How many DU'ers have read Obama's books?

[mnhtnbb]

There is so much criticism of Obama recently that it really makes me wonder about
people's expectations of Obama.

In 2007 when the race for the Dem nomination was just getting started, I didn't have a preference
for a candidate. I was curious about Obama, since I didn't know much about him. I picked
up a copy of The Audacity of Hope. I thought it was quite informative and led me to believe
he would be a center/right Dem candidate. There was praise for Ronald Reagan in the book--and sure enough,
Obama's comments about Reagan became a bit of a brouhaha during the campaign. There was an attempt
to humanize meeting Bush--which, given the opportunity, I would have spit in his face, or certainly refused
to shake his hand.

He didn't endorse single payer national health care. He doesn't believe in marriage equality for gays.
His feelings and his views have been available in print, long before he was elected.

On the other hand, hubby thinks there is a liberal tendency lurking in Obama, just waiting for the opportunity to break out. But he hasn't read any of his books.

So, I'm curious to see how DU'ers break on this poll and whether all the dissatisfaction with Obama
might be predicted based upon expectations not grounded in Obama's own writings.

I have not included Obama's book, Change We Can Believe In, because it was published after Obama had
already won the Dem nomination.

[havocmom]

1. read then donate to local libraries

:D

[liberalpragmatist]

2. I don't think Obama is center-right

And yes, I've read both his books.

I know Obama himself doesn't like labels (something I disagree with him about), but I don't think he's "center-right." The issue is, center-right in relation to what? In relation to DU? Well, of course - most of us are ardent left-wingers. Of course, it's very possible Obama himself is more in spirit with us than he is in practice, as being a political figure will constrain ANYBODY, no matter how liberal or conservative.

(And yes, there's plenty I disagree with Obama on and plenty of things he does that piss me off - such as his slow-walking and ignoring GLBT rights.)

But, again, center-right in relation to what? Compared to past Democratic presidents? Hardly. Compared to other countries in the world? Again, it depends on the context. Certainly, Nicolas Sarkozy, a rightist president in France, is to the left of Obama on certain issues of industrial policy. But on issues like immigration, cultural openness, even Israel-Palestine, Obama is to the left of Sarkozy. Compared to the general public? The American public is fairly moderate - moreso than most DUers like to admit, pushpolls from liberal groups notwithstanding - and I'd say Obama is probably to the left of American public opinion on the whole.

I dislike this exclusionary "so-and-so" is "not a liberal" or "not a progressive," -- it's as if just because someone disagrees with you or isn't quite as liberal as you on certain issues, they aren't liberals or progressives. It reflects a narrowness in viewpoint that isn't healthy. I would hate to see liberals - at this moment, when we look like we're entering a reformist era - to start behaving like conservative right-wingers, who have systematically declared that all "heretics" aren't real conservatives.

[mnhtnbb]

4. I look at it as an issue of balance.

If he's dead center, he's either not straying from the center, or for every left leaning policy
move, political appointment, executive order, etc, there is a counterbalancing move on the right.

Personally, I think there have been more right leaning moves than left leaning moves.

Name some left leaning moves for me and maybe I'll change my perception.

[liberalpragmatist]

9. I don't view pushing for universal health care as a "centrist" or center-right policy move

... Especially if it includes a public plan, which is more liberal than anything Democrats have offered since the '60s.

Yes, single-payer is great, but many countries do not have single-payer systems (such as France, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Japan, etc.), and while I think single-payer advocates ought to be included at the table, the truth is that there simply are not enough votes in Congress for single-payer. I have trust in many of the people advising and working on health care issues with Obama both in the administration and in Congress. Tell me that Ted Kennedy is not a liberal. Or Nancy Ann Deparle, Obama's health care policy czar. These are excellent people and they're pushing a very good plan - one that Paul Krugman has endorsed and far more progressive than anything pushed by any Democratic president or presidential candidates since the '70s.

I also view his outreach at Iran as unprecedented and his moves on Israel/Palestine as very encouraging. I approve of his lifting restrictions on stem-cell research. I approve of his naming Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. I think pushing a cap-and-trade bill which, for all its flaws, is still by far the most aggressive attempt to target climate change in American history, as pretty liberal. (Krugman endorses it; so does Al Gore.)

