The Volokh Conspiracy - Does Obama understand evil?--

I read Barack Obama's second autobiography, The Audacity of Hope, in part to try to understand Obama better, but more particularly to see whether he understood evil in the world.

I found myself highly impressed with Obama's fluency and open-mindedness. Some Republicans seem to be trying to depict Obama as some sort of angry, America-hating, hard left-wing ideologue. My sense is that Obama is both quite progressive/left wing (at least for a popular politician) and also very open-mined and non-doctrinaire. Indeed, in his second book I found him highly understanding of those who disagreed with him, especially those in the general public. His only sharp comments were reserved for a few Republican officials (eg, Bush) and media types (eg, Rush Limbaugh). In my opinion, Obama sees himself as highly moral, always pushing for the best progressive reforms, but understanding that others may not be as enlightened as he is.

Yet I got no sense from Obama's Audacity of Hope (covering the post-2001 period) that Obama has any real understanding of the evil we face in the world. I did get a sense that he was somewhat above the fray -- something that comes through in some of the flaps arising during his campaign. Much as his "bittergate" comments suggested, he is quick to try to understand -- and slow to blame -- those with whom he disagrees.

I almost get the feeling that Obama would be comfortable as an honest broker in a dispute between the government of Iran and the government of the United States (with, of course, a natural bias for the position of the United States, the country that he loves above all others).

Accordingly, I found this discussion by Uncle Jimbo at Blackfive (tip to Instapundit) half wrong:

None who have served, well none with more than 4 months in the motor pool, wonder what John McCain proved to us. We know that a man who would refuse to be released ahead of others and allow the enemy a propaganda victory definitely understands and stays true to those three pillars [Duty, Honor, and Country]. The clowns on the left toss out the straw man that he learned nothing about foreign policy there. Well I disagree, he learned at least one thing. Our enemies are evil, ruthless bastards and they do not play by the same rules. Barack Obama believes America is evil and ruthless and needs the cleansing only he can lightwork.

Let's compare the two:

John McCain was so loyal to the men he was imprisoned with he endured torture on their behalf.

Barack Obama associates with those who can help his career, and throws them right under the bus when they become inconvenient to his aspirations.

That single issue of character matters more than all the others combined. You can trust John McCain. You can trust Barack Obama to use you as a stepping stone. . . .

Obama is a feather blowing in the political breeze. McCain is a rock.

I think it's fair to say that John McCain understands evil in a way that Barack Obama has not yet shown that he does.

But I think it a grave error to say that Obama "believes America is evil and ruthless and needs the cleansing only he can lightwork." I think that Barack Obama believes that, on balance, the United States is the best country in the world. (It is interesting, nonetheless, how often over the years his expressions of pride in America have been tied to personal gratitude for the country that allowed his career to blossom.) I think that Obama sees "America's cup" as two-thirds full, but wants to focus on its being one-third empty -- as I would expect any critic to do.

UPDATE (11pm ET): In the over 160 comments so far, people have rightly debated whether we need a president who understands evil. It would seem that there would be situations where having such an understanding would be a help and others where it would be a hindrance. I remember when president Reagan called the Soviet Union "the evil empire." It struck me as somewhat unsophisticated at the time, but Reagan was right. And dissidents behind the iron curtain later credited such statements from Reagan with shoring up their resolve to fight that empire.

If George W. Bush had not understood evil, would he have had the resolve to institute the surge in Iraq? Perhaps, perhaps not.

I see in the comments one or two readers who also read The Audacity of Hope and see, as I do, Obama's real affection for this country (contrary to Uncle Jimbo's claim quoted above). One thing I haven't seen in the comments so far is anyone who read The Audacity of Hope and points me to passages in that book that contradict my claim that I don't see any evidence there that Obama has a deep understanding of evil.

	[Jim Lindgren, July 2, 2008 at 9:36am] Trackbacks Does Obama understand evil?-- I read Barack Obama's second autobiography, The Audacity of Hope, in part to try to understand Obama better, but more particularly to see whether he understood evil in the world. I found myself highly impressed with Obama's fluency and open-mindedness. Some Republicans seem to be trying to depict Obama as some sort of angry, America-hating, hard left-wing ideologue. My sense is that Obama is both quite progressive/left wing (at least for a popular politician) and also very open-mined and non-doctrinaire. Indeed, in his second book I found him highly understanding of those who disagreed with him, especially those in the general public. His only sharp comments were reserved for a few Republican officials (eg, Bush) and media types (eg, Rush Limbaugh). In my opinion, Obama sees himself as highly moral, always pushing for the best progressive reforms, but understanding that others may not be as enlightened as he is. Yet I got no sense from Obama's Audacity of Hope (covering the post-2001 period) that Obama has any real understanding of the evil we face in the world. I did get a sense that he was somewhat above the fray -- something that comes through in some of the flaps arising during his campaign. Much as his "bittergate" comments suggested, he is quick to try to understand -- and slow to blame -- those with whom he disagrees. I almost get the feeling that Obama would be comfortable as an honest broker in a dispute between the government of Iran and the government of the United States (with, of course, a natural bias for the position of the United States, the country that he loves above all others). Accordingly, I found this discussion by Uncle Jimbo at Blackfive (tip to Instapundit) half wrong: None who have served, well none with more than 4 months in the motor pool, wonder what John McCain proved to us. We know that a man who would refuse to be released ahead of others and allow the enemy a propaganda victory definitely understands and stays true to those three pillars [Duty, Honor, and Country]. The clowns on the left toss out the straw man that he learned nothing about foreign policy there. Well I disagree, he learned at least one thing. Our enemies are evil, ruthless bastards and they do not play by the same rules. Barack Obama believes America is evil and ruthless and needs the cleansing only he can lightwork. Let's compare the two: John McCain was so loyal to the men he was imprisoned with he endured torture on their behalf. Barack Obama associates with those who can help his career, and throws them right under the bus when they become inconvenient to his aspirations. That single issue of character matters more than all the others combined. You can trust John McCain. You can trust Barack Obama to use you as a stepping stone. . . . Obama is a feather blowing in the political breeze. McCain is a rock. I think it's fair to say that John McCain understands evil in a way that Barack Obama has not yet shown that he does. But I think it a grave error to say that Obama "believes America is evil and ruthless and needs the cleansing only he can lightwork." I think that Barack Obama believes that, on balance, the United States is the best country in the world. (It is interesting, nonetheless, how often over the years his expressions of pride in America have been tied to personal gratitude for the country that allowed his career to blossom.) I think that Obama sees "America's cup" as two-thirds full, but wants to focus on its being one-third empty -- as I would expect any critic to do. UPDATE (11pm ET): In the over 160 comments so far, people have rightly debated whether we need a president who understands evil. It would seem that there would be situations where having such an understanding would be a help and others where it would be a hindrance. I remember when president Reagan called the Soviet Union "the evil empire." It struck me as somewhat unsophisticated at the time, but Reagan was right. And dissidents behind the iron curtain later credited such statements from Reagan with shoring up their resolve to fight that empire. If George W. Bush had not understood evil, would he have had the resolve to institute the surge in Iraq? Perhaps, perhaps not. I see in the comments one or two readers who also read The Audacity of Hope and see, as I do, Obama's real affection for this country (contrary to Uncle Jimbo's claim quoted above). One thing I haven't seen in the comments so far is anyone who read The Audacity of Hope and points me to passages in that book that contradict my claim that I don't see any evidence there that Obama has a deep understanding of evil.