I have to start by pointing out that one of the most unusual things about Senator Barack Obama -- for a politician that is -- is that he actually writes his books!

That may not seem astonishing, but it is. Most tomes by elected officials are ghost written or co-authored. But Obama was an author -- "Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance" -- before he became the golden promise of the Democratic Party.

In fact, a lot of my family being based in Illinois, I've heard of Obama a bit when he was a state senator there -- and he was much more the reflective wonk than the charismatic political star. Or so I heard from family. So, rest assured, when it comes to writing, he's the real deal.

So, they (my family) was surprised as anyone who knew him, during his Illinois legislature years, at his transformation into a charismatic personality. Everybody thought of him as the smartest guy in the room, but you practically had to drag him up to the podium to have him speak at a news conference.

Despite his inclusive, passionate media presence, Obama's policies are sometimes criticized as being a bit too centrist. But he's become a true leader in the sense that he makes you believe in him, even if you wish he'd be a bit more progressive on some key issues.

After so many years of nightmarish, Orwellian Republican one-party rule, Obama has the gift to inspire. He, to repear a cliche, gives us cause to dare to hope.

A couple of excerpts from the "Audacity of Hope" will give you an idea of Obama's authenticity, which may become the new defining characteristic of a desirable president:

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“A government that truly represents these Americans–that truly serves these Americans–will require a different kind of politics. That politics will need to reflect our lives as they are actually lived. It won’t be pre-packaged, ready to pull off the shelf. It will have to be constructed from the best of our traditions and will have to account for the darker aspects of our past. We will need to understand just how we got to this place, this land of warring factions and tribal hatreds. And we’ll need to remind ourselves, despite all our differences, just how much we share: common hopes, common dreams, a bond that will not break.”
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"What's troubling is the gap between the magnitude of our challenges and the smallness of our politics -- the case with which we are distracted by the petty and trivial, our chronic avoidance of tough decisions, our seeming inability to build a working consensus to tackle any big problem."
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During his low-key years in the Illinois legislature, some may have disagreed with some of his votes. But anyone who knew him would agree that Obama was and is a man of decency, honor and thoughtfulness.

We can settle for that.

I do support Obama for President and until I read this book I was still unsure but, with having turned the last page, I see that I have to have the audacity to believe in him. That's what I learned from this book. Not policies and politics but an emotion that had fallen asleep inside of me (as it has a lot of Americans): the willingness to believe in someone again and passionate about America.



Recommended: Yes