Obama: The Audacity of Hope (First Blog)

I chose this book because it gives a different side to my political beliefs and it well help me to know President Obama better. He has many different views than mine but we can't all agree on everything. He keeps saying that he wants to find "common ground" on issues. I would like to find out what that means. Maybe this book will help me understand how he is going to lead the country. I also want to know how he got as far as he could as fast as he did. He was basically unknown before he made a speach in 2004 at the Democratic National Convention.
A Brief Overview of the First Section:
Obama tended to be restless and did not pay enough attention to all the good things that were going on right around him. When he accomplished one achievement he already was focusing on what he wanted to do next. Issues about Obama’s name: His middle name is Hussein and people identified this name with being a terrorist. He learned from his political campaign that life doesn’t always go as planned and he can’t ever be assured that outcomes will always be favorable to him. He was not confident of his potential success, but believed that if he did not try he would never reach his dream. In a sense he really could not lose the senatorial election, because losing the election would allow him to return to a high income life as a lawyer. He learned how modest most peoples' hopes were. Their concerns were fairly simple. They just wanted a chance in life, to be healthy, safe, and have a government that would achieve a better life particular for their children. He wants to work for the common good. He wants to promote honesty and common sense in government policies. He is a democrat, a Christian, believes in evolution, value of scientific inquiry, free speech, free market competition and so forth. These are values that the reader should know because they have and will influence his decision making process.
From what I have read so far, the book has not really changed my perspective on Barack. I still dont agree with some of his views; he believes in evolution, he is pro-choice, he is against the war in Iraq, and he supports taxing the wealthy more than the middle and lower class.