The Audacity of Hope

I just finished reading "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama. In this book, he articulated his policy ideas, and reflections and thoughts on the government, faith, race, the world, and family. It is the second book written by the Illinois Senator. I read "Dreams from my Father", a personal memoir and his only other book, right before that.

As an outsider looking in, and by my current impression of all the presidential candidates, I hope America votes Obama as her next president. That would mean a significant upgrade in intellect and charm from the current one.

Having read about his books, browsed through his campaign website, and watched some of his speeches, I do not understand the attacks on him, mostly by right-wing neo-conservatives: the GOP website about Obama being "an inexperienced, insulated, arrogant, unabashed liberal";Bill O'Reilly on Obama's inexperience in foreign policy; Sean Hannity and his conservative columnist guest comparing Obama's Christian Church to a cult; and Fox News reporting that Obama went to a Muslim Madrasa - implying terrorist connections and accusing Hillary Clinton of being the one to pull up the said claims. The last one is impressive in terms of word play - Madrasa simply means "school" in Arabic but it was used in such a way as to connote terrorism.

And that's my view as a poorly-informed and uninvolved outsider in America.

Here's a NY Times article about Obama, taken from his campaign website: http://www.barackobama.com/2007/03/06/obama_man_of_the_world.php