Wow, a president with a functioning brain

I've just finished reading Obama's book Audacity of Hope. I sincerely recommend it. Not only was it an enjoyable read but also for some of the topics he covered he provided historical context. This makes the book more accessible to the average reader (or the reader that has forgotten some bits of political history). His straightforward style with which he walks you through his thought process on tough issues like abortion, race, and faith really conveys the message that he's a rational, reasonable person. I know the bar for what we expect in a president was set incredibly low with Bush in office but, really, Obama is quite impressive.

Oh and he has a grasp of what it means to be a responsible member of the global community! It seems like such a feat given many world leaders. Below is a short quote from the chapter entitled The World Beyond Our Borders:

"...for those who chafe at the prospect of working with our allies to solve the pressing global challenges we face, let me suggest at least one area where we can act unilaterally and improve our standing in the world - by perfecting our own democracy and leading by example...When we detain suspects indefinitely without trial or ship them off in the dead of night to countries where we know they'll be tortured, we weaken our ability to press for human rights and the rule of law in despotic regimes. When we, the richest country on earth and the consumers of 25% of the world's fossil fuels, can't bring ourselves to raise fuel-efficiency standards by even a small fraction so as to weaken our dependence on Saudi oil fields and slow global warming, we should expect to have a hard time convincing China not to deal with oil suppliers like Iran and Sudan - and shouldn't count on much cooperation in getting them to address environmental problems that visit our shores."

I hope this doesn't sound too gushing - I was just impressed again by the president-elect.