Have You Read The Audacity of Hope

[Clio the Leo]

Just a little poll to see how many of us have read Obama's second book "The Audacity of Hope." I'm especially interested in what everyone thought of chapter one.

Synopsis:
In this chapter, Obama alternates an account of the unusual campaign that ultimately resulted in his election as the junior Illinois senator with a discussion of the factors that have fostered an atmosphere of severe partisan division in Washington. He notes that according to his own observations, as well as the accounts offered by veteran lawmakers, Congress was not always as intractably divided as it is today. Obama contends that in the past, lawmakers were more willing to overlook their differences in the service of compromise and the public good, and that intra-party working relationships were more apt to be characterized by decorum, collegiality, and genuine fellow-feeling. As such, Obama disagrees with the conventional wisdom that Democrats need to develop a more coherent stance against their Republican opponents. Rather, he contends that the public has long grown weary of partisan rancor. In order to begin to win back the trust and admiration of the American people, Obama exhorts his Democratic colleagues to focus on a strategy of reconciliation and cooperation with their Republican counterparts, while remaining true to the core ideals of the party.

http://www.wikisummaries.org/The_Audacity_of_Hope

It's all right there kids. We had fair warning. ;)

[happychatter]

1. waiting for the DVD

just kidding

[Clio the Leo]

5. ha ha, well technically I haven't "Read" it either.....

.... but I will say that having the President Elect of the United States READ it to me is quite delightlful. Even after hearing it three times. lol

[Alter Ego]

44. Yeah, I went the audiobook route too

and I could listen to Obama read the phonebook. He's got a great voice.

[moc]

49. Me three. I do all my "reading" by audiobook though.

Well, pleasure reading that is. I have to read so much for work (professor) that I fall asleep at night if reading for pleasure.

Yes, listening to President-elect Obama was a bonus too. I found him to be very progressive in his political philosophy but ultimately, very pragmatic.

[graywarrior]

2. I am half way through

[Danieljay]

3. Just got it for my birthday. Problem is, i'm quite ADD and have a hard time finishing any book

completely. gonna give it a shot though.

[Clio the Leo]

6. Just stick to chapter 1 for now ....

... as it directly applies to what we're talking about today (and yesterday and tomorrow and the day after that.)

[FailureToCommunicate]

31. That's where 'books on tape' come in handy. "Harry Potter" series

got us started years ago. There are few things as great as having
someone read to you! Especially if it is our new President Elect. (Or even better,
Jim Dale...)

[bunnies]

4. Yes, I've read it.

Deja Vu - flashback November 2007.

[redqueen]

7. "while remaining true to the core ideals of the party"

Why isn't that part in bold, too?

[Clio the Leo]

8. Because it's a tree, not the whole forest. NT

[bunnies]

9. Because that part wont stir up as much shit.

What fun would that be?

[redqueen]

13. Precisely.

How tiring crap like this is.

[bunnies]

16. We could save a lot of time...

if we just pulled up the threads from a year ago. I think the first 47 million times DU hashed this out was probably enough. :banghead:

[Sebastian Doyle]

57. That's the part that needed to be in bold more than the rest.

my interpretation of what President Obama has said - and you could get this from his speech at the 2004 Democratic convention even if you hadn't read his books was that the PEOPLE can find common ground whether Democrats or Republicans, red states or blue states or whatever. And that is true enough to some extent.

But that doesn't include the segment of politicians who have been engaging in deliberate treason against the American people, whether that's in the form of economic treason, or the more traditional "knowingly acting against the best interests of the United States" treason, which would include a whole Hell of a lot of people since 12/12/2000.

[sweettater]

10. reading it now

so far so good :fistbump:

[ginnyinWI]

11. this book was my introduction to Barack Obama.

My daughter gave it to me for Christmas in 2006. I got around to reading it the following Spring. I didn't really think he had much of a chance to win the primaries but thought that some day he'd probably become President. I purchased and read his other book last Spring--Dreams from my Father.

The differences between the two books: Dreams is his own personal memoir written when he was only in his early 30s. I was very impresssed with Obama as a writer--it reads like a wonderful novel that you can't put down. Audacity is more of a statement about his philosophy of government and how he proposes to fix problems, so it's a good primer on where he stands in the issues.

