Dreams From My Father

Checking in quickly to chat about the latest book I'm reading, Barack Obama's "Dreams From My Father".

My book club chose "Dreams From My Father" over "The Audacity of Hope," and I'm glad we did, as it's more interesting to me to read a story that was written before Barack Obama knew he would be running for President. It's tone feels more authentic to me, and I do not read it with the nagging feeling that someone is trying to sell me something (I think ten years in D.C. is starting to wear on me a bit!) While it might not have the purpose or the message of "Audacity of Hope," I feel the tone speaks more to who he is as a person, something I find just as interesting as the overall theme of the book.

It's amazing to me to read our next President talk of cocaine use, drunk driving, pre-marital sex, but what is more amazing is that I hadn't heard these things brought up during the campaign as a mark against his character, a way to score some points for his opponents. I think the reason it never was -- or if it was, the reason it never caught on -- is that these taboo topics are discussed in the book in the context of a life adrift, looking for meaning; of human mistakes that are made as one tries to figure out how to be an adult.

I like this. It strikes me as honest and real, and a great lesson that I think is missed as we watch political candidates sell themselves to the public in a 'holier than thou' light. I think morality is used a lot in political campaigns to appeal to people's sense of how one *should* be, and as a result our leaders attempt to act as if they have never acted inappropriately. We know this can't be the case, but we expect this of them anyway (do you really think Obama could have written this book now, as he was running for both the party nomination and then the presidency? Surely his handlers would have warned him against doing so, cautioning against the backlash from giving voters the wrong impression). I think if we gave our public servants a little more credit for being human, we might get a more honest view of who they are, and as a consequence receive a higher level of service and commitment from them.

Reading this book, I can't say that I like Obama more than before I read it; in fact, I think on a personal level, I like him a little less. But I remain just as impressed with the message he brings to America, and the intellect and thoughtfulness his brings to his life, both public and private.