Summary:
Obama acknowledges that many Americans feel that politicians have lost their moral compasses. However, while he makes no excuses for blatant acts of ill will, bribery, or corruption, he contends that the political system itself makes it very difficult for politicians to remain true to their values. In this age of constant scrutiny and 24-hour news cycles, even the smallest, most seemingly trivial action on the part of a politician can be posted to the Internet and held up for criticism. Obama calls for a return to a political sphere in which ideas, values, and action plans matter more than, for example, which type of mustard a candidate requests at a restaurant. He contends that the Democrats’ recent loss of power in Congress and other elected offices have left the party particularly vulnerable to these kinds of issues. Out of desperation to retain electability, Obama claims that many Democrats have morphed into caricatures of themselves, and that part of this charade has been the propagation of even more divisiveness with the Republicans. He concludes that a successful political system demands compromise and collaboration, and that those factions that decry political compromise are too consumed with strategy and minor victories to be truly interested in the overarching benefit of the nation. (Source: Wikipedia: The Audacity of Hope)

Quotes or Topics from Chapter that are Compelling:

"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." (p 52)

"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. ... It's not a question we ask ourselves enough, I think; as a country, we seem to be suffering from an empathy deficit."

Questions to Think About:
1. What is your definition of a moral compass? Do you see this important for a politician to have? What your thoughts on Obama's moral compass? What is your moral compass? ( Question Discussion )


2. What is your definition of values? Do you see this important for a politician to have? Whats your thoughts on Obama's values? What are your values? ( Question Discussion )


3. What does it mean to be "true to your values"? How does this fit in to politics where sometimes compromise and collaboration are needed to pass legislation and policy? ( Question Discussion )


4. Do you believe that the Republicans have won the moral and value highground / lowground? What should Democrats/Green/Independent politician do in reaction to this? ( Question Discussion )

5. What core values do you share with family? Friends? Neighbors? Community? Country? How do we leverage these similarities to build consensus? ( Question Discussion )

6. What does it mean that "no one is exempt from the call to find common ground"?(pg. 68) ( Question Discussion )

7. What shared values do we hold as a country that are being tested today? (pg. 69) ( Question Discussion )
8. How do we hold politicians accountable to the "quality of authenticity"? (pg. 66) ( Question Discussion )

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