Barack Obama: The Man and His Presidency at the Midterm
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SPOTLIGHT
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Barack Obama: The Man and His
Presidency at the Midterm
Fred I. Greenstein, Princeton University
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Portions of this article are drawn from the author’s book The transferring to Columbia University, where he majored in politi-
Presidential Difference: Leadership Style from FDR to Barack cal science and graduated in 1983.
Obama (Princeton Unviersity Press, 2009). On the surface, the young Obama stood out for his intelligence
and poise. Inwardly, he was troubled about the inconsistency
T
he American president is not Aristotle’s unmoved
between his black features and the remoteness from the life expe-
mover, but there have been episodes such as the
rience of most African Americans that resulted from his upbring-
Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 in which it was up to
ing in a white family. As he later put it, “I was attempting to raise
the chief executive to take actions of incalculable
myself to be a black man in America, and beyond the given of my
importance. It should therefore be no surprise that
appearance, no one around me seemed to know exactly what that
there is intense interest in understanding the qualities that each
meant” (Obama 1995, 76). During his coming-of-age years, Obama
new chief executive brings to his (or, at some point, her) respon-
indulged in drugs and alcohol, but he also immersed himself in
sibilities. In what follows, I attempt to provide insight into the
writings on philosophy, religion, and the African American expe-
qualities that Barack Obama brings to his presidency by review-
rience. His reading included Saint Augustine, Nietzsche, Ralph
ing his formative years, pre-presidential years, and presidency as
Ellison, Richard Wright, and works on the civil rights movement
of November 2010. I conclude by discussing his strengths and
(Obama 1995, 85–86; Mendell 2007, 58–61; on Obama’s little-
weaknesses in the realms of public communication, organiza-
recognized erudition, see Kloppenberg 2010).
tional capacity, political skill, policy vision, cognitive style, and
As his graduation from Columbia approached, Obama decided
emotional intelligence (Greenstein 2009a; Greenstein 2009b; see
that he wanted to become a community organizer. “There wasn’t
also Barnes 2010).
much detail in the idea,” he recalled:
A COMPLICATED BACKGROUND When classmates in college asked me just what it was that a commu-
Barack Hussein Obama, Jr., was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on nity organizer did, I couldn’t answer directly. Instead, I’d pro-
August 4, 1961. He is the son of Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., a nounce on the need for change. Change in the White House, where
black African from Kenya, and Ann Dunham, a white American Reagan and his minions were carrying on their dirty deeds. Change in
from Kansas. Obama’s parents separated when he was two and the Congress, compliant and corrupt. Change in the mood of the coun-
later divorced. His only memories of his father are drawn from a try, manic and self-absorbed. Change won’t come from the top, I would
brief meeting when he was ten and occasional correspondence. say. Change will come from mobilized grass roots. (1995, 133)
Obama is noteworthy not only because he is biracial, but also
because organized religion played no part in his childhood. His Obama sent his résumé to every civil rights organization and
mother was an agnostic humanist, and the grandparents who progressive black politician he could think of, but there were no
helped raise him were not religious. takers. He then sought a more conventional job to pay his student
Obama’s mother married an Indonesian man in 1967, and the loans and found an editorial position with a firm that provided
family moved to Jakarta, where the young Obama attended local businesses with information about overseas markets. After a year,
schools in which Indonesian was the language of instruction. In he resigned to devote himself to the search for a community orga-
1971, Obama returned to Hawaii, where he lived with his grand- nizing job. In 1985, he joined the staff of a church-based organi-
parents and attended the academically rigorous Punahou School zation in Chicago that placed him in charge of establishing job
from fifth grade through his graduation in 1979. He went on to training and tenants’ rights programs in a predominately black
study at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years before public housing project, a position he held for three years.
