Read biographies

I decided to learn about these presidential candidates during this election period by reading their books, their autobiographies or some kind of story about them. We gave Will Dreams From My Father for Christmas. Barack Obama wrote it before he decided to run for president and before the popular Audacity of Hope. It helps to see where he came from. (as well as refutes emails circulating the Internet). Another Christmas we gave him Faith of My Fathers about John McCain. (I guess we thought he'd like these political figures. You can tell what year it was by the books we gave!) So we'll have to get ahold of some about the other two candidates. If I can find books written before they started becoming political it seems there would be less spin. Is there a good book about Hillary?
I am reading the Obama book now. It has been really interesting. I'm only up to the part where he started working at organizing the African-American community in Chicago. He wrote in one part about this sermon that his pastor Rev. Wright preached called, "The Audacity of Hope". (I guess that where he pinched the book title!) It was inspired by a painting of a woman in rags playing a harp with only one string while famine and war raged around her. He describes the service, what the preacher said and how the people responded.

The desire to let go, the desire to escape, the desire to give oneself up to a God that could somehow put a floor on despair.
And in that single note-hope!- I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh...stories of survival and freedom, and hope.
"Thank you Jesus..You brought me from a mighty long way" (the choir sang)
"'Oh, Jesus, ' I heard the woman beside me whisper softly. 'Thank you for carrying us this far.'"

The human heart cries out for hope. I think we as Christians need to open our eyes to a world in despair that is aching for hope. Hope to make it to the next payday. Hope to make it home from Iraq. Hope to get through college. Hope for a happy marriage. I think we need to be out there with the message of hope for a lost and hopeless, helpless world. Instead of mocking a message of hope, we need to give hope in Christ. You'll say Obama's hope in groundless, but people still hear him saying "hope" for jobs, for unity, for peace and we need to take up that cry and make it possible. Am I living in hope? The opposite is despair, and we see that all around. How can I offer hope to those around me?