41 thoughts on “What Obama’s Reading”

  1. Given the high regard many SM’ers jutifiably hold Zakaria in, my suggestion would be use the paypal link, and wait at least until the book is available in your library (or in the $.50 bin, where it probably belongs).

  4. I take great solice in the prospect of having a President that actually reads books. Moreover, the fact that he has a world view that goes beyond simplistic thinking should make all of us jump for joy.

  5. Yes, but do you want to share a beer with him? Thats the kind of President we want and not one who reads books by center left hispters like Fareed.

  10. Would people be interested in having a ‘group read’ of this book at some point in the next month?

    My “India After Gandhi” series kind of ran out of steam last fall, mainly because work (I do have a day job) started to get the better of me. But this is a shorter book, and we could probably work through it in two or three sessions, divided by week.

  11. More like two or three books a week. Last time I read.

    Nice not to have a day job.

  12. My “India After Gandhi” series kind of ran out of steam

    Amardeep – I’d be up for finishing I.A.G if people were still interested. But a smaller book might give us a concrete timeline.

    More like two or three books a week. Last time I read

    Ok, all petty Bush jokes aside, I highly doubt this!

  14. He reads a lot

    He does, but the problem is he generally reads books that reinforce his viewpoint, not challenge them. BTW – most of us do that, whether it is books or blogs.

  15. Ok, all petty Bush jokes aside, I highly doubt this!

    I am no Bush-fan, but I really doubt he is as dumb as people think he is. I have heard many people say he sounds much smarter in person than he is giving a speech. That said, all that reading can’t prevent you from picking the wrong people to work for you, and committing some big fubars.

  16. Bush maybe reads comic books. Obama, OTOH, writes like someone who reads Nabokov and Lawrence Durrell and Vikram Seth and lord knows who else.

    My “India After Gandhi” series kind of ran out of steam Amardeep – I’d be up for finishing I.A.G if people were still interested. But a smaller book might give us a concrete timeline. More like two or three books a week. Last time I read Ok, all petty Bush jokes aside, I highly doubt this!

    Amardeep, please keep up/carry on/finish up I.A.G.– I want to finish reading it, and what’s a read without Amardeep’s Book Club?

  17. hope he reads friedman too. btw, he taught at the u of chic, home of the philosophical foundation of the neocon movement: straus, bloom, wolfowitz as well as the constituion in exile movement. perhaps this is the real secular madrassa to which kerrey was referring.

  19. btw, he taught at the u of chic, home of the philosophical foundation of the neocon movement: straus, bloom, wolfowitz as well as the constituion in exile movement

    I have met 2-3 people who knew Obama at UChicago and apparently Obama was a straight up leftist on these issues. I dont think there is any evidence to suggest that Obama looks at the constitution in exile movement with even the remotest of favorability.

  20. Bush is not dumb. BUt he is intellectually extremely lazy. Let’s face it. If finances were not a problem, everyone should always try to experience a little bit of life in another country just to experience some diversity of perspective. Bush had every opportunity to be well versed with the world considering his dad was a CIA guy, a UN guy, a Chinese ambassador guy. He just thumbed his nose at it all , and has been flailing away trying to make sense of the 9-11 world.

    And in response to another comment labeling Fareed as center-left, only in the MSM can one term Fareed a center left where moderate is actually slighty conservative. And I actually think Fareed is pretty moderate and may be construed as center-right if anything.

  21. And in response to another comment labeling Fareed as center-left, only in the MSM can one term Fareed a center left where moderate is actually slighty conservative. And I actually think Fareed is pretty moderate and may be construed as center-right if anything.

    His foreign policy views are certainly center-right. I stand corrected.

  23. I don’t think it’s helpful to conflate one’s distaste for Bush with whether or not he is literate. Literacy has been a huge theme for Laura and GW, and is a pet project for both (not only promoting reading, but reading themselves). Of course reading does not imply knowledge, understanding, or critical engagement. We also don’t know what he reads — he’s probably more like you than not and reads things that reinforce his interests and viewpoints. GW has enough shortcomings that we don’t need to be lazy or cheap with the shots.

