The Phys Ed instructor brought The Audacity of Hope
I particularly enjoyed the third chapter with its descriptions of the Senate and the White House, along with its reverence for Lincoln. I was also taken with the early synopsis of political partisanship: how the 60s defined liberalism and conservatism by attidtude, and how the “anger and oppositional spirit” of the new liberalism eventually led to the rise of Ronald Reagan’s calm conservatism of the 80s.
Reagan spoke to America’s longing for order, our need to believe that we are not simply subject to blind, impersonal forces but that we can shape our individual and collective destinies, so long as we rediscover the traditional virtues of hard work, patriotism, personal responsibility, optimism, and faith.” (31)
Throughout the book it was Obama’s praise for America’s political institutions and its past leaders that I enjoyed most. That, and students’ reactions to the book I was carrying to class: “Oh, that’s that guy from Oprah, right? I LOVE him.”
My disappointment was the feeling that, even after spending so much time with his ideas, I still do not know Obama. He talked up and down both sides of every issue, and often left me wondering just where he stood on the subject. I suppose he’s just a good politician and that many will praise him as an intellectual for this approach; but after 300 plus pages, I’d like to know him a little better.
Ultimately it may take four years of an Obama-Biden administration to better understand him. Whether we’ll be pleased or disappointed remains to be seen.
