The Upper House
A Journey behind the Closed Doors of the U.S. Senate
Palgrave Macmillan, New York, NY
ISBN: 978-0-230-62361-3
Terence Samuel takes us inside the U.S. Senate to get a glimpse of how it functions. The book is highly informative and includes chapters that focus on six senators: Harry Reid, Amy Klobuchar, Jon Tester, Chuck Schumer, Bob Corker, and Jim Webb.
You will find that Samuel sprinkles highly-perceptive insights throughout the book. On page 15 Samuel writes: "He [Barack Obama] came to the Senate not as a place to do things, but as a place to be someone." That's a significant statement which illustrates Samuel's outstanding ability to observe and analyze the political animal.
Other observers have voiced the opinion that President Obama sees himself as a man who has risen to the ranks of World Citizen and that he does not see himself as merely an American Democratic Party politician. As a result, observers think that President Obama has left many people in the Democratic Party bewildered by his willingness to give away the store rather than arm wrestle with the Republicans on a number of important issues. Therefore, I can see where Samuel's comment could dovetail with these other observations.
I especially enjoyed the chapter on Minnesota's Senator Amy Klobuchar, since she seems to be a real go-getter, and I feel I know her a bit better now.
(The following link goes to the book at Amazon.)
The Upper House: A Journey behind the Closed Doors of the U.S. Senate