In the course of his work, Obama became aware of the impor-
Fred I. Greenstein is a professor of politics emeritus at Princeton University. His books tance of churches in the African American community. He made a
include Children and Politics (1965), Personality and Politics (1969), The Hidden- point of getting acquainted with many of Chicago’s black minis-
Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader (1982), How Presidents Test Reality (1989,
ters, including Jeremiah Wright, the pastor of Trinity United
with John P. Burke), The Presidential Difference: Leadership Style from FDR to
Barack Obama (2009), and Inventing the Job of President: Leadership Style from
Church of Christ. He joined Wright’s church, and Wright became
George Washington to Andrew Jackson (2009). He is presently writing a book on the his minister and occasional advisor. Being a church member had
chief executives from James K. Polk to Abraham Lincoln. He can be reached at the practical effect of making Obama a more effective community
fig@princeton.edu. organizer, but it also helped satisfy the growing spiritual needs
doi:10.1017/S1049096510002180 PS • January 2011 7Spotlight: Barack Obama: The Man and His Presidency at the Midterm
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that had previously led him to read philosophy and theology sage of laws that tightened the ethical standards for public officials,
(Obama 1995, 272–87; Obama 2006, 202–08; see also Miller and provided tax credits for low-income workers, and increased child
Wolfe 2008). Obama eventually concluded that he would be bet- care subsidies. His signature law mandated the videotaping of police
ter able to serve the population with which he had been working interrogations of homicide suspects, thus ending the practice of
if he became an attorney. He was accepted to Harvard Law School coercing confessions.To win support for this measure, Obama nego-
and entered in the fall of 1988. Before the start of the academic tiated with party lawmakers, the governor, and police representa-
year, Obama acted on his longstanding desire to better under- tives. Despite initial opposition, the measure was passed by a
stand his African roots and spent five weeks in Kenya, getting to unanimous vote (Peters 2008; Scott 2007).
know members of his father’s family. Obama’s soaring ambitions were not satisfied by serving at
Obama proved to be an outstanding law student. In his second the state level. In January 2003, he entered the race for one of
year at Harvard, he was elected president (the equivalent of editor- Illinois’s seats in the U.S. Senate. His first hurdle was the March
in-chief ) of the Harvard Law Review. A noteworthy aspect of 2004 Democratic primary. In the weeks leading up to this event,
Obama’s editorship was his success at working with both liberal he surged to the head of a large field of candidates with the help
and conservative members of the editorial board, foreshadowing of a blizzard of television advertising that noted his endorsement
the conciliatory leadership style he has often evinced in politics. by a number of the state’s leading party leaders, labor unions, and
Because he was the first African American to head that presti- newspapers. Obama won the nomination with more votes than
gious journal, Obama’s selection was widely reported in the media all other candidates combined.
(see, e.g., Butterfield 1990). Between the time that Obama won the Senate nomination
One result of this attention was the contract he received for and the general election, he was invited to deliver the keynote
what became his 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father: A Story of address at the Democratic National Convention in late July—an
Race and Inheritance. Obama graduated from law school magna event that would transform his political career. Obama had come
cum laude in 1991 and returned to Chicago, where he directed a to the convention organizers’ attention for the fluency of his
project that registered large numbers of African Americans to vote, speeches in the Illinois senate campaign. His convention address
joined a law firm that specialized in civil rights litigation, and reflected what has been referred to as a “post-partisan, post-
taught a popular course in constitutional law at the University of racial” political stance. He expressed his pride at his own mixed
Chicago Law School. In 1992, he married Michelle Robinson, a race heritage, deplored efforts to play up the nation’s divisions,
graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, whose and stressed the importance of the ties that unite Americans. Then,
family is rooted in the Chicago African American community. in a rhetorical flourish that made him an instant political celeb-
rity, Obama declared that that “there is not a liberal America and
POLITICAL ASCENT a conservative America—there is the United States of America”
In 1996, a state senate seat representing Chicago’s South Side and “there is not a black America and a white America and Latino
became vacant when Alice Palmer resigned to seek the Demo- America and Asian America—there’s the United States of America.”
