Friday, February 23, 2007
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf at the Kennedy Center, January 13, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
The Audacity of Hope, Barak Obama
The Audacity of Hope by Barak Obama
Seldom does a politician write a book, and even more seldom does a politician lay out his political views on a wide range of subjects in a way that everyone can read and understand. Most politicians do not write books at all, although many politicians who seek the Presidency have staff write position papers and sometimes books for them. Politicians prefer to keep their positions on issues flexible and open in order to attract the most voters; stated positions offend voters as well as attract them.
In writing this book, Obama took the step of summarizing not only his positions on issues, but also his way of arriving at positions, his thought process, his personality traits. He wrote this book soon after being elected to the Senate, and well before he decided to seek the Presidency. His purpose seems to have been to summarize for himself his thoughts about key issues facing our nation. I am not aware of any other Senator or Representative who has done this, and for that reason, Obama is a very rare politician. Obama showed in his previous book that he is an outstanding writer, and again in this book, his writing style is eloquent and easy. This book is not as "readable" as his first book because a book about public policy is not as interesting as a book about his lifestory.
As an individual who has spent many years in Washington political work, I am struck by what Obama has done in writing this book in two ways. First, by writing this book, he has shown his intellect to be far greater than that of most other politicians. Few other politicians could have written this book or any book about a wide range of public policy issues. In addition to writing about his own positions on issues, he took the added step of writing about the history of many of those issues and the Constitutional background of the issues. In this book, Obama demonstrates his knowledge of American history and Constitutional law, his analytical abilities, and his facility with the American language. This book is a remarkable feat for a politician (or anyone), just as his first book was a remarkable feat for a young man just out of law school.
Second, in this book, Obama takes a step that is completely out of touch with the political norm in Washington at this time -- he takes a middle ground on most issues, seeking to unite people behind a compromise approach. He writes about both politicial viewpoints on issues, and then suggests that the solution to the issues lies somewhere between those points. He demonstrates that he understands the reasoning and feelings of people who take both sides on issues, and values their reasoning and feelings, and he offers a solution that lies between the two sides. Almost no other politician takes this approach to political issues. Most politicians strive to harden positions, rather than to find ways to bridge them and unite the two sides; they take this approach in order to firm their support with their base, fearing loss of support by taking a middle position.
Most politicians prefer no solution to a problem, no matter how serious, rather than a compromise solution. Our electorial process requires this extreme approach. The extremists are the ones who vote in our primaries, and to win the primaries, politicians must take extreme positions on issues. Politicians who would like to unite people do not win primaries, even though they might win general elections handily. However, Obama takes the approach that a compromise is the best solution, particularly if the compromise can unite people. When Obama speaks about the need to change the ways of Washington politics, it is the concept of seeking to unite rather than divide that he has in mind. This political approach is extremely rare. It is also one that many Americans seem to desire.
This book does indeed have the "Audacity of Hope". The hope that a man who is intellectually brilliant and articulate, and who advocates a unity position on issues, can win elections in America. We will see if that hope is realized.
Seldom does a politician write a book, and even more seldom does a politician lay out his political views on a wide range of subjects in a way that everyone can read and understand. Most politicians do not write books at all, although many politicians who seek the Presidency have staff write position papers and sometimes books for them. Politicians prefer to keep their positions on issues flexible and open in order to attract the most voters; stated positions offend voters as well as attract them.
In writing this book, Obama took the step of summarizing not only his positions on issues, but also his way of arriving at positions, his thought process, his personality traits. He wrote this book soon after being elected to the Senate, and well before he decided to seek the Presidency. His purpose seems to have been to summarize for himself his thoughts about key issues facing our nation. I am not aware of any other Senator or Representative who has done this, and for that reason, Obama is a very rare politician. Obama showed in his previous book that he is an outstanding writer, and again in this book, his writing style is eloquent and easy. This book is not as "readable" as his first book because a book about public policy is not as interesting as a book about his lifestory.
As an individual who has spent many years in Washington political work, I am struck by what Obama has done in writing this book in two ways. First, by writing this book, he has shown his intellect to be far greater than that of most other politicians. Few other politicians could have written this book or any book about a wide range of public policy issues. In addition to writing about his own positions on issues, he took the added step of writing about the history of many of those issues and the Constitutional background of the issues. In this book, Obama demonstrates his knowledge of American history and Constitutional law, his analytical abilities, and his facility with the American language. This book is a remarkable feat for a politician (or anyone), just as his first book was a remarkable feat for a young man just out of law school.
Second, in this book, Obama takes a step that is completely out of touch with the political norm in Washington at this time -- he takes a middle ground on most issues, seeking to unite people behind a compromise approach. He writes about both politicial viewpoints on issues, and then suggests that the solution to the issues lies somewhere between those points. He demonstrates that he understands the reasoning and feelings of people who take both sides on issues, and values their reasoning and feelings, and he offers a solution that lies between the two sides. Almost no other politician takes this approach to political issues. Most politicians strive to harden positions, rather than to find ways to bridge them and unite the two sides; they take this approach in order to firm their support with their base, fearing loss of support by taking a middle position.
Most politicians prefer no solution to a problem, no matter how serious, rather than a compromise solution. Our electorial process requires this extreme approach. The extremists are the ones who vote in our primaries, and to win the primaries, politicians must take extreme positions on issues. Politicians who would like to unite people do not win primaries, even though they might win general elections handily. However, Obama takes the approach that a compromise is the best solution, particularly if the compromise can unite people. When Obama speaks about the need to change the ways of Washington politics, it is the concept of seeking to unite rather than divide that he has in mind. This political approach is extremely rare. It is also one that many Americans seem to desire.
This book does indeed have the "Audacity of Hope". The hope that a man who is intellectually brilliant and articulate, and who advocates a unity position on issues, can win elections in America. We will see if that hope is realized.
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