Give me Hope Obama

For my birthday last September, I got given a book voucher by a family friend. As it always happens, my wife convinced me to buy a book she had heard rave reviews about, involving the story of some guy I never heard of running for the U.S presidency. Voucher in hand, I headed for the bookstore, still unsure as to what reading matter should grace my bedside table next. After all, I had heard about Malcom Gladwell's 'Blink' from my brother and no doubt (having read a few reviews on the net) it seemed well worth the time and effort to dip into this New Yorker magazine writer's latest offering. But this voucher had been predestined for other things!

The Audacity of Hope. There! Done! Settled! The title alone stopped my mental meanderings, brought my ambivalence to a crashing halt. I thought for a while it might not be fair to pay so little for a book that, for me, got the job done with it's title alone, but then I suppose that's what titles are meant to do-give you a greater sense of appreciation for what lies behind it's cleverly-crafted cover. I have slowly, meticulously pondered over Mr. Obama's comments and am inspired, to say the least, by a man with such a underdog status (not in recent days with the unanimous support of the Kennedy's) to take on such a massive challenge. More than the challenge of the race for the most powerful man in the world, is Obama's daring attempt to push the nation to ward reclaiming the American dream.

I look forward to, in coming blogs, unpack some of what I'm discovering, but for now, I'm happy to tweak Eddy Grant's song about ending the injustice of apartheid in South Africa by singing 'Give me Hope Obama, Hope Obama, Hope until the morning comes!'