The anonymous blogger who tracked down this cutting appears exceedingly concerned to prove to people that it's not a fake, which seems unnecessary, since Obama's opinion of Bill Ayers's book has been quoted in several reputable places already. (The Amazon reviews page for the book seems weirdly unvandalised, by the way: the only two reviewers there both give high ratings to Ayers's study of the US juvenile court system.) Some in the right-wing blogosphere think Obama's review is evidence of Obama's lack of candour on his relationship with the former Weather Underground co-founder. But of course the really condemnatory thing about it is how practised the young state senator clearly was, even 11 years ago, at writing cliched book blurbs. "Searing and timely," indeed: presumably he thinks Ian McEwan's Enduring Love was a "tour de force", while the latest Andy McNab is "a real page-turner"? Anyway, read the original blogpost -- it's a searing and timely investigation into Obama's past by one of the most compelling new voices on America's blogging scene! I couldn't put it down.