And Obama's budget submitted last year is just about the most liberal budget since the Great Society days. (See Krugman, again: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/opinion/27krugman.html)

Also, while I'm not thrilled with some of Obama's appointments (i.e. Larry Summers), it's important to recall that much of "centrist" and "liberal" opinion in Democratic policy circles has converged. There are far fewer differences in policy differences these days between Robert Reich and Larry Summers, even. (Although there are disagreements over issues like the banking crisis, where I don't really think Obama has been doing a fantastic job - I think they need to be nationalized and broken up.)

I think another Democratic president might be more liberal in certain areas, less so in others. But, broadly speaking, it's difficult to imagine any Democratic president today being substantially more liberal than Obama or taking on as big a task.

[CTyankee]

3. I read "Audacity of Hope" in the summer of 07 when I was laid up from surgery.

I thought he was a centrist so in the primary I knew what I was getting with him. Since I read the book before I had seen him speak I think Ihad a more realistic picture of him at the very beginning.

[wyldwolf]

7. It's the best Centrist Manifesto I've read.

[wyldwolf]

5. I started respecting Obama much more after reading "Audacity"

[TahitiNut]

6. All the pearl-clutching and posturing ... it's bullshit.

I've read both of Obama's books (BEFORE the election) and I both support and admire the man. That does NOT mean that I either agree with his positions or approaches in every instance NOR does it mean that any time I disagree that I'm "BASHING" the person.

DU seems trapped in the obfuscation between 'message' and 'messenger' ... obsessively equating a disagreement or criticism of some policy position with a condemnatin of the person. That's just utter bullshit and betrays an abysmal failure to engage in rational, civil, and adequately nuanced discussion. DU is becoming a place where "attack the messenger" is the rule rather than the exception, both intrapersonally and with third parties. What utter stupidity.

Obama makes his approach to governance VERY CLEAR. He is the very ANTITHESIS of the "elected dictator" ... the cartoonish notion that a President has some (mythical) mandate to enact and enforce his/her own opinion on EVERYTHING. Hell, that's what was WORST about Smirk/Sneer ... their arrogant assumption of dictatorial power.

Obama is a facilitator both by training and by inclination. He has made it PERFECTLY clear to anyone with half a brain that he will govern according to the prevailing will of all the people ... something we once called "democratically." When DU thinks it's just a matter of angrily harping on having him exert his authority in a manner that matches the plurality base of the Democratic Party, then DU is deluding itself.

While I'm as impatient and angry about DADT and DOMA and a host of other abominations that we've inherited from years of obscene abuse of power, I've been consistent and adamant that the only way we'll EVER correct the course of this nation is to get out and talk to our fellow citizens and voters ... family, friends, neighbors ... WHOMever.

My own political position is to the "left" of Kucinich. Obama was my third choice. That said, Obama is a breath of fresh air. He has a greater degree of personal integrity than anyone I've ever seen in the White House, and I was BORN when FDR was President! There isn't a goddamned thing that Obama has done that surprises me. Not. One. Fucking. Thing. While I disagree with his refusal to release the torture photos, I understand the rationale. While I vehemently disagree with his reticence regarding the enforcement of DADT, I fully comprehend the embedded forces that he must work with who're resisting prompt action on it. He has to work with the personnel who exist THROUGHOUT the federal and military bureaucracy ... and would be playing with fire to fuck with them.

[Willo]

14. +1

[Orsino]

17. Yeah. No options betwen "support" and "have issues with"?

Most of us have issues with our president, I'd guess, whether or not we want to admit it.:D

[TahitiNut]

18. The best I can ever hope for in any elected office-holder is that they LISTEN.

It's abundantly clear that Smirk/Sneer NEVER listened to dissent or constructive criticism. Never. It's of critical importance that valid points of view be given a seat at the table and HEARD.

[Clio the Leo]

8. You are right, there is a correlation....

.... between having read the books and feeling "cheated."

I've been through those books so many times I'e lost count. I have yet to see him do anything that would surpise me and I doubt I ever will.