[TwilightZone]

12. Agreed. To anyone who read the book...

Obama's first weeks as president-elect should come as no surprise.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

14. nope but i didnt think obama was lying when he said he would try to seek compromise

and the middle ground

[onehandle]

15. Oh noes! He's DLC!!!

Ha ha ha.

I am really enjoying the DU freak out.

[wyldwolf]

33. The DLC should have hired him to write their policy manual.

best explanation of New Democratic ideals I've ever read.

[bigwillq]

17. Yes

It was an interesting read. It confirmed my belief that Obama was a centrist.

[AwakeAtLast]

18. I put it on my Christmas Wish List

A couple years ago it was "The Assault on Reason".

I love getting books like that for Christmas!

[SIMPLYB1980]

19. Yep and I'm kinda surprised this poll isn't more like 80/20.

You would think almost everyone on DU would have read it by now.

[Clio the Leo]

22. Unfortunately, I'm not......

.... surprised at all. It's the reason why I made the poll. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not being a book snob, but I was having a hard time understanding how there could be so many people upset with the Lieberman stuff and suspected that maybe folks aren't hip to the word so to speak. lol

Obama is an iconic figure. He represents so many things to so many people. One of the very reasons I voted for him was because he promised this spirit of reconciliation in the hopes (pun intended) of putting our partisan ideas aside in favor of getting stuff done. He has been saying for (at least) four years now that we are greater TOGETHER than we are apart. This is a belief that I know he will carry over in dealings with our friends across the globe.

Now he is also the champion of Republican annihilation. He is just as much the destroyer as he is the rebuilder. The avenger, etc. etc.

But I believe that one of those notions was a short-term strategy needed to put him into place to enacting the second one. ;)

It's hard to adjust from what we're used to. It's easy to want to get revenge on years of Republican control, to make our enemies our footstools so to speak. But I don't know that it's the best plan of action. And I don't believe the President Elect thinks so either.

I know this because he literally told me so. Again .... we had fair warning.

[bigwillq]

24. I read both AOH and Living History

During the primary when it was all but certain that either Obama or Clinton would be the nominee. I voted for Kucinich but I wanted to find out more information about Obama and Clinton so I decided to read the books.

[CTyankee]

34. I read it while I was laid up after surgery in the summer of 2007.

Ithought he was pretty clearly a moderate Democrat then but at the time I was entranced by John Edwards.

I read Living History as soon as I could lay my hands on a copy from the library. I rarely buy books...

[Laurab]

20. I read it about 1 and 1/2 years ago.

So I would agree that we "had fair warning". Reading that book helped me to make my decision in the primaries (for Obama). I also read his first book, and I actually think that one helped me even more - it showed Obama's intelligence, character, integrity, humanity, but more than that, his values and a glimpse of the way his mind works.

I'm skipping a lot of threads on DU these days - I trust the man, and am still so happy that our 8 year nightmare is finally almost over - I'm going to enjoy that feeling for awhile.

[azmouse]

21. I have the book, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

[zulchzulu]

23. Many public libraries have the audio CD version of the book

It's a great way to introduce people to Barack.

[Clio the Leo]

27. Yes, def. suggest the audio version of both books....

... his accents in "Dreams of My Father" are priceless. It takes me about a half an hour to get home from work and I always looked forward to my "Dates" with Barack each night. :)

[Clio the Leo]

28. ... and while I fully support the public library system....

.... if ANYONE deserved more of our money it's HIM (them! The Obamas!) They've got two kids to put through school! They'll need to buy dog food soon! lol

May I suggest they make a GREAT Christmas/Hanukkah/Random Monday present!

[electron_blue]

25. Read both of his books. I found them very interesting, and I agree with you -

anyone who read those books could not walk away afterward thinking Obama was very liberal or 'leftist'. In fact, it was the main reason I didn't vote for him in the primaries. I am, nonetheless, delighted that he won the Presidency. I think many people projected onto Obama what they wanted to see. I am still doing it, myself, to some degree.

[nutshell2002]

26. reading it now..explains a lot

[reflection]

29. I downloaded it on Wattpad

and only made it through the first couple of chapters. It just didn't grab me like I thought it would. Deleted it.

[Clio the Leo]

30. I dont know what a Wattpad is, but it must be broken....

... "didn't grab you!!!" (cluthcing my pears!!!)

Ok ... well try "Dreams of My Father" which is a lot more biography and a lot less policy and maybe you'll enjoy that better.

