I recently read 'The Glass Castle' by Jeannette Walls, recoimmended by my American DiL.
It's the most moving account of a dysfunctional, poverty stricken upbringing in Arizona and West Virginia - the poorest state in the USA.
Jeannette Walls tells her story without a trace of self-pity. She became a respected journalist in New York and helped her siblings escape too.
Thanks for the link j08
I agree, Obama is very restricted by the American electoral system and not having a majority in the House of Representatives.