[Yo_Mama]

10. I'd Like To Qualify My Vote

I read both books and I have issues. That doesn't translate into "do not support".

I admire a lot about Obama, and I think he is an honest man trying to do a good job.

I support some of his initiatives, think some of his policies need work, disagree with some of his proposals, and don't understand enough about other policies (a lot of his program was pretty vague) to know whether they need work or not.

I don't think wholehearted, automatic support of any political proposal is democratic. I don't even think it is fair. No one person can know it all, and even if you gather a group of highly qualified people, when the challenges are unique and highly controversial, most proposals need work. Even good proposals.

There is a reason why we have a Congress. Things do need debate. Representatives need to get input from their constituents. I have been pretty irked about some of the criticisms of Obama here, because I felt they were setting an impossible standard. It would appear that many people on this board wouldn't be satisfied with anything remotely possible. It also appears that some people don't understand the constitutional limitations on a president's power.

I think that many people on this board have fair concerns and worries which should be expressed. The situation in the US is pretty clear: issues which have been cooking for decades have to be dealt with in the next 2-10 years. This is going to require a lot of change, and all such changes should be debated as broadly as possible. A lot of people are under extreme pressure in their private lives, so the debate is going to get loud at times. It's no use getting angry at people because they're worried, and counter-productive to yell at them because they express doubt.

I don't even understand the mindset of anyone who can be automatically "for" anything any one politician suggests.

[Berry Cool]

11. Similar thing here.

I read Audacity, and I have some issues, but they don't translate to nonsupport. I think all too often it's too easy to throw out the baby with the bathwater when you've suffered eight years of a tyrant administration getting nothing but its own way, and then you work and struggle and do whatever you can to get someone into power who you think is the antithesis of that tyranny, and whom you expect to undo all its wrongdoings.

If it doesn't happen with all due speed, it's easy to become discouraged, especially if you're an idealist and/or a cynic. If you're an idealist, you want everything to change for the better on your timetable; if you're a cynic, you can be very quick to conclude that if it doesn't, all your faith and hard work were for naught and this is proof that you/the public have just been suckered by another flimflam man.

Obama is neither a god nor a flimflam man. But those who see him as a flimflam man are very easily annoyed with those who see him as a god, and those who see him as a god are very easily upset by those who see him as a flimflam man. Life would be a lot easier here if the general vision of him were something in between those two extremes.

[liberalpragmatist]

12. I wish I could uprate comments

Because I think yours is outstanding. :)

[Bluerthanblue]

13. I read DFMF . I'm far left of center. I also support Obama.

What "i" WANT and what the majority of Americans 'want' may not jibe- I campaigned, voted for and am glad Barack Obama is the president of this country, even if many aspects of my own political agenda are not being pressed.

This country belongs to everyone. We need to keep that in mind as well as "they" do.

peace~



edited to add missing 'country'

[Hawkowl]

15. Irrelevant

I don't care if in his books he was an upfront middle of the road, devoid of ideology, corporatist. I already knew that. I voted for him in the general election because I had no choice.

Now it is my right, my duty, to criticize and to push him towards progressive solutions to our problems. By progressive, I mean the most benefit to the most people. Putting people ahead of goddamn Wall Street bankers and insurance companies.

So, no, I'm not disappointed. I knew this was coming having watched his career closely from the early 90's as a resident of Chicago, and community organizer.

He should've written a book called "THE AUDACITY OF EXPEDIENCY"

[bigwillq]

16. I read The Audacity of Hope

during the primaries. I have some issues with Obama, but they really nothing to do what he wrote in his book. From his book, however, it solidified him as a centrist. But I already figured that out from what he said publicly, aside from his book.

[Phoonzang]

19. Yeah I'd love too but they're not sci-fi so

there's no room for them in my book queue. ;-)

[davidpdx]

20. I read both and support him

Granted I admit I read Dreams From My Father after he won the election as it's harder and more expensive to get books here in South Korea. I was able to bring back The Audacity of Hope from home when I came back from my last trip in 2007 just after I went to a fundraiser and shook his hand.