Barack Obama and the Future of American Politics

Book List Review

Street is a former researcher for the Chicago Urban League and a self-described left-leaning pragmatist who supported John Edwards during the Democratic primaries. He offers a substantive and hard-hitting critique of the politics of Barack Obama, deconstructing Obama's presumed progressive posture to one of ambitious and pragmatic politician. From his vantage point as a researcher of race and urban issues, Street examines Obama's race(less) policies that risk shortchanging black America should he be elected president. He notes that Obama has garnered support from the corporations, the media, and the wealthy, the kind of support from entrenched interests that is a prerequisite for any successful American politicians.Still, he recognizes that Obama's centrist to conservative viewpoints are an improvement over a regressive right-leaning Republican agenda. Street raises that likelihood that although an Obama administration will eventually expose the limitations of electoral politics as a substitute for progressive action, he recognizes that it may also engender the reform and activism toward a progressive agenda that is currently absent today.--Ford, Vernon Copyright 2008 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.