Obama at the crossroads : politics, markets, and the battle for America's future / edited by Lawrence R. Jacobs and Desmond King.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Jacobs, Lawrence R.

King, Desmond S.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Obama, Barack.

Progressivism (United States politics).

History.

Political leadership.

Race--Political aspects.

Race.

Health care reform.

Financial crises.

Political and social views.

United States--Politics and government--2009-.

United States.

Politics and government.

Obama, Barack--Political and social views.

United States--Economic policy--2009-.

Economic policy.

United States--Social policy--1993-.

Social policy.

Financial crises--United States--History--21st century.

Health care reform--United States--History--21st century.

Race--Political aspects--United States--History--21st century.

United States--Foreign relations--2009-.

International relations.

Political leadership--United States--History--21st century.

Progressivism (United States politics)--History--21st century.

Physical Description:

x, 196 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, [2012]

Summary:

The 2008 election ushered in one of the most legislatively fruitful and politically contentious eras in recent American history. Amidst a profound economic crisis, Americans elected an African American to the presidency-and Democratic majorities to Congress. Beginning in 2009, the President and Congress pursued a sweeping agenda to both address the economic crisis and enact progressive policies. Within a year and a half, they would pass health care reform and financial reform alongside a stimulus package of nearly a trillion dollars. Democrats rescued the auto industry via a partial government takeover and expanded the Bush administration's incipient program for saving the banking sector by pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into it. The Obama administration dramatically increased American commitment in Afghanistan while simultaneously winding down the US presence in Iraq. Yet there were policy failures that intensified political opposition, too. In Obama at the Crossroads, Lawrence Jacobs and Desmond King have gathered some of the best scholars in American politics to take stock of this period. Covering the financial crisis, health care reform, racial politics, the constraints facing modern presidents, and the influence of capital upon the administration goals, this book explains how the Obama administration faced institutional impediments to effective policy making. It serves as a comprehensive overview of how the Obama administration tackled the key issues, it faced upon taking office, and points to why the choices the administration made helped revitalize a conservative opposition that recognized how momentous the new policies actually were. Book jacket.

Contents:

Pt. 1. Obama at the Crossroads

Varieties of Obamaism : Structure, Agency and the Obama Presidency / Lawrence R. Jacobs and Desmond S. King

pt. 2. The Legislative Crossroads

Finance Politics and Financial Reform in the Obama Administration / Daniel P. Carpenter

Reconstituting the Submerged State : The Challenge of Social Policy Reform in the Obama Era / Suzanne Metter

pt. 3. Structural Crossroads : Political Economy and Racial Orders

Situating Obama's Response to the Crisis : Finance, Regulation, and the American State / Leo Panitch

Barack Obama's Election and America's Racial Orders / Rogers M. Smith and Desmond S King

pt. 4. Obama's Critical Juncture

American Renewal and the Politics of the New Middle America / E.J. Dionne Jr.

Barack Obama and the Angry Left : The Fight for Progressive Realism / Lawrence R. Jacobs.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0199845387

9780199845361

0199845360

9780199845385

OCLC:

747099269

Publisher Number:

99948774760