cratic nomination (which, in Chicago, is tantamount to election) The convention was electrified. One further effect of Obama’s
for the U.S. House of Representatives. Obama announced that he address was that Dreams from My Father was reprinted and quickly
would enter the primary for her former seat, established a cam- became a bestseller. Another outcome was that Obama was soon
paign organization, and began to raise funds. Palmer failed in her in great demand as a speaker, drawing audiences that responded
quest for the House nomination and made it known that she to him with the fervor usually reserved for entertainment celeb-
wanted to return to the state legislature. A number of influential rities. His election to the Illinois Senate became a virtual inevita-
Chicago Democrats urged Obama to make way for her, but he bility when a personal scandal forced his Republican opponent to
refused. Instead, he authorized his aides to scrutinize the signa- drop out of the race and the GOP substituted the perennial office
tures on the petitions required for a listing on the primary elec- seeker Alan Keyes, whose highly conservative message had lim-
tion ballot. All of his opponents were disqualified because they ited appeal in Illinois, as its candidate. Obama was elected with
had too few petitions with valid signatures. Obama therefore ran 70% of the vote—the record for an Illinois statewide election.
unopposed. He alienated Palmer, but his career as an elected offi-
cial was underway. TO THE WHITE HOUSE
Obama served in the legislature from 1997 to 2004. At first, he Obama announced his candidacy for the presidency on February
was viewed with skepticism by other legislators because of his Ivy 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois, using the Old State Capitol in
League credentials and what one of his biographers describes as which Abraham Lincoln delivered his 1858 “house divided” speech
the “policy-heavy and overly intellectual” content of his speeches as a backdrop (Heilemann and Halperin 2010). He was one of
(Mendell 2007, 122). Obama soon mastered the politics of the state three frontrunners for the Democratic nomination, with the oth-
capital, however, even learning to play poker and golf so that he ers being New York senator and former first lady Hillary Clinton
could be present in the informal settings in which political alli- and former North Carolina senator and 2004 vice presidential
ances are frequently formed. Obama also became a protégé of Sen- candidate John Edwards. Clinton was widely viewed as the likely
ate Democratic leader Emil Jones and broadened his political base nominee. She had near-universal name recognition and the back-
by establishing bonds with lawmakers outside his district. ing of many of the nation’s most prominent Democratic leaders.
For most of his time in Springfield, Obama was limited in what Edwards adopted a populist tack in his campaign, stressing his
he could accomplish, because the state senate was under Republi- background as the son of a millworker. Obama’s strengths
can control. In 2003, the Democrats came to power. Emil Jones included the skill, organization, and discipline of his campaign
became the senate leader and used his position to help Obama com- staff and the extraordinary enthusiasm of his supporters. It also
pile a substantial record. Obama played a central part in the pas- helped that he was an early opponent of the war in Iraq, whereas
8 PS • January 2011.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
both Clinton and Edwards had voted for the congressional reso- THE OBAMA PRESIDENCY
lution authorizing the president to use force against Saddam Hus- Obama’s inaugural address included the inspirational rhetoric
sein’s regime. that is customary for such occasions, but much of his speech
The race for the nomination officially began with the Iowa was devoted to a recitation of the nation’s problems and his
caucuses on January 3, 2008. Obama sought to give his campaign administration’s plans to address them. Obama began making
momentum through an unexpected success in that bellwether policy in his first week in office by issuing executive orders. He
state. He achieved his goal, coming in first with 38% of the vote. froze the pay of members of the White House staff earning more
Edwards was second with 30%, while Clinton trailed with 29%. than $100,000 a year, ordered the closing of the controversial
However, she turned the tables by winning in New Hampshire on Guantanamo detention camp within the year (an order on which
January 8. By the time of the Super Tuesday primaries and cau- he was eventually unable to act), banned the use of torture in the
cuses early in February, Edwards had done so poorly that he sus- interrogation of terror suspects, and cancelled the previous
pended his campaign, and Obama held a modest lead over Clinton. administration’s ban on funding groups providing abortion ser-
In March, a disclosure threatened to derail Obama’s candi- vices. In a later executive order, Obama reversed the Bush
dacy. ABC News publicized excerpts from angry sermons given administration’s policy of barring the use of federal funds for
by Obama’s minister, Jeremiah Wright. In one, Wright seemed to human embryonic stem cell research.
