Monday, February 19 was President's Day. But, what exactly does that mean? According to "Patriotic Holidays of the United States" by Helene Henderson, officially it is designated by U.S. law as the day to honor George Washington's birthday. However, in 1968, Representative Robert McClory of Illinois sponsored the Uniform Monday Holiday Law which not only scheduled most federal holidays to fall on Monday, it also renamed Washington's Birthday to President's Day. McClory hoped to use this as a vehicle to honor President Abraham Lincoln. And now it is popularly considered a day to honor all former American presidents.
And speaking of presidents, have you been following the presidential candidates during the primary process? I am not normally interested in politics, but I am finding myself glued to the television on primary nights to see the incoming results. No matter what your political persuasion, I think we can all agree that this year we are seeing a variety of interesting candidates from which to choose. I am writing this following Super Tuesday and John McCain appears to be on the path to locking up the Republican nomination. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are in a fight to the finish. One of these three will likely be our next president. I'm interested in learning more about them -- their values, beliefs, their backgrounds, and the events that shaped their lives and perceptions. So, of course I looked in our card catalog to find a listing of books. If you are like me and want to know more about this fascinating group, read on for some book suggestions.
Ladies first! "Living History", published in 2003, is the story of Hillary Clinton's life in her own words. Read about her early life in 1950s suburban, middle-class America, her rocky start at Wellesley and how it was only her mother's admonishment not to be a quitter that kept her attending college. And of course the rest is history . . . Her thirty year adventure in the political arena gives a fascinating look at American politics from her viewpoint.
"A Woman in Charge" by Carl Bernstein, published in 2007, gives an outsider's view of Hillary Clinton. Bernstein, who shared a Pulitzer Prize with Bob Woodward for his coverage of the Watergate scandal for the Washington Post, shines the spotlight on Hillary Clinton in this biography of a complex and brilliant woman. In preparation for his book, Bernstein interviewed over 200 people and read presidential campaign records from 1992 compiled by Hillary's best friend. Does Bernstein present an accurate, revealing portrait of Clinton? Read this best-selling biography and decide for yourself.
And now, the other Democratic candidate, Barack Obama. "The Audacity of Hope" is Obama's first book and in it he offers his vision of how we can reclaim the American dream. One way we can do this according to Obama is to foster a political system of inclusiveness, instead of the divisiveness of partisanship. He talks about his background and how this shaped his viewpoint of hopefulness for what we can accomplish.
In "Dreams from My Father", Obama writes of his quest to understand his mixed family heritage. Obama was raised by his white mother and her family in Hawaii. His father, a black Kenyan student, was rarely present, in his life, but after his death Obama traveled to Africa to better understand his family history and heritage. The two books together give insight into Obama and the forces that have shaped his beliefs.
And now onto the Republican candidate John McCain has written two books in conjunction with Mark Salter. The first is "Faith of My Fathers", a memoir of his family. His father and grandfather were both four-star admirals in the U.S. Navy and their beliefs and example shaped John McCain into the man he is today.
McCain's second book "Worth the Fighting For" picks up in 1972 where his first book left off. It tells the story of his return to the U.S. after Viet Nam and serving as the Navy's liaison to the United States Senate where he began his political education.
If you are interested in more information on the candidates and their political stance, a good source is the website www.votesmart.org. This site gives a wide variety of information on the candidates including biographical, voting records, and endorsements.
This is shaping up to be an interesting and important election. Read more about these fascinating candidates and make your choice!