I have to go sit down now ..... that just blew me away! lol :)

[reflection]

40. Whoops. I am embarassed.

It was actually DoMF that I downloaded, not TAoH. And I couldn't make it through 'Dreams'. That's the one I deleted. Sorry to misspeak. You can unclutch your 'pears' now. (j/k) :D

[Clio the Leo]

46. No! That's even worse!!!!

"Dreams" is the real page turner!!! Oh my!!! I'm about to go to the drug store, surely they make some kind of medicine for whatever it is you have! I'll pick you up something! :)

[reflection]

41. By the way,

Wattpad is a free e-book reader for cell phones. It works like a charm and is great for long lines. I have read many a book via their service. I would highly recommend it.

[Clio the Leo]

47. ah, I have an iphone......

... which will do anything .... seriouly, I can push a button and Obama will be transported right in front of me (But of course I'm saving that feature for an emergency.)

[wyldwolf]

32. yes, loved it... and...

..the DLC couldn't have written a better policy narrative if they'd tried.

[Hersheygirl]

35. Read it about 1 year ago,

Loved the part about Bush turning messianic when he spoke on a particular subject(just can't remember what.)

[TahitiNut]

36. Yup. I read "Dreams From My Father" too.

Basic political literacy, imho.

[tabbycat31]

37. haven't read either of Obama's books

but I want to. I'm waiting until I can find them at the library since I can't afford to buy books.

[always_saturday]

38. Yes, I've read it. And words like reconciliation and cooperation are totally subjective.

There are certain things I'm NOT willing to compromise on.

Abortion rights for example - if Obama ever appoints a pro-life person to anything or gives in to any pro-life person to compromise abortion rights in any way - I will complain loud and long. And if anybody doesn't like it, tough shit!

[4_Legs_Good]

39. I actually listened to the audiobook

which he reads, which makes it extra awesome!

But I also think it's abridged.

David

[wildflowergardener]

42. book

I said yes, but I listened to the book on CD because I thought it would be better read by Barack Obama.

Meg

[shanti]

43. it should be arriving in the mail shortly n/t

[tigereye]

45. I read Dreams from my Father- that was very good

I am going to put this one on my to -read list.

[Cha]

48. Yes, I read it but am certainly glad

to be reminded of that part.

This is only good for our country and for future politics. It's like Dean's 50 state strategy..it only makes sense.

We have a Cosmic Shift happening here.

[RoadRage]

50. I think you can get it on iTunes as a podcast...

I read the book about 3 years ago actually.. it's when I officialy fell in love with the Politician Obama... but, for those who are less booky- and more techy.. get the Podcast. Its worth it!

[TNMOM]

51. yes. read it last summer. eom

[MadBadger]

52. Only 100 pages, but Ive read Dreams From my Father

[Zomby Woof]

53. Yes

Which is why I am amused by all the purity demands and hand-wringing. It's the best Obama primer.

Far more recommended is "Dreams From My Father", which illustrates how his personal identity is reflected in his political identity as well. He can adapt to conflicting demands from within, and from outside himself. Think of it as 'triangulation' with principles and pragmatism prevailing over pandering.

[quiller4]

54. I wouldn't call that warning. It was the encouragement I needed

to caucus for Obama instead of Hilary. I'm in sharp disagreement with many here who are so critical of the staff and cabinet posts announced thus far.

[mmonk]

55. Yep. It's on my bookshelf.

[PretzelWarrior]

56. I have book on CD and listened to it. I own his other book

Dreams of My Father. Read about half before the election in the primaries and then finished it after Nov 4.

[Skwmom]

58. So don't be an outright jerk BUT remain true to your core values. Why didn't you bold that?

[Beausoir]

59. No. I have a TBR pile 3 feet deep...I don't have time for political commercials in book form.

So much good literature...so little time.

I wouldn't waste a dollar on political "memoirs".

[4lbs]

60. I ordered all 4 books by Barack Obama and just got them today.

I'll be reading them in order published.

So, "Audacity of Hope" will be right after "Dreams From My Father".

:D

[backscatter712]

61. Yep, read it, got my copy autographed by the author...

[TexasObserver]

62. Yes, and in my opinion, reading it is essential to understanding Obama.

All the actions he is now taking - regarding Hillary, regarding McCain, regarding Lieberman - are straight out of his playbook. He sees campaigns as pseudo reality that border on the absurd. Governance requires thoughtful effort and a willingness to find common ground.