be justifying the September 11, 2001, bombing of the World Trade On January 29, the new Congress’s first piece of legislation in
Center on the grounds that the United States had committed such Obama’s program reached the White House for his signature—an
crimes as bombing Japan with nuclear weapons in World War II. act that extends the period in which employees can file lawsuits
In another, he recited a litany of alleged misconduct by the Amer- alleging discrimination on the basis of sex, race, or age. On Feb-
ican government and said that rather than singing “God Bless ruary 4, Obama signed a bill expanding the number of children
America,” his parishioners should sing “God Damn America.” who can receive federally funded health insurance from 7 mil-
Obama’s response was to deliver a closely reasoned speech about lion to 11 million. On February 17, Congress passed the Ameri-
race relations in the United States from the time of the framing of can Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a $787 billion measure
the Constitution to the present. He also reiterated his commit- designed to stimulate the economy. Included in this act are tax
ment to bringing Americans of all colors and creeds together and cuts; unemployment benefits; and appropriations for education,
declared that he disagreed with Wright’s “divisive” statements, health care, and infrastructure. By the final months of 2009, there
adding that he expected Wright to continue to be his pastor. With was evidence that the stimulus program had contributed to an
his characteristic attention to symbolism, Obama delivered the economic upturn. However, high unemployment persisted, and
address at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, not the rapidity and robustness of any recovery continued to be uncer-
far from Independence Hall. Wright persisted in making inflam- tain (Irwin 2009).
matory statements, however, and Obama formally broke with him. The proposal in Obama’s first-year legislative program that
Despite the Jeremiah Wright affair, Obama’s delegate lead wid- had the greatest potential for placing him on the short list of chief
ened. He was helped by his campaign’s innovative use of the Inter- executives who have presided over major policy breakthroughs
net to raise funds and its pursuit of delegates in a group of states relates to health care. As Obama pointed out in a September 10
that the Clinton forces tended to ignore—those that select del- address to a joint session of Congress, the United States has long
egates in caucuses composed of local party members. The contest been the only wealthy nation that does not guarantee its citizens
continued until June, when Clinton conceded. Obama’s Republi- health care. In seeking to eliminate that discrepancy, Obama chose
can opponent, Senator John McCain of Arizona, in contrast, had to state the goals he favored in general terms and leave Congress
become his party’s presumptive nominee three months earlier. the task of filling in the specifics. These particulars included a
However, it was to Obama’s advantage that the Democratic nom- major expansion in the ranks of the insured, an end to the prac-
inating process continued for as long as it did. The campaign’s tice of denying health insurance to people with preexisting med-
duration gave his organization time to build a network of experi- ical conditions, and a ban on lifetime limits on health insurance.
enced workers and made Obama newsworthy during a period Obama’s decision to leave these specifics to Congress was a calcu-
when the media had little reason to be attentive to McCain. In lated move to avoid the fate of President Clinton’s health insur-
August, the presidential candidates selected their vice presiden- ance bill, which was drafted by the White House with little
tial running mates. Obama chose the six-term Delaware senator congressional input and failed to be enacted.
Joseph Biden, and McCain picked the politically inexperienced By late 2009, the House and Senate had passed health insur-
Alaska governor Sarah Palin. Neither appears to have had a deci- ance bills that were broadly consistent with Obama’s guidelines.
sive effect on the election outcome. Before the chambers reached an agreement on a compromise bill,
Two factors were important—the unpopularity of President a political bombshell dropped: on January 12, 2010, Massachu-
George W. Bush and the deep economic downturn that was envel- setts elected a Republican to the Senate seat that had been held
oping the nation that autumn. Such matters typically hurt the by the late Edward Kennedy. No longer did the Democrats have
candidate of the party holding the White House, and that was the 60 votes needed to defeat a Senate filibuster. Obama and the
true for McCain, who attempted, with limited success, to distance Democratic congressional leadership concluded that the best way
himself from Bush. By late September, Obama had begun to lead to proceed was for the House of Representatives to accept the
McCain in the pre-election polls, an advantage that continued Senate bill, making it unnecessary for the Senate to hold another
until Election Day. He was elected with 53% of the popular vote vote. Differences between the two chambers could then be resolved
and 365 electoral votes to McCain’s 173. The Democrats also won by a parliamentary procedure that required only a majority vote.
