Obama calls for meaningful debate, wordily.

In The Audacity of Hope, Barak Obama calls for meaningful debate on the important issues facing America. Debate requires the formulation of opinions and the gathering of facts, both of which are evident in the book. Obama offers solutions to many of the problems of this country and has clearly thought long and hard about the strengths and weaknesses of each solution he proposes. However, he encourages the reader to think critically about these issues and formulate an opinion, rather than trying to persuade the reader of the efficacy of his own solutions. Obama assumes that no viewpoint holds absolute truth and that the black-and-white sound bites the media gives the public do more to cloud the real issues than to do any real good. There are always two opposing sides of every important issue, and currently the two sides are concerned mostly with polarizing people to their way of thinking. But a polarizing debate hurts the country, as neither side will ever win the vast majority. Compromise, Obama argues, is not a display of weakness - and polarizing debate does not engender compromise. Only by engaging in a truthful, national debate focused on meaningful information can we as a country progress and improve.

The only downside to this book is the lengthy wording (and excess of commas) Obama uses to state his case. One must read quickly, lest the beginning of a thought be forgotten before reaching its conclusion.