Democrats to not mess up this important opportunity and obligation which the voters have provided.
I’m looking forward to reading his second book, The Audacity of Hope, which I expect will be more issue oriented and less biographical than his first book. We’ll see. I’ve signed the petition at DraftObama.org and I hope he runs. But I’ve got plenty of time to make up my mind. I’m sure Obama would be an excellent President. So would Hillary, and so would John Edwards. George Bush will leave his successor a colossal mess, his legacy will be measured by how deep a hole he can dig, and by how many years he can set back democracy in America. Two years is a long time. But I feel good about our field, and look forward to considering our options, making a choice, and working to help make that person President.