The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (Vintage)
by Barack Obama
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Book Summary Information
Author: Barack ObamaEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-07-15
ISBN: 0307455874
Number of pages: 464
Publisher: Vintage
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780307455871
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (Vintage)
Book Review: The Audacity of Barack Obama
Summary: 4 Stars
This is an analysis by chapter of remarks made by Barack Obama. Senator Obama believes that big Government is the answer to everything. Some highly regarded past presidents disagree with him. Thomas Jefferson said "My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government". President Reagan said "Government isn't the solution it is the problem!"
Republicans & Democrats.
[18] Obama complains that Alan Keyes, who never lived in Illinois, ran against him for the Illinois U.S. Senate seat. However, Obama had no such complaints regarding Hillary Clinton doing the same thing in New York. Only Hillary pushed aside a real New Yorker from the same party-Nita Lowey. At least Alan Keyes did not pressure anyone from his own party to stand aside.
[23] Obama falls into the trap of confusing tax rates with tax revenues. President Kennedy proved that by lowering artificially high tax rates, the economy would grow and the treasury would take in far greater tax revenues.
[24] "Liberals are more often grounded in reason and fact". Liberals take the view that all we need is larger Government and we can solve anything. Conservatives take the view that there is a need for limited Government to control excesses committed by Unions, Businesses and rogue nations but that Government should promote policies that stimulate the economy rather than shrink it. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are controlled by Clinton appointees who have salaries + Bonuses in the tens of millions of dollars. Is it good reason to reward liberal political supporters with little business experience to Quasi Governmental institutions only to have them turn a blind eye to their excesses? Is it good reason for Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) to fight the Bush Administration on Wall Street reform and then blame the president when the Democrats' house of cards collapses? Franklin Raines was Clinton's White House Budget Director. Clinton appointed him as the CEO of Fannie Mae where in 6 years he received $90 Million Dollars. He received excessive bonuses by cooking the books for Fannie Mae. It was this democrat's dishonest actions the led to the collapse of Fannie Mae. With a $90 Million largess he had more than enough to spread the wealth around as he did to his favorite Democrat senators. His largest contribution went to Chris Dodd and the second largest to Barack Obama. Jim Johnson was the Vice Chair of Fannie Mae. He headed up Obama's Vice President Selection Committee. Now that is what I call Party loyalty.
[35] Barack Obama is being disingenuous when he talks about the inequities of the Electoral College. He makes the specious argument that the Electoral College favors Republicans over Democrats. He gives the California Wyoming example. Now lets compare two Republican senators from Texas representing a population of 23,507,783 whose votes equal the votes of two Democrat senators from Delaware representing a population of 853,476. Obama got his law degree from Harvard and Con Law is a requirement for all law students. Obama knows very well that the Electoral College was set up to give the small states a greater voice. It had nothing to do with partisan politics. Obams's contention is purposely false. He deliberately and dishonestly misrepresented the issue. Hillary Clinton also made the same specious argument. If we were to eliminate senatorial representation in the Electoral College count the twelve largest States in terms of population would benefit at the expense of the 38 smaller states. Would Joe Biden agree to strip Delaware of 2/3 of its Electoral College votes while California would only lose 3 ½%? I don't think so. And Barack Obama is for the little guy?
[36] Obama talks about conservatives looseness with the facts. When it comes to the the Clintons there is no need to be loose with facts. They are the most corrupt political couple in the history of American politics making Juan and Eva Peron look like upstanding citizens. Ken Starr's report was 100% factual. Democrats were horrified by the sleaziness of the Clintons in the Starr report and even their most loyal sycophants from the press (such as George Stephanopoulos) could not defend them.
[37] He talks about financing "tax cuts for the wealthy". This is nothing more than a tired socialist class warfare argument. The truth is that the top 5% pay 57% of the taxes. They pay more taxes than the remaining 95% of the country. The bottom 50% pay 3% of the taxes. Obama's argument that the rich are avoiding taxes is patently false. Time after time cutting tax rates for the rich have resulted in increased tax payments from the rich. How can this be? It is easy. Government is a drag on our economy and the rich invest in the growth of our economy. A small tax slice from the huge economic pie is greater than a large tax slice from a small economic pie. When will liberals get with the program and realize that tax rates are not the issue it is tax revenues! Also, remember the famous words of Thomas Jefferson "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
Our Constitution
[90] Obama endorses Joseph Breyer's interpretation of the constitution. That it is a living document. The bad thing about a living document is that it can be changed to whatever the majority justices want it to be. This is why it is so important to have conservative Justices who want to hold the constitution to the original meaning set forth by Washington Adams, Jefferson, Monroe and the other signers. We don't need liberals turning the constitution on its head.