control of Congress, with a 79-seat margin in the House and a The new strategy bore fruit on March 21, 2010, when the House
16-seat margin in the Senate. of Representatives voted to accept the Senate bill, but it was not
PS • January 2011 9Spotlight: Barack Obama: The Man and His Presidency at the Midterm
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executed without difficulties. A number of anti-abortion House defenders were quick to describe the election as a rejection by the
members had been balking at wording in the Senate measure that electorate of Obama’s policies and perhaps Obama himself.
they believed would permit government funding of abortions. It has not been widely recognized that a significant part of
Obama broke the impasse by promising to issue an executive order such a seat loss was to be expected, given the state of the econ-
affirming that nothing in the new bill would authorize federal omy and the many congressional Democrats from normally
payment for the termination of pregnancies. (As in the past, excep- Republican districts who came in on Obama’s coattails in 2008
tions would be made for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest (McGhee, Nyhan, and Sides 2010). Sensing Obama’s vulnerabil-
or situations when the mother’s life was in danger.) On March 23, ity, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell declared that the
Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in Republicans’ highest priority would be holding Obama to one
the East Room of the White House. The importance of this addi- term. Assertions that Obama will be a one-term president are
tion to the social safety net available to Americans is comparable plainly premature. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton
to that of the enactment of Medicare in 1965 and Social Security were in the political doghouse at the same point in their presi-
in 1935 (Pear and Herszenhorn 2010; Wilson, Montgomery, and dencies, and both rallied to win reelection with strong majori-
Branigin 2010). ties. President George H. W. Bush was enormously popular in
As 2010 proceeded, public opinion polling revealed a paradox. the third year of his presidency, only to be denied reelection a
The new health insurance law was opposed by substantial num- year later. President George W. Bush was immensely popular
bers of respondents when they were asked about it in general immediately after September 11, but his re-election margin was
terms, but high levels of approval were expressed for such provi- modest. In short, it is too early to count Obama in or out for
sions of the law as the ban on cancellation of insurance for people a second term, and it is premature to expect the worst because
incurring high medical expenses or with pre-existing medical con- of the change in the party balance in Congress. Obama, as we
ditions (Brodie et al. 2010). have seen, worked effectively across party lines in the Illinois
The final major legislative enactment of the first two years of legislature.
Obama’s presidency was the most sweeping reform of the nation’s
financial industry since the Great Depression, the Dodd-Frank LEADERSHIP QUALITIES
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This measure Public Communication
seeks to eliminate or reduce the likelihood of the kind of melt- In the third edition of The Presidential Difference, published in the
down of the banking system that produced the financial crisis of summer of 2009, I drew on Obama’s pre-presidential record to
2008 through the regulation of risky banking practices and better assess his leadership qualities. Some of my conclusions have stood
monitoring of the banking system. Obama signed this bill into the test of time. Others now demand modification, none less
law on July 21, 2010. so than those that relate to public communication. The pre-
Obama’s ambitious domestic program did not prevent him from presidential Barack Obama stood in a league with such gifted mod-
being active in the international sphere. By the end of his first ern presidential public communicators as Franklin D. Roosevelt,
presidential year, he had exceeded all previous presidents in first- John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan in terms of his public rhet-
year visits to other nations. In what was interpreted as a depar- oric, most dramatically exhibited in the 2004 Democratic conven-
ture from the unilateralism of the Bush years, Obama indicated tion address that put him on the national political map and his
that his administration would seek to improve relations with vibrant presence in a multitude of campaign rallies.
friendly nations and win over those nations that have been less Some of Obama’s presidential addresses have been compara-
than friendly. He placed a particular priority on improving rela- bly powerful, but his presidential communications have been too
tions with the Islamic world. Obama signaled this intention in a pedagogical and insufficiently persuasive. His ubiquity is also a
June 4 address at Cairo University in which he called for “a new problem. Even in the present fragmented media market, the
beginning between the United States and Muslims around the president’s message is diminished if he is constantly in the public
world” and declared “the truth that America and Islam are not eye. Obama would profit from the example of Franklin Roosevelt,
exclusive and need not be in competition.” who excelled on the campaign trail but continued to sell his pol-
Obama’s response to each of the two wars he inherited dif- icies once in office. FDR deliberately rationed his public exposure
fered noticeably. In the case of Iraq, he announced that the United on the grounds that the public cannot be “attuned for long peri-
States would not engage in combat after August 2010. In the ods of time to the constant repetition of the highest note in the
case of Afghanistan, he presided over a late 2009 policy review scale” (Greenstein 2009b, 17).
of unusual length and rigor that resulted in a two-stage policy.
