Change We Can Believe In: Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's Promise

I hear many people saying that Obama hasnt been specific about the changes he will make. Well. Here they are...Read on and judge for yourself if they are the right ones.

This is exactly what I wanted to hear from Barack right now. His policies written down in a handy coffee table book. They asked what his policies were, where he stood on the issues, and here it is. Read it or stop nitpicking that he hasn't been clear.

Regardless of whether you agree with Senator Obama's domestic and foreign agenda, his vision as outlined in "Change We Can Believe In" should finally extinguish the right-wing smear mongers that have consistently labeled him as an "empty suit"; a verbally gifted and ambitious individual without any sorts of definitive, concrete plans. Although those attacks were baseless to begin with, the broad and specific policy discussions in this book lay out the "A - Z" foundation for what an Obama Administration would seek to accomplish - and can leave no doubt that Senator Obama knows exactly what must be done to unravel the Bush legacy.

The book is divided into two broad sections: "The Plan", the first part; and a second section entitled "The Call." It is in the first part that Obama (or, more specifically, his staff writers - he only personally wrote the foreword) lays out the minutiae of his agenda in great detail; policies are grouped around themes such as "Investing in Our Prosperity" which are then subdivided into more specific areas discussing topics as diverse as universal health care, energy independence and the "greening" of American industry, plans to control nuclear proliferation, immigration reform, and environmental protections. Any undecided voter wondering in which general direction Obama plans to lead the nation on any of the important issues will find the answer among these policy prescriptions. The final part of the book, "The Call", serves as more of an inspirational anecdote. It contains seven selected speeches from the primary and general election campaign, including Obama's candidacy speech, the "A More Perfect Union" address from Philadelphia covering how we might achieve an amicable reconciliation in race relations, and the highly acclaimed "A World That Stands As One" speech from Berlin. Even for those of us who have heard these speeches delivered already, reading them again serves as a poignant reminder of the passion that Senator Obama has for serving his country and the world, as well as why he has rapidly transcended traditional political schisms and barriers to become such a transformational figure.

"Change We Can Believe In" should be of great interest to Obama supporters looking to learn even more about his ideals, but I see its true value and appeal being to undecided voters who may be reticent in their support of this newly minted figure due to a perceived lack of specificity on the issues. But while it is rich in merits for its direct confrontation of difficult policy issues, it is ultimately more than a rote series of policy prescriptions and a criticism of the failed McCain/Bush right-wing, reactionary politics; it is a compelling vision of what we can accomplish in the next eight years by working together and committing ourselves to the improvement of this country.

Obama has very bold, but ultimately reasonable plans for fixing the mess that this country has become. His platform is not only just and reasonable, but ultimately executable. This is an excellent primer for all those who say "but how can we really know Obama?"

An excellent breakdown on how Obama intends to get the country back on track. Very forward thinking and logical, he explains how he will pay for all his programs and how he will cut taxes on 95 percent of Americans. Also has a few of his great speeches. great read. vote Obama