Reading for Obama: Thursday, May 8 at 7:00 PM
May 2, 2008 | Filed Under Election 2008, Events, Around town | No Responses
On Thursday evening, May 8th, a group of local actors and writers will be reading from Senator Obama’s two books, Dreams From My Father and The Audacity of Hope at the home of Roddy Stanton at 304 South Yellowstone at 7:00 PM. Gary Fish, Cara Wilder, Gillian Swanson, Gatz Hjortsberg, Dee Dee Van Zyl, Margot Kidder, and several other local performers and writers will present selected pieces of Mr. Obama’s literary work. If you vote early after May 5th and bring your “I Voted” sticker you will have your favorite passage read by one of these actors. For more information call 222 2439 or Liz Jaff at the Obama for America office in Bozeman 586- 8447. To sign up , visit the BarackObama.com events page for this event.
My addition to this announcement is to encourage you to also read Obama’s books in their entirety. Barack Obama wrote both of his books himself; Hillary Clinton’s were ghost-written. This is interesting in light of Clinton’s attempt to paint Obama as a plagiarist when she knew he was not, and because it’s clear that Obama found his own voice decades before the New Hampshire primary when Clinton said she had finally found hers. He obviously has the chops to organize, think, and write with tremendous intelligence, authenticity, directness, and commitment to the issues he is still talking about today. More to the point, the books demonstrate his grasp of American history, constitutional issues, the concerns of Americans of all stripes, and the fact that only a fundamental change in politics will improve the life of our democracy. As I read The Audacity of Hope, I found that the man is a brilliant writer, deeply grounded in Americans’ experiences and concerns, and absolutely spot on about what ails our democracy. As I read, I thought Clinton is devoted to prescriptions and symptoms, but Obama sees what needs to be healed in the American heart, soul, and body politic. And he has pratical ideas for how to achieve the better health we can all enjoy. The May 8 event should prove to be delightful (thanks to our local talent) and insightful.
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