Barack Obama's Virtues

Barack's virtues are based off of the opposite of what he saw in corrupt politicians.  He saw how the political system made it hard for the politicians to stay true to their virtues, even Democrats. In fact, the Democrats' recent loss in power made them more likely to fall into corruption and bribery, just to maintain electability. In his book he states,"I think Democrats are wrong to run away from a debate about values, as wrong as those conservatives who see values only as a wedge to pry loose working-class voters from the Democratic base." (52)  

Barack also claims that he learned most o his values from his mother, and that he takes these values and applies them in his decision making in office.  He wrote,
"Like most of my values, I learned about empathy from my mother. She disdained any kind of cruelty or thoughtlessness or abuse of power ....Whenever she saw even a hint of such behavior in me she would look me square in the eyes and ask, "How do you think that would make you feel?" ... I find myself returning again and again to my mother's simple principle -- "How would that make you feel?" -- as a guidepost for my politics."(79)  Barack uses the morals he grew up with and learned as a child and applies them to his adult life.  This works well because I believe that children are innocent, and adults are not. So by using what he learned as a child, he can help to 'purify' our nation with the innocence of children.  Barack is very interesting when he comes to politics; not every politician would turn to his childhood for guidance.

Barack Obama's Audacity of Hope

Barack Obama has just become president, a huge, historical feat.  But before he ran for presidency, he was in the Senate.  Barack had always been a person who helped people, even before he was politically active, but the Senate was a whole new experience for him.  When he first arrived in Washington, he said, "I felt like the rookie who shows up after the game, his uniform spotless, eager to play."(19)  He wasn't experienced, but he was ready to make changes.  His 'teammates' were also very welcoming towards him; they respected him.  But since Barack was a Democrat, Republicans would not be as friendly to him.

In the first chapter, Republicans and Democrats, Barack learns that the world is divided into Republicans, people who like America the way it is, and Democrats, people who see that changes need to be made.  Barack saw how the republicans were more apt to use slander and negative ads to get their points across to America and have their way, but he also saw how some honorable republican leaders were disgusted with modern day politics. He said, "I suspect the Republican leaders weren't entirely comfortable with the direction that politics had taken."(33)  After working in the Senate, Barack developed a sense of respect for the republican party, seeing that they weren't entirely ignorant and brutish.  He knew the world was split between democrats and republicans, but he learned through the Senate that they were all civilized people that wanted what was best for America.