[91-92] Obama says "We are free to assert our own values unencumbered by fidelity to the stodgy traditions of a distant past". He is referring to our founding fathers. Its nice to know the high esteem Obama holds for the creators of the U.S. Constitution. Our founding fathers were advocates for a free capitalist society, which conflicts with Obama's dream of a Socialist Utopia where Rhodes Scholar liberals will lead this country and dictate what is good for the intellectually inferior masses. Thomas Jefferson wanted to preserve the constitution and did not want to make it a living document as Obama so desperately desires. Jefferson said "I do then, with sincere zeal, wish an inviolable preservation of our present federal Constitution, according to the true sense in which it was adopted by the States".
Politics
[103] Obama criticizes the corruption of gerrymandering and in the process plagiarizes Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger when he says "voters no longer choose their representatives; instead representatives choose their voters". But who is blocking this redistricting reform. Why none other than the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi who won't allow this to happen on her watch at the Congressional level. However Pelosi is immune from recall because she hails from San Francisco where Che Guevara is revered as a "comrade in arms" and Hillary Clinton is regarded as a right-winger. Only in San Francisco (and Menlo Park) would Hillary Clinton be considered a right-winger.
[116] More class warfare. Barack asserts that Business subverts the very idea of democracy and union workers are its essence. Actually both are the essence of our society. But Obama wants to engage in the politics of divisiveness. This is another one of Obama's tired socialist arguments.
Opportunity
[151] "But Hamilton understood that only through the liberation of capital from local landed interests could America tap into its most powerful resource-namely the energy and enterprise of the American people". As the first Secretary of the treasury he did not liberate money unless you are referring to the Whiskey Tax- a measure that Ted Kennedy would have vehemently opposed had he lived in that era. Obama has a romanticized albeit inaccurate recollection of Hamilton's role as Secretary of the Treasury.
[154] Obama refers to Social Security as "the centerpiece of the new welfare state". Social Security is a safety net in our enlightened Capitalist State. Obama wants a welfare State. Come November the voters will decide whether our great country will be a Welfare State or an enlightened Capitalist State.
[155] "FDR saving Capitalism from itself". Admittedly FDR introduced some much needed controls. He also betrayed the dream of our founding fathers by increasing the role of the Federal Government beyond their wildest dreams. This is why in 50 years the PRC will be the greatest Capitalist Country in the World and the USA will go the way of the United Kingdom unless the American People resoundingly reject Obama's Utopian Socialist dream.
[157] Obama gives Clinton credit for welfare reform. This is rewriting history as Dick Morris would say. The 1994 mid-term elections gave the Democrats the boot and swept in Newt Gingrich and a Republican House and Senate. It was the Gingrich revolution that introduced Welfare reform. Clinton vetoed the legislation 3 times before finally giving into pressure from the American Public. This was Newt Gingrich's work-not Bill Clinton's. Bill Clinton just took credit for what Newt Gingrich did.
[166] Obama rightfully argues for University research. This should happen with 2 conditions. These are 1) No University gets a single dime of federal money until it has a fully accredited ROTC program with students enrolled, and 2) Universities can have no professors favoring one political party over the other in the classroom. Doing so would result in immediate dismissal from the University regardless of tenure. I resent my tax dollars being used to fund Universities' propaganda machines that embellish or lie about the virtues of the Democratic Party while viciously slandering the Republican Party.
[179] Obama argues against the privatization of Social Security because the average investor does not have the requisite knowledge to make wise investment decisions. No argument there. But privatized retirement investment programs have been a resounding success. One has to look no further than CALPERS. The social security system should use the CALPERS paradigm now! Social Security is a failure because the Politicians siphon money from it to trim the budget deficit. Social Security is going broke because of Congress.
[181] Wage Insurance. Obama proposes that when one is laid off from a job and has to take a lower paying job that for a period of 2 years that person would get half the difference in the wages. Suppose a lawyer making $400,000 a year is laid off by a Silicon Valley law firm for poor job performance and takes a job with the Northern California Chapter of the ACLU for $100,000/year. Under Obama's plan average workers making $50,000 a year would collectively subsidize this lawyer to the tune of $150,000 a year for the next two years. Now that's what I call looking out for the little guy.
[193] "That once your drapes cost more than the average American's yearly salary, then you can afford to pay a bit more in taxes". This requires no further comment.
Faith
[214] "Our failure as progressives". For the uninitiated "progressives" is a code word for "Socialists" because it is more palatable. "Someone`s praying, Lord, Kumbaya."
