I am sure I meant to read it before recently, but am glad that I waited. Like so many books which are autobiographically in nature, this one being a recount of Obama's life from before he entered politics through his first term interspersed with glimpse of his childhood, it is often much more interesting for there to be some time having elapsed. Considering all that has happened in our political world, the 2016 and 2020 elections, and the insurrection on 1/6/21, just to highlight a few, it was an amazing read.
Of course, an autobiography, by its nature, will mostly emphasize the positive parts of one's life. Very few people spend money and time to tell the world what a jerk they were, or detail all their failures. And Obama certainly presents his life with Michele, before and after children, the early part of his political career, the sudden rise to national attention, and his first presidential campaign and term in office, as an inspirational story.
But he also expresses uncertainty, not with his family, but in some of the choices he had to make as president. He reminds the reader that, as president, even one who may win a 55 to 45 percent decision, still must face the knowledge that whatever his policies, a significant number of Americans will disagree with his choices. Not to mention, as the first Black President, nothing he does or says will be accepted by that small percentage of the electorate that holds onto the Jim Crow version of America that would never accept him, not even as an equal man, let alone the president. Nor did it help him that outright falsehoods of his birth country were spread by influential members of the GOP. While we know from our history that political partisanship was not invented during Obama's terms, political ideaological differences combined with our difficult racial past, does not equate to an environment of cooperation and compromise.
But be assured, "A Promised Land" does not dwell on obstacles as much as on the perceived accomplishment of Obama. From expanded healthcare coverage availability through the ACA, to the successful discovery and killing of Osama bin Laden, Obama details the inside workings of his time as president. Even more importantly, and in direct contrast to his successor, Obama doles out much praise for the men and women who helped him accumulate and analyze the data towards making those difficult decisions. From Michele to Vice President Biden to the innumerable public servants who served in his cabinet and other elected and appointed positions, Obama makes it clear that a successful presidency is as much about the team as it is about the President. He acknowledges the achievements by naming those who helped them occur, and laments the disappointments without demeaning those who chose not to help him, with the understanding that American democracy requires all view points to be considered. Those opposition leaders who blocked his policies did so because they represented the millions of Americans who did not vote for him, not just because they did not love America, as some people say when faced with opposition to their proposals.
It is impossible to know how the Obama Presidency will be viewed in 20, 30 or 50 years. I expect he will fall in the middle somewhere, not one of the best, not one of the worst. But I hope that all candidates for the office, and especially those who are elected to serve in the White House, spend some time reading his book. His perspectives related to the seriousness of leading a country as diverse as America are priceless, as is his understanding of how such diversity, and the viewpoints that can be gained from seeking out opinions other than one's own, makes a leader as well as our country stronger. It is a lesson that seems to be on the decline in American government today
One thing for sure, Obama was ahead of his time. Too bad not enough Americans realized that during his tenure, and since his departure from the presidency. Let's hope that both parties can find someone with vision, future not backwards vision, so that we have a real choice, as opposed to the less bad of two poor options choice that we may have again. I have often said that we need a Next Greatest Generation to bring us out of our current political morass. In fact, I wrote a story about just such a generation in 2014. (See below).
https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-next-greatest-generation.html
I am hopeful that just such a generation will not only produce leaders who emulate some of Obama's best traits, but demand such leaders. Only then, as with MLK's vision, will the promised land for all of us become more than just a book title.
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I posted once before about Obama. See the link below.
https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2020/07/obama-or-trump.html
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