Barack Obama - Dreams from My Father

I think it would be extremely difficult to say that anything in this book leads me to believe that Barack Obama would become President of the United States. If so, it would only be with the advantage of hindsight.

What the book does indicate is that this is a man of quality, intelligence, deep thought and leadership, as is exemplified by his election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review -- a task not to be underestimated by any means. As well, his magna cum laude graduation from Harvard Law gives us some insight. I suppose one could suggest, again with hindsight, that these events would be some sort of signal that the man was capable of achieving almost anything he desired, including the presidency.

If I might cite some of the things I learned from the book as evidence of his future potential, the first would be his struggles throughout his young life to find his own identity as the bi-racial son of a white woman and African man. The second would be his candid portrayal of his own faults, including the use of cocaine -- not something a politician would want to admit.

The last would be the title of this book. The fact that Obama found inspiration from a father who was a drunk, a Ph.D., and who abandoned him and bothered to see him only once as a child, is a statement, I believe, of a man who thinks in broad terms about the humanity of people rather than harboring bitterness.

Some bemoan the fact that Obama wrote relatively little about the white mother who stuck by him and raised him, and I agree with that. However, he often praises her verbally, so we know the love for his mother is deep.

Perhaps it is the combination of these things that gives an indication of future greatness or at least an impression of a man with unlimited potential for accomplishment beyond the ordinary.

Bibliography

Obama, Barack. Dreams from My Father. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2004.