Race
[261] Barack Obama said that he will stand with Arab Americans should the political winds shift in an ugly direction. As well he should. Arab Americans are Americans. However, should Arab Americans be responsible for that shift, such as a successful terrorist attack within our borders by Arab Americans then our leaders would need to reevaluate our national security measures-and that includes increase surveillance over the groups most likely to commit further terrorist attacks based on vetted intelligence and past misdeeds by terrorist groups. Since 9/11 the despised Bush Administration has thwarted countless attempts of terrorism against the United States including the George Washington and Brooklyn Bridges. Many of these failed attempts had involvement from Arab Americans. It would be unfair to indict a whole community for the actions of a few but still some additional security measures would need to be put in place should there be another successful terrorist attack within our borders. Justice Robert Jackson once said "The constitution is not a suicide Pact."- much to the dismay of the ACLU.
The World beyond our borders.
[276] Obama states that the Indonesian "Army targeted not just guerillas but civilians for swift retribution, murder, rape, villages set afire. And throughout the seventies and eighties all this was done with the knowledge, if not outright approval of U.S. Administrations". This is a very serious accusation. But does Obama offer any proof this was done with the approval of our Government? No he did not! Obama's actions are reckless and irresponsible. He also demonstrates a bias against the United States - not an admirable trait for someone running for President.
[278] "In a 2003 poll most Indonesians had a higher opinion of Osama Bin Laden than they did of George W. Bush". He should have added American liberals to that statement.
[279] Obama accuses the US Government of encouraging "tyranny, corruption, and environmental degradation when it served our interests". Not true. Our Government has supported Capitalist regimes over Communist ones. In many instances these regimes did not live up to our hopes and expectations. But our Government never encouraged the bad behavior that Obama accuses it of. We wanted those regimes to be like the US model. What he says just does not ring true and he knows it.
[283] "Republican Senate Leader Henry Cabot Lodge considered the League of Nations and the very concept of International Law as an encroachment on American Sovereignty, a foolish constraint on America's ability to impose its will around the world." Nothing could be further from the truth. Henry Cabot Lodge said in his 12August 1919 speech addressed to President Wilson "We would not have our politics distracted and embittered by the dissensions of other lands. We would not have our country's vigor exhausted or her moral force abated, by everlasting meddling and muddling in every quarrel, great and small, which afflicts the world". Does that sound like Henry Cabot Lodge wanting to impose America's will around the world? Again Obama makes a knowingly false accusation. Henry Cabot Lodge's very own words refutes Obama's contention.
[290] "Clinton himself understood that globalization involved not only new economic challenges but also new security challenges". Bill Clinton understood and did nothing about security challenges. During the Clinton presidency Al Qaeda had repeated terrorist attacks against the United States interests including the bombing of the Khobar towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996 where 19 USAF personnel were murdered; the bombing of U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam; and the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. The Sudanese Government offered to turn Osama Bin Laden over the United States but Clinton balked. Madeleine Albright allegedly said "We can't do that Muslims will hate us." Which gives an insight to the Clinton's administration's view of Muslims. The Clinton administration felt that Muslims supported terrorism. The Bush Administration knew better. The Bush Administration knew that most Muslims are basically good people who abhor the terrorist tactics of Al Qaeda. The surge in Iraq worked partly because of the Bush Administration's resolve and partly because the majority of Muslims supported the U.S. troops over the Al Qaeda terrorists. Harry Reid and Barack Obama wanted the surge to fail because the destruction of an Arab country was a small price to pay for the Democrats to gain power. Bill Clinton's feckless abrogation of his duties as Commander in Chief to protect our country will go down as a shameful chapter in American History. Clinton's personality cannot make up for his lack of courage as Commander in Chief.
[293] "The notion that we could preemptively remove Governments not to our liking was now the Bush Doctrine." Obviously, Obama does not know what the Bush doctrine is because on page 308 he unknowingly regurgitates it. He said "I would also argue that we have the right to take unilateral military action to eliminate a threat to our national security". That is the Bush Doctrine.
[305] The integration of Germany and Japan into a world system of liberal democracies." There is no such thing as a democracy in modern times. Most Governments have a representative or Republican form of Government, also known as a democratic republic. Some, like Cuba and North Korea have no representation at all. It is usually helpful for a presidential candidate to understand the Government structures of the countries with whom he desires to conduct foreign policy.
[307] "The United States won the cold war not simply because it outgunned the Soviet Union but because American values held sway in the court of International Public Opinion". Bull Feathers! The U.S. won the cold war because Ronald Reagan knew that our Robust Capitalist economy was far stronger than Russia's Socialist economy (much to the dismay of liberals) and he engaged in an economic war that bankrupted Russia. Can we afford to have someone as president who has as much understanding of our adversaries as Jimmy Carter?
[315] Obama states that "any global system built in America's image can alleviate misery in poorer countries." President Bush did exactly that in Iraq and was roundly criticized by Obama and much of Democratic Party for doing so.
