Obama's Time
A History
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- $30.99
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- $30.99
Publisher Description
Barack Obama swept into office in 2008, capitalizing on his fresh and compelling political persona, the appeal of his "Hope and Change" campaign, the pre-election financial crisis, and a wave of popular discontent with his predecessor. The nation's first African-American president stirred unusually high expectations, and his first term saw the passage of a substantial economic stimulus package, a large-scale expansion of financial regulation, a drawdown in Iraq, and his signature health care reform. But a stagnant economy persisted. His personal popularity had no effect on the persistent disapproval of his program. The Democrats suffered a severe electoral setback in the 2010 Congressional election. But Obama's exceptional campaign organization, his strong personal appeal, and a weak Republican opponent won him a second term in 2012.
Now his presidency is in its final stage. In Obama's Time, eminent historian Morton Keller has written the first historical assessment of Barack Obama's presidency. Drawing on a lifetime of scholarship on American history and politics, Keller examines Obama's presidential persona and governing style, his domestic and foreign policies, and his place in the broader history of American politics. Obama is deeply committed to active federal government, in the tradition of FDR's New Deal and LBJ's Great Society. But his ambitions have been tempered by the heavy weight of existing institutions and past precedents, strong Republican opposition, and unforeseen events. Keller concludes that this is a time when the centralized bureaucratic state faces a deep crisis of legitimacy. He ascribes the intense party polarization to a political culture in which the media, advocacy groups, and ideologically-driven donors have outsize influence.
Historians will continue to debate the Obama presidency for decades to come. Keller's account of how Obama governed, the larger political context in which he functioned, and why he was unable to close the gap between expectations and reality, will be invaluable to that debate.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Historian Keller (America's Three Regimes) may very well be right that President Obama's time in the White House will not be regarded as a historic era, but he strikes an uneasy balance between impartial survey and partisan critique in what purports to be a balanced look at the current administration. In the preface, he describes himself as "pathologically fair-minded," noting that he would be happy "if Obama's supporters find this book to be overly critical" and "opponents find it to be too favorable." The text, however, situates itself squarely on the right side of the political aisle, describing the Valerie Plame affair as "highly factitious" and suggesting that the Benghazi tragedy merits comparison with Watergate. Similarly, conservative readers will surely be more receptive than liberal ones when Keller refers to an era of heavy government regulation as the "License Raj" or to global warming as the "one-time doomsayers' label of choice." Readers of any political persuasion, however, may blanch at Keller's most far-reaching statements, such as when, comparing the U.S.'s current political polarization to past controversies, he writes that "the Vietnam War ended without the nation being torn apart by it." This study will sit more comfortably among the many Obama critiques already published than in the unoccupied spot reserved for the as-yet-unwritten definitive book on the 44th president.
