Book Examines Obama Presidency at Halfway Point

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The Obama Presidency

A new book about the Obama presidency at its midterm examines surprises — his relegation of some of his campaign initiatives to Congress and his retention of some George W. Bush-era policies and personnel during the first two years of the Obama administration.

Three University of Arkansas political scientists — Andrew Dowdle, professor of political science; Dirk van Raemdonck, graduate coordinator for the department of education reform; and Robert Maranto, holder of the Twenty-First Century Chair in Leadership — edited The Obama Presidency: Change and Continuity published by Routledge. The three editors engaged prominent political scientists and public officials, including William Galston, a senior adviser to President Bill Clinton on domestic policy, to offer a midterm assessment of the presidency of Barack Obama.

Obama won the largest popular vote majority since 1988, and along with it came large gains in U.S. House races and a filibuster-proof Senate majority. The editors point out that Obama entered office at a time of economic crisis and two wars and so was poised to become America's first regime-constructing president since Ronald Reagan. Indeed, this was candidate Obama’s stated goal.

Obama's first three years in office have led to significant changes carried out in surprising ways, according to the editors. For example, the president let Congress take the initiative on his signature liberal initiatives, expanding health-care coverage and passing an economic stimulus package. At the same time, Obama continued second-term foreign policies of President George W. Bush by gradually pulling out of Iraq and expanding and reforming the U.S. role in Afghanistan.

Similarly, Obama has reacted to the financial crisis by keeping on board two of the three crisis managers ­– Ben Bernanke and Tim Geithner – employed by Bush. He has also continued and expanded Bush-era education reforms.

In The Obama Presidency: Change and Continuity, the contributing authors seek to explain what accounts for these characteristics shown by the Obama administration. The book can be found at the Routledge website.