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Bestselling author runs for office

February 13th, 2007 Katharine - Sequoya

No, Janet Evanovich and Stephen King are not throwing their hats in the ring to become governors of their states, that’s best left to old action movie stars.  The NY Times nonfiction bestselling author Barack Obama officially started his bid for U.S. presidency today over in Springfield, ILL.  I just finished his book The Audacity of Hope and I have to confess I may be an Obama convert.

Now, of course librarians are, generally speaking, a liberal bunch.  We want to deliver information to everyone, regardless of class, religion, race, or political affliation.  This is what I can appreciate about Obama’s book, he gives us a picture of what America can be without the divisions. One of my favorite quotes from the book was,

“But our democracy might work a bit better if we recognized that all of us possess values that are worthy of respect: if liberals at least acknowledge that the recreational hunter feels the same way about his gun as they feel about their library books, and if conservatives recognized that most women feel as protective of their right to reproductive freedom as evangelicals do of their right to worship.” (p.57)

As someone that cherishes their books as much as my conservative hunting husband loves his gun, this quote really spoke to me.

A recent Capital Times article describes two republicans that are also impressed with Obama’s “politics not as usual” attitude.  An online news site Slate.com has written about him, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, as Obama Messiah.  I would encourage everyone to give this political memoir a read, even if politics are not normally your thing.  It is written very eloquently and plainly and may have a message that will speak to everyone.

Entry Filed under: Nonfiction