Change We Can Believe In

Change We Can Believe In: Barack Obama’s Plan to Renew America’s Promise is a book recently released by Barack Obama’s campaign for president that lays out what he plans to do if elected.  The foreword to the book is by Barack Obama himself.  We got the audio version of the book from the Castleton Square Mall in Indianapolis.  The reader is Andre Blake who does a great job.  He reads passionately and when quoting from Obama’s speeches, he ratchets up the enthusiasm.  He also does a good job reciting the transcripts of some of Obama’s speeches in the last chapters as if he (Andre Blake) is giving the speeches.

The book covers many issues ranging from the economy to healthcare, education, foreign policy, energy independence, and government ethics.  It details how Obama will address these issues and often prefaces statements with “As president, Barack Obama will . . . “  Each chapter begins with a quote from one of Obama’s speeches and covers one major issue or group of related issues.  I found the ordering of the issues by chapter a bit haphazard with the book sometimes switching between foreign and domestic or economic and social issues.  I can’t think of a major issue that the book may have skipped.  It even addresses infrastructure and the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

The scope of the issues covered by the book is appropriately comprehensive but the degree of depth in which each issue is covered varies.  When addressing government ethics, the book presents some good, practical ideas such as making important cabinet and government meetings viewable by the public via the Internet.  The section on families reveals a thorough understanding of what single-parent families go through.  Obama should know since he came from one, though he acknowledges that he was luckier than most since his grandparents played a very active role in raising him.  However, coverage of healthcare and education are a bit vague.  For the former the book describes how the plan will allow those that are satisfied with their coverage to keep it at a lower cost and those dissatisfied or lacking coverage to be given a choice of programs similar to what members of Congress get.  Well, what do members of congress get?  If the plan is “similar to” but not “the same as” then what are the differences?  Do members of Congress pay coinsurance or copayments and will the plan also require them?  The book also mentions reducing medical errors and making the process more efficient but it doesn’t say how.

I’m also not 100% satisfied with how the book addresses education.  It says that No Child Left Behind (NCLB) needs to be “fixed” rather than replaced, how testing needs to be “improved” and “good” teachers rewarded.  It doesn’t go into much more detail than that.  I prefer Hillary Clinton’s statement that she would end NCLB because it turns students into “little test takers”.  But I do like how the book repeatedly says that parents should turn off the TV and the video games and have their children open a book once in a while.

The book isn’t just about what Obama plans to do for America.  It also urges Americans to act.  In addition to urging parents to help their children study, it urges people to participate in national service whether through the military, volunteering, or other methods.  Real change requires contributions from everyone, not just the Federal Government.  A more general discussion describes how the American way used to be if you worked hard you could achieve success.  But that’s changed and not because of the American people and not because of some accident beyond our control but because of misguided leadership and interests other than those of most Americans influencing government.  Obama’s plan is to restore the American way.

Most of Obama’s plans require more government spending.  The book mentions increasing the size of the military to reduce deployment time lengths, expanding AmeriCorps, investing in renewable energies, and giving schools the resources they need to satisfy the NCLB requirements.  It also describes keeping taxes the same for those making moderate incomes, and giving them family tax credits.  These actions will not add revenue.  But tax cuts for the rich will be eliminated along with breaks for large corporations and the tax incentives for companies that ship jobs overseas.  Will that be enough to pay for all the new and expanded programs?  It’s not clear from the book.  I almost wish the book included a rough budget proposal to show how everything will balance out.

The last chapters of the book consist of eight speeches by Obama including the announcement of his candidacy, his win in Iowa, loss in New Hampshire, response to the Reverent Wright’s comments, and a speech delivered in Berlin, Germany about international relations.  The speeches repeat many of the points made earlier in the book.  They include statements more applicable to the topics of the speeches (eg. Reverend Wright) and statements of personal experience (e.g. his grandparents’ raising him).  They’re all very long speeches read clearly and passionately by Andre Blake.  Some almost seem dated given how many things have happened in this past year alone.

Overall, the book gave me a slightly more favorable impression of Obama’s candidacy.  My doubts about it were mostly confirmed but some things impressed me such as increasing transparency of government, supporting dads who pay child support, and helping families.  I’ll be paying attention to the debates in the next couple of weeks and maybe do some more research to determine what kind of change I can believe in.