First, the United States was to increase its troop commitment Organizational Capacity
with the goal of strengthening that nation’s military and politi- It has been argued that former senators make poor executives,
cal institutions. Then, in July 2011, it would begin to withdraw because most lack experience in presiding over large organiza-
its troops. Under this plan, neither Iraq nor Afghanistan would tions. The last member of the Senate to win the presidency, John
be abandoned, but they would no longer be defended by Ameri- F. Kennedy, resembled Obama in his quick mind and the high
can troops. qualifications of his associates, but that did not prevent him from
This account concludes with some brief remarks on the 2010 signing off on the Bay of Pigs fiasco after inadequate consulta-
congressional election, in which the Democrats experienced the tion. Obama has indicated his awareness of the danger of making
greatest midterm seat loss by a president’s party since 1938 and decisions that have not been rigorously debated, as well as the
reduced their Senate majoirty by six seats. When the results were danger of the kind of flawed decision making that has been called
in, a chagrined Obama acknowledged that he and the Democratic “groupthink” in which “everybody agrees with everything and
Party had received a “shellacking.” His critics and many of his there’s no discussion and there are no dissenting views” (Lee and
10 PS • January 2011.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Martin 2008; see also Janis 1972). Available information about his Obama’s even temperament has contributed to the “uncanny knack
conduct of the November 2009 review of the U.S. Afghanistan for avoiding mistakes” that he demonstrated in his presidential
policy points to his effectiveness in carrying out organizational campaign. “His opponents sneered that Obama has no experi-
decision making. ence,” Achenbach noted, “but by the end of his campaign he didn’t
look green at all. He seemed fully in command of his . . . own
Political Skill emotions” (Achenbach 2008). As we have seen, however, this
Obama’s pre-presidential record shows ample evidence of his polit- cool-headedness was not always the case. As a young man, Obama
ical skill. His time in the Illinois legislature is particularly instruc- was unsettled in his racial identity and indulged in drugs and
tive, because it marks his most sustained period of governmental alcohol, but he came to terms with his life experience and forged
service. As we have seen, Obama was quick to learn the tactics what has been referred to as his post-racial leadership style. Obama
needed to become an influential player in the state capital, form- is a fascinating political specimen in that he evidently is marked
ing political alliances on the golf course and at the poker table, as by both a first-rate temperament and a first-rate mind. Even here,
well as in official settings. His political skill was also evident in however, there is a complexity. His temperament is so even that
his ability to work across party lines and through the bonds he he sometimes fails to convey the passion needed to rally support
forged with Democratic legislators outside of Chicago and the for his policies. 䡲
state senate Democratic leader, all of which helped him in his
U.S. Senate campaign. Obama’s conciliatory leadership style is REFERENCES
sometimes ill-suited to American politics in a period of political Achenbach, Joel. 2008. “In a Heated Race, Obama’s Cool Won the Day.” Washing-
polarization, however. This observation does not appear to be lost ton Post, November 6.
on him, however, judging from his one-sided reliance on Demo- Barnes, Fred. 2010. “How Does Obama Measure Up? Some Nonpartisan Bench-
cratic votes to enact the Patient Protection and Affordable Care marks.” Weekly Standard, August 16.
Act. Brodie, Mollyann, et al. 2010. “Liking the Pieces, Not the Package: Contradictions
in Public Opinion During Health Reform.” Health Affairs 29: 1125–30.
Policy Vision Butterfield, Fox. 1990. “First Black Elected to Head Harvard’s Law Review.” New
York Times, February 6.
