Barack Obama and the future of American politics / Paul Street.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Street, Paul Louis, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Obama, Barack.

Presidential candidates--United States.

Presidential candidates.

United States--Politics and government--2001-2009.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (321 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, 2016.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Many Americans believe Barak Obama represents a hopeful future for America. But does he also reflect the American politics of the past? This book offers the broadest and best-informed understanding on the meaning of the "Obama phenomenon" to date. Paul Street was on the ground throughout the Iowa campaign, and his stories of the rising Obama phenomenon are poignant. Yet the author's background in American political history allows him to explore the deeper meanings of Obama's remarkable political career. He looks at Obama in relation to contemporary issues of class, race, war, and empire. He considers Obama in the context of our nation's political history, with comparisons to FDR, JFK, Bill Clinton, and other leaders. Street finds that the Obama persona, crafted by campaign consultants and filtered through dominant media trends, masks the "change" candidate's adherence to long-prevailing power structures and party doctrines. He shows how American political culture has produced misperceptions by the electorate of Obama's positions and values. Obama is no magical exception to the narrow-spectrum electoral system and ideological culture that have done so much to define and limit the American political tradition. Yet the author suggests key ways in which Obama potentially advances democratic transformation. Street makes recommendations on how citizens can productively respond to and act upon Obama's influence and the broader historical and social forces that have produced his celebrity and relevance. He also lays out a real agenda for change for the new presidential administration, one that addresses the recent failures of democratic politics.

Contents:

Cover; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Table of Contents; Preface; Introduction: "A Man for All Seasons?" The Dark Essences of American Politics; 1 Obama's "Dollar Value"; 2 The Other Hidden Primary; 3 How "Black" Is Obama? Color, Class, Generation, and the Perverse Racial Politics of the Post-Civil Rights Era; 4 How "Antiwar"? Obama, Iraq, and the Audacity of Empire; 5 Obama Nation: Sixteen Reasons; 6 Beyond the Narrow Spectrum: Citizens, Politicians, Change, and the Obama Phenomenon; Afterword: Imagining a Progressive Future; Acknowledgments; Appendix A; Appendix B; Notes; Index

Notes:

"First published 2009 by Paradigm Publishers"--t.p. verso.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-315-63589-5

1-317-26340-5

1-317-26339-1

9781315635897

9781315248271

OCLC:

935252614