    Fareed Zakaria is center-left? News to me.

  24. i’ve heard fareed say his sympathies are generally with moderate republicans and “DLC democrats” (this was back when the DLC was relevant). he’s a pretty vanilla establishment type who can express CW with some fluency from what i can tell. i liked future of freedom; but i’m getting tired of him talking about how china and india don’t believe in god. china is certainly less religious than the USA or the islamic world, but the typical indian is a theist and religion is a very salient issue (though he makes a point about missionary religions which is probably more on point).

  27. Rahul-

    Bush famously declared he doeasn’t read the newspaper or much else. He receives briefings…The guy is an intellectual lightweight. Obama, Clinton, McCain are in a different league. They have an understanding of history. GWB simply does not.

  28. http://www.slate.com/id/2162837/pagenum/all/

    “President Bush is sometimes a boastful anti-intellectual, but in the past year he has been touting his reading lists and engaging in who-can-read-more contests with his chief political adviser, Karl Rove. (Bush claimed to have read 60 books in just the first seven and a half months of last year, the pace of a full-time reviewer.) There even seems to be a White House book club.”

  29. Would people be interested in having a ‘group read’ of this book at some point in the next month?

    That’d be great! Also would like you to pick up on, “India After Gandhi”, in a SM-reader contribution format, for getting through that book.

  30. 22 · Rahul S said

    He’s center left and center right. Depends on the issue.

    Which might as well be the definition of “just plain center.”

  32. I haven’t read a lot of Zakaria’s stuff after the initial stages of the war. He seems to have moved further to the left in hindsight but he was pretty influential in getting popular support for the war to begin with which is why it’s really surprising that people think he’s so level-headed and moderate. His influential cover story The Politics Of Rage: Why Do They Hate Us, especially the last bit, reads pretty much like a checklist of reasons why people wanted to start nation-building in Iraq to begin with.

  33. Readig this post and commentary had me thinking this morning that maybe when Bush called the veterans am “awesome bunch of people” that was his way of updating spoken usage. But somehow not really. Manju, I bet he does read Friedman.

  34. My “India After Gandhi” series kind of ran out of steam last fall, mainly because work (I do have a day job) started to get the better of me. But this is a shorter book, and we could probably work through it in two or three sessions, divided by week.

    Amardeep, thanks for this explanation which frees me up from carrying so much guilt. All this time I thought you stopped the series because I had stopped reading.

  36. I wonder how much of these books politicians and celebrities actually read or if they are props for photo-ops. Not that I doubt Obama’s intelligence but things like this scream “Look at me. I’m intelligent and fit to lead the world.” I’m sure that each candidate has an advisor whispering in his or her ear to be seen carrying this book when traveling to this particular state since “it plays well with the voters”.

    It kind of like how I carry around but don’t actually read copies of The Economist to give people the impression that I am well-read and informed. That and listening to Radiohead.

  37. I wonder how much of these books politicians and celebrities actually read or if they are props for photo-ops.

    He’s a lecturer at U Chicago Law school. He seems to be a genuine intellectual, and a book like that, for a professor, is more of a fun read than a heavy one.

  38. I wonder how much of these books politicians and celebrities actually read or if they are props for photo-ops.

    Seconding what Ennis said. Also notice that he’s marking his page with his finger. Very common thing to do when you’re interrupted reading and expect to get back to it soon.

  39. Word on the street: Barak smokes a lot of cigs. I wonder how the media would react if any Republican presidential nominee would be treated if he smoke the way Obama does.

  41. i’m sure obama smokes herb and plays ball wit his inner circle. thats where he gets his wisdom from. hes toned down the herb lately but i think he’ll break it out the day before important speeches. his membership in a black church is a dissimulated rastafarianism