If the Democratic Party wants to be a viable entity in the 21st century it most jettison the "Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party" and let the Blue Dogs take over. Time and again the Democrats had proven leaders such as Scoop Jackson, David Boren, Sam Nunn, Zell Miller, and Joseph Lieberman who were ready for prime time. But did they ever get the presidential nomination. The answer is a deafening No! Instead they offer up flaccid socialist ideologues who resonate with the moveon.org crowd.
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Summary of The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (Vintage)
The Audacity of Hope is Barack Obama's call for a new kind of politics?a politics that builds upon those shared understandings that pull us together as Americans. Lucid in his vision of America's place in the world, refreshingly candid about his family life and his time in the Senate, Obama here sets out his political convictions and inspires us to trust in the dogged optimism that has long defined us and that is our best hope going forward.Barack Obama's first book, Dreams from My Father, was a compelling and moving memoir focusing on personal issues of race, identity, and community. With his second book The Audacity of Hope, Obama engages themes raised in his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, shares personal views on faith and values and offers a vision of the future that involves repairing a "political process that is broken" and restoring a government that has fallen out of touch with the people. We had the opportunity to ask Senator Obama a few questions about writing, reading, and politics--see his responses below. --Daphne Durham
20 Second Interview: A Few Words with Barack Obama
Q: How did writing a book that you knew would be read so closely by so many compare to writing your first book, when few people knew who you were?A: In many ways, Dreams from My Father was harder to write. At that point, I wasn't even sure that I could write a book. And writing the first book really was a process of self-discovery, since it touched on my family and my childhood in a much more intimate way. On the other hand, writing The Audacity of Hope paralleled the work that I do every day--trying to give shape to all the issues that we face as a country, and providing my own personal stamp on them.
Q: What is your writing process like? You have such a busy schedule, how did you find time to write?
A: I'm a night owl, so I usually wrote at night after my Senate day was over, and after my family was asleep--from 9:30 p.m. or so until 1 a.m. I would work off an outline--certain themes or stories that I wanted to tell--and get them down in longhand on a yellow pad. Then I'd edit while typing in what I'd written.
Q: If readers are to come away from The Audacity of Hope with one action item (a New Year's Resolution for 2007, perhaps?), what should it be?
A: Get involved in an issue that you're passionate about. It almost doesn?t matter what it is--improving the school system, developing strategies to wean ourselves off foreign oil, expanding health care for kids. We give too much of our power away, to the professional politicians, to the lobbyists, to cynicism. And our democracy suffers as a result.
Q: You're known for being able to work with people across ideological lines. Is that possible in today's polarized Washington?
A: It is possible. There are a lot of well-meaning people in both political parties. Unfortunately, the political culture tends to emphasize conflict, the media emphasizes conflict, and the structure of our campaigns rewards the negative. I write about these obstacles in chapter 4 of my book, "Politics." When you focus on solving problems instead of scoring political points, and emphasize common sense over ideology, you'd be surprised what can be accomplished. It also helps if you're willing to give other people credit--something politicians have a hard time doing sometimes.
Q: How do you make people passionate about moderate and complex ideas?
A: I think the country recognizes that the challenges we face aren't amenable to sound-bite solutions. People are looking for serious solutions to complex problems. I don't think we need more moderation per se--I think we should be bolder in promoting universal health care, or dealing with global warming. We just need to understand that actually solving these problems won't be easy, and that whatever solutions we come up with will require consensus among groups with divergent interests. That means everybody has to listen, and everybody has to give a little. That's not easy to do.
Q: What has surprised you most about the way Washington works?
A: How little serious debate and deliberation takes place on the floor of the House or the Senate.
Q: You talk about how we have a personal responsibility to educate our children. What small thing can the average parent (or person) do to help improve the educational system in America? What small thing can make a big impact?
A: Nothing has a bigger impact than reading to children early in life. Obviously we all have a personal obligation to turn off the TV and read to our own children; but beyond that, participating in a literacy program, working with parents who themselves may have difficulty reading, helping their children with their literacy skills, can make a huge difference in a child's life.
Q: Do you ever find time to read? What kinds of books do you try to make time for? What is on your nightstand now?
A: Unfortunately, I had very little time to read while I was writing. I'm trying to make up for lost time now. My tastes are pretty eclectic. I just finished Marilynne Robinson?s Gilead, a wonderful book. The language just shimmers. I've started Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, which is a great study of Lincoln as a political strategist. I read just about anything by Toni Morrison, E.L. Doctorow, or Philip Roth. And I've got a soft spot for John le Carre.
Q: What inspires you? How do you stay motivated?
A: I'm inspired by the people I meet in my travels--hearing their stories, seeing the hardships they overcome, their fundamental optimism and decency. I'm inspired by the love people have for their children. And I'm inspired by my own children, how full they make my heart. They make me want to work to make the world a little bit better. And they make me want to be a better man.
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