Who is Barack Obama? What does he really believe? What is his vision for the nation? Despite having written two books telling us about his life, most people still see him as an enigma and many are skeptical that he really is the moderate pragmatist he has sought to portray himself as since the November elections.
Perhaps he could do much to allay Americans' concerns about him by answering these two questions:
1. What ten books that you've read in the last ten years have been most influential in your personal and political life, and what is it about them that you found most significant to you?
2. What five persons alive or dead do you admire most and why?
We can learn much about a man by knowing the books which have influenced him and the people he admires. It would be very helpful in understanding Mr. Obama if we could see those two lists.