"Unfortunately, too often in our national debates we don't even get to the point where we weigh these difficult choices. Instead, we either exaggerate the degree to which policies we don't like impinge on our most sacred values, or play dumb when our own preferred policies conflict with important countervailing values. Conservatives, for instance, tend to bristle when it comes to government interference in the marketplace or their right to bear arms. Yet many of these same conservatives show little to no concern when it comes to government wiretapping without a warrant or government attempts to control people's sexual practices. Conversely, it's easy to get most liberals riled up about government encroachments on freedom of the press or a woman's reproductive freedoms. But if you have a conversation with these same liberals about the potential costs of regulation to a small-business owner, you will often draw a blank stare."
[p. 57, The Audacity of Hope, Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, by Barack Obama]
This passage is one that Tomcat, my hubster, was particularly impressed with. He just started reading The Audacity of Hope, and I told him to be prepared because there's so much more to come as he reads on, especially when the Senator gets into specifics about the issues, such as healthcare, trade, and foreign policy.
So many times all we know about a candidate comes from media soundbytes, press releases from the candidates' campaign people, and, too often and especially in the case of Sen. Obama, vicious rumors and deliberate distortions from extremists.
But this time we have another resource, the book the man wrote, that shows us exactly how he thinks. He's not some flash-in-the-pan inexperienced lightweight.
* He has more years' experience in elective office than Sen. Clinton
* He is a youthful looking man, but is in fact in his mid-forties - if elected in 2008, he would be one year older than JFK and one year younger than Bill Clinton at inauguration
* He has a Harvard law degree, was the Editor of the prestigious Harvard Law Review, and he taught Constitutional Law.
I was looking at some blogposts over on MyBarackObama* this morning. Someone suggested buying a few copies of The Audacity of Hope to pass on to others, and a guy from Austin said he had already come up with a website, The Obama Book Project, where people could track the progress of the copies they gave out by looking at the Guest Book. The site is still under construction, but I hope he gets it going soon because I'm going out today to buy copies of the book and start them circulating! Basically, you sign the book "To: (someone), From: (you)" and include the URL for The Obama Book Project. Then you give the book to the (someone) with the proviso that when they've finished reading it, they sign the Guest Book, then pass the book on to someone else with the same instructions.
It's a great way to get the word out so that people can learn who Senator Barack Obama is and what he thinks.
* I have a blog there, called O-Peeps. If anyone would like to have access to it, email me (at the address shown in my Profile) and I'll send you the link. Better yet, sign up yourself at BarackObama and create your own blog - let me know about that, too, so I can lurk! :)
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