Barack Obama is quickly becoming America's most popular politician, and his run for the presidency has brought huge crowds at home and an unprecedented wave of international attention as well. Much more than a biography, this book is a political tour of Obama's legislative experience as well as his ideas about race, religion, and politics. Political writer John K. Wilson, author of four previous books including a study of Newt Gingrich, explores the reaction Obama has received from the left, the right, and the media. As the first presidential candidate from Generation X, Obama has generated an exciting movement of young people to support his campaign as he defines a new kind of broadly popular progressive politics. As improbable as such a quest may be this fresh new candidate may be just the right one to bridge not only generations but ideologies that often divide. Amid all the hype surrounding Obama, this book provides the first in-depth look at what he believes, what he represents, and how he might transform American politics.

About the Author
John K. Wilson is the author of The Myth of Political Correctness: The Conservative Attack on Higher Education (Duke University Press 1995) and How the Left Can Win Arguments and Influence People: A Tactical Manual for Pragmatic Progressives (New York University Press 2001).

Reviews

"And if you will join me in this improbable quest, if you feel destiny calling, and see as I see, a future of endless possibility stretching before us; if you sense, as I sense, that the time is now to shake off our slumber, and slough off our fear, and make good on the debt we owe past and future generations, then I'm ready to take up the cause, and march with you, and work with you. Together, starting today, let us finish the work that needs to be done, and usher in a new birth of freedom on this Earth."
-Senator Barack Obama, announcing his candidacy for the presidency, Springfield, Illinois, 10 February 2007

"Will Barack Obama be the next president of the United States? Should he
be? John Wilson thoughtfully examines these questions in a perceptive and incisive analysis of Obama's appeal to the American people."
-Geoffrey Stone, the Harry Kalven Jr. Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, and author of Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime from the Sedition Act of 1798 to the War on Terrorism

"...essential reading for anyone wishing to try to make more sense of contemporary American presidential politics and social policy. Highly recommended for all libraries."
-Stephen K. Shaw in Library Journal

"...a thoughtful look at what Obama's candidacy means"
-Booklist

Book Information
ISBN 9781594514760
Author John K. Wilson
Format Hardback
Page Count 272
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Inc
Weight(grams) 453g