Obama’s critics argue that his assertions about the need to tran- Greenstein, Fred I. 2009a. Inventing the Job of President: Leadership Style from George
scend ideological divisions are belied by his liberal voting record Washington to Andrew Jackson. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
in the Senate. As a senator, however, Obama voted in a polarized _. 2009b. The Presidential Difference: Leadership Style from FDR to Barack
legislature with an eye to winning the 2008 Democratic presiden- Obama. 3rd ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
tial nomination. However, Obama’s overall pre-presidential record Heilemann, John, and Mark Halperin. 2010. Game Change: Obama and the Clintons,
McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime. New York: HarperCollins.
clearly shows that he is anything but a liberal ideologue. At Har-
vard Law School, for example, he was conspicuous for his ability Irwin, Neil. 2009. “Economy Grows by 3.5 Percent, Signals Recession May Have
Ended.” Washington Post, October 28.
to work with students and faculty across the ideological spec-
Janis, Irving. 1972. Groupthink: A Psychological Study of Foreign-Policy Decisions and
trum. Lawrence Tribe, with whom Obama worked closely at Har- Fiascoes. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.
vard, describes him as a pragmatic problem solver with little in Kloppenberg, James P. 2010. Reading Obama: Dreams, Hopes, and the American Polit-
the way of fixed ideology (Remnick 2010, 196). ical Tradition. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Lee, Carol E., and Jonathan Martin. 2008. “Obama Warns Against WH ‘Group-
Cognitive Style think.’” Politico, December 1.
Obama was widely recognized for his intelligence and open- McGhee, Eric, Brendan Nyhan, and John Sides. 2010. “Midterm Postmortem.”
Boston Review, November 11.
mindedness when he was at Harvard, where he was elected to
Mendell, David. 2007. Obama: From Promise to Power. New York: HarperCollins.
preside over the nation’s most prestigious law journal. His stu-
dents at the University of Chicago were fascinated by his capacity Miller, Lisa, and Richard Wolfe. 2008. “Finding His Faith.” Newsweek, July 21.
to illuminate issues by arguing them from contrasting points of Obama, Barack. 1995. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. New
York: Crown Publishers.
view (see Starr 2008). As these examples indicate, Obama’s cog- _. 2006. The Audacity of Hope. New York: Crown Publishers.
nitive style is marked by analytic detachment and a capacity for
complex thinking. These characteristics are well illustrated in the Pear, Robert, and David M. Herszenhorn. 2010. “House Approves Health Over-
haul, Sending Landmark Bill to Obama.” New York Times, March 21.
lucid November 2009 policy memorandum he circulated to par-
Peters, Charles. 2008. “Judge Him by His Laws.” Washington Post, January 4.
ticipants in the 2009 Afghanistan policy debate, which has been
Remnick, David. 2010. The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama. New York:
published in Bob Woodward’s 2010 book Obama’s Wars (Wood- Knopf.
ward 2010, 375–89). Scott, Janny. 2007. “In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd.” New York
Times, July 30.
Emotional Intelligence Starr, Alexandra. 2008. “Case Study.” New York Times Magazine, September 21.
As the Washington Post’s Joel Achenbach reports, Obama has said, Wilson, Scott, Lori Montgomery, and William Branigin. 2010. “President Obama
“I don’t get too high when things are going well and I don’t get Signs Landmark Health Bill into Law.” Washington Post, March 23.
too low when things are going tough.” Achenbach argues that Woodward, Bob. 2010. Obama’s Wars. New York: Simon & Schuster.
PS • January 2011 11American Political Science Association
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world, APSA conferences—the Teaching and Learning Conference,
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supports over access to the association’s Organized Sections.
14,000 members Providing Career and Employment Resources
APSA’s eJobs is the most comprehensive online resource of political
in 70 countries science employment opportunities and job candidates. It is fully
searchable and updated daily with new job listings and candidate
and advances resumes. The eJobs placement service at the Annual Meeting brings
employers and candidates together in person to greatly facilitate
political science the hiring process.
in many ways. Supporting Political Science Research
The Centennial Center for Political Science & Public Affairs,
Open the door located at APSA’s headquarters building, provides office space for
scholars and students conducting field work in Washington, D.C.
to your future. Through the Center, APSA also offers a number of research grant
opportunities for scholars working in various subfields.
Become an APSA
member!
Membership application, rates and
details: www.apsanet.org/membership
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