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Books by and about 2020 presidential candidates
Crippled America,
by Donald J. Trump (2015)
United,
by Cory Booker (2016)
The Truths We Hold,
by Kamala Harris (2019)
Smart on Crime,
by Kamala Harris (2010)
Guide to Political Revolution,
by Bernie Sanders (2017)
Where We Go From Here,
by Bernie Sanders (2018)
Promise Me, Dad ,
by Joe Biden (2017)
Conscience of a Conservative,
by Jeff Flake (2017)
Two Paths,
by Gov. John Kasich (2017)
Every Other Monday,
by Rep. John Kasich (2010)
Courage is Contagious,
by John Kasich (1998)
Shortest Way Home,
by Pete Buttigieg (2019)
The Book of Joe ,
by Jeff Wilser (2019; biography of Joe Biden)
Becoming,
by Michelle Obama (2018)
Our Revolution,
by Bernie Sanders (2016)
This Fight Is Our Fight,
by Elizabeth Warren (2017)
Higher Loyalty,
by James Comey (2018)
The Making of Donald Trump,
by David Cay Johnston (2017)
Books by and about the 2016 presidential election
What Happened ,
by Hillary Clinton (2017)
Higher Loyalty ,
by James Comey (2018)
Trump vs. Hillary On The Issues ,
by Jesse Gordon (2016)
Hard Choices,
by Hillary Clinton (2014)
Becoming ,
by Michelle Obama (2018)
Outsider in the White House,
by Bernie Sanders (2015)

Book Reviews

(from Amazon.com)

(click a book cover for a review or other books by or about the presidency from Amazon.com)

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

Published Sept. 9, 2008



(Click for Amazon book review)

Click here for 41 full quotes from Barack Obama in the book Change We Can Believe In, by Barack Obama.
OR click on an issue category below for a subset.

BOOK REVIEW by OnTheIssues.org:

This book details Obama's presidential platform. The platform is organized by Obama's campaign, with a personal foreword by Barack Obama. The book includes seven of Obama's key speeches, which we excerpt below. They are:

Declaration of Candidacy2/10/07, Springfield IL
Iowa Caucus Night1/3/08, Des Moines IA
N.H. Primary Night1/8/08, Nashua NH
A More Perfect Union (address on race)3/18/08, Philadelphia PA
Father's Day6/15/08, Chicago IL
Renewing American Competitiveness6/16/08, Flint MI
A World That Stands As One7/24/08, Berlin, Germany

We'll use this opportunity to analyze the McCain-Obama race. McCain comes into the election with three strikes against him:

  1. A bad economy favors Obama because McCain has little economic background, and economic issues traditionally favor the Democrat. With the ongoing financial crisis, the economy will certainly be high on voters' agendas on Election Day. McCain took a shot at raising his profile on this issue, by "suspending" his campaign for an economic vote, but that tactic did not play too well.

  2. Bad news from Iraq favors Obama because McCain has invested so much in the success of the surge. Obama gains by focusing on his "judgment" early against the war, if Iraq is discussed at all. If there's GOOD news from Iraq, that DOES help McCain, but BAD news typically gets more headlines. And the ongoing expense of the Iraq war, at $10 billion per month, clearly ties the Republicans' and McCain's Iraq stance to our economic woes.

  3. McCain is hurt further on both of these issues by being tied to Pres. Bush. McCain has made strides in distancing himself from Bush, but he worked WITH Bush on the economic crisis, and AGREES with Bush on the surge. Distancing himself on other issues is challenging, since those two issues so dominate the news.

With three strikes against him -- and BIG strikes -- McCain has his work cut out for him. McCain's slide in the polls reflects that challenge. All Obama has to do is carry on looking presidential, without any serious gaffes, and the election is his.

-- Jesse Gordon, jesse@OnTheIssues.org, Oct. 2008

 OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)
Budget & Economy
    Clinton left behind a surplus; Bush squandered it.
Civil Rights
    Legalized discrimination meant blacks could not amass wealth.
Crime
    Reformed death penalty by listening & compromising.
    We need more cops; but we also need more families.
Education
    To compete, students need at least H.S. & college degree.
    We need real commitment to education; instead we got NCLB.
    $10 billion to guarantee early childhood education for all.
    Pay for college education for those who commit to teaching.
Energy & Oil
    Harness homegrown, alternative fuels like ethanol.
    $150B over 10 years to establish a green energy sector.
    All nations must act to reduce carbon emissions.
Families & Children
    Admit that too many fathers are missing from too many homes.
    I know what it means to have an absent father.
    Reward fathers who pay child support with larger EITC.
Foreign Policy
    In Berlin: proud citizen of US; fellow citizen of the world.
    Dangers of intertwined world can’t be contained in borders.
    Cooperation among nations is not a choice; it’s the only way.
    In Cold War, we won hearts & minds; now do same to world.
Free Trade
    Impossible to turn back globalization; we’d be worse off.
    Don’t let trade policy be dictated by special interests.
    Global trade is unsustainable if it favors only the few.
Government Reform
    Use technology to shine a light on spending.
Health Care
    Universal health care by end of first term.
Homeland Security
    Wrote law to secure & destroy world’s deadliest weapons.
    $4,000 tuition tax credit in exchange for community service.
    Seek the peace of a world without nuclear weapons.
Principles & Values
    Moved to Illinois as community organizer, for $13,000 a year.
    I’ve been in DC long enough to know that it must change.
    End politics of division; make it about addition.
    Hope is the bedrock of this nation.
    We are choosing hope over fear.
    In no other country is my story even possible.
    This candidacy is not just an exercise in affirmative action.
    We’ve never really worked through complexities of race.
    Working together we can move beyond some old racial wounds.
    This union may never be perfect, but can always be perfected.
Tax Reform
    Middle class tax cut helps offset rising cost of gas & food.
Technology
    Broadband in heart of inner cities and rural towns.
    Double basic research funding; make the R&D tax permanent.
    National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank: $60B in 10 years.
Welfare & Poverty
    Welfare policies contributed to erosion of black families.


The above quotations are from Change We Can Believe In
Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America

Published Sept. 9, 2008.

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