Hey Obama Change This’ first book review

Over random intervals, the folks at Hey Obama Change This will be giving our readers a taste of what they’ve been reading. (And we read a lot.)

First up: Alex Abella’s history of the Rand corporation, titled Soldiers of Reason: The RAND Corporation and the Rise of the American Empire.

It’s not wonderfully engaging, but the subject matter is interesting enough to warrant a read. Sadly, the most interesting part of the book is the very last pages, when Abella tells us what he really thinks of RAND and numbers-based systems analysis. His views pretty much squared with my own, but throughout the whole book he presents the history of RAND much like the corporation itself: amorally. He presents a strong narrative of the think tank, but often fails to take it to task for its numerous failings.

What it means for Obama: Stay away from RAND people. If you want to know foreign policy, talk to people who know history, sociology, and psychology. Foreign affairs and diplomacy is not science, but rather a high art.

Maps

Here at Hey Obama Change This, we’re big fans of geography. And why not? How else are we supposed to perform up to par on that ridiculously addictive (and competitive) Facebook Travel IQ game?

It seems that not all of our presidential candidates are up to snuff, however. Here, Johnny Mac confuses Sudan with Somalia.

On the one hand, we can’t blame him that much (yes we can … get it?) They’re both in Africa, they’re both Muslim countries, they’re both struggling with questions of autonomous regions.

But differences remain. Sudan, for one, is in the process of ethnically cleansing Darfur; Somalia gunmen are committing acts of piracy of the Horn of Africa. Sudan has oil; Somalia has cheap AK’47’s.

Either McCain’s once again totally getting the facts wrong (see: McCain is actually pretty dumb about foreign policy but he was a Prisoner of War so therefore he automatically has national security credibility), or he just forgot. Neither bodes well for a potential McCain presidency.

Please, Obama, never misidentify a country, and while we’re at it, keep pronouncing them correctly.