Barack Obama is perhaps one of the most self-conscious people to ever be elected President of the United States. In his autobiographical book Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
, Obama unveils aspects of his life that few public officials have ever done. Although Jimmy Carter was open about with his Christianity, Obama displays a spiritual dimension that would place him in a unique position. Even though he embraced Christianity under the tutelage of Rev. Wright, his autobiography makes clear that Obama’s search for the ultimate goes well beyond Christianity.

In the autobiography, he states that while at Columbia University, he stopped drinking and using drugs and started fasted on Sundays and running three miles every day. It was at this juncture in his life that a life-forming transformation occurred that ultimately culminated with his election to the presidency. In many regards it was his search for a father he never knew that lead him to search inside himself for the answers to questions that plagued him from his youth. For instance, Obama was constantly searching for answers and the meaning of what it meant to be a black child in America.

He first sought out African American men who were friends of his grandfather to seek answers to such questions that his white grandparents, as loving as they were towards him, could not provide any clues to such perplexing questions. This search for meaning lead to Obama developing keen cognition and affective development skills that prove very helpful in the position he now holds. His awareness is in a heighten state because of his insatiable search to find answers to questions of existential import. This search for understanding marks Obama as one of the most important thinkers to ever serve as the president and Chief in Commander of the Armed Forces.

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Other Resources

• Meet the New Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin
• President Obama Weekly Address July 4, 2009
• President Obama Weekly Address June 20 2009
• President Obama Weekly Address May 2 2009