Obama, Our Philospher In Chief

I just started taking The New York Review of Books again after many years. Today, I got my first issue, dated July 14, 2011.

So far, I love it. It's like being on a first date with a real babe. She's smiling and sexy and she wants to do just what I want to do. (Reminds me of an old joke.)

That may not be a good analogy, but you get the idea.

The first article that I love is by--wouldn't you know it--a professor of English. David Bromwich, who is at Yale, says Obama sometimes sounds more like president of the world than president of the USA.

Yes, I think that is right. I think our Commander in Chief sometimes wants to be our Philosopher in Chief, to lead us into new ways of thinking.

Bromwich says, "Obama has always preferred the symbolic authority of the grand utterance to the actual authority of a directed policy...."

These are really cogent observations by a very intelligent person. Right on.

Here is a link:

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/jul/14/obama-his-words-his-deeds/

I haven't read the rest, but I can't wait. I find intelligence exciting. It lights me up.

-- Roger

© Copyright 2011, Roger R. Angle