I couldn't help but marvel, when I read what Barack Obama "took away" from reading Reinhold Niebuhr.

I marveled that a leading Democratic presidential candidate was quoting my favorite political philosopher, whose thoughts I grew to appreciate at Wheaton College under the tutelage of my old-guard political science professor, whose stints in the Navy and intelligence gave him (and by extension me) an unshakable sense that whether or not we wish it were otherwise, realpolitik will always define the way the world really works. Notwithstanding, I think Niebuhr attracted my professor because he did not yield to the cold, calculating world of Bismarck and Kissinger. Apparently, Niebuhr drew Obama for the same reasons. David Brooks quotes Obama describing Niebuhr's contribution:

[He has] the compelling idea that there’s serious evil in the world, and hardship and pain. And we should be humble and modest in our belief we can eliminate those things. But we shouldn’t use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away... the sense we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard, and not swinging from naïve idealism to bitter realism.

The irony of this Brooks column is that Reinhold Niebuhr would no doubt poll below Lyndon LaRouche in the name recognition department (most unfortunate), but the essence of Niebuhr -- the striving for a way to be in the world that's neither cynical calculation nor credulous idealism -- comes up again and again as something that unites Americans.

As Tarek notes in a post below, many's the person inspired by a candidate's vision but disappointed by his execution of that vision. It remains to be seen whether Obama can translate this fine balance into practical policy steps that remain more or less faithful to his vision. But it's refreshing to see that while Obama has struck the right tone to connect with a broad swath of Americans from a messaging standpoint, he's got more than politics on his mind.