Obama Redux

In what might be called the "Now Is Not the Time" canard, each US presidential election becomes a moment of unique, life-or-death urgency that precludes reflection or dissent. The stakes are too high; the horrors that the Republicans could impose in four years of rule are too great. With no substantial political debates or movements between elections, the only option for progressives is to support the Democratic candidates - and there is little to no left-wing pressure on Obama to change his policies. In Obama Redux, Adolph Reed bucks this trend to provide the first thorough analysis of this historical dynamic at work - from the extension of global neoliberalism and domestic repression under Clinton, to the role of corporate PR and the mass media in shaping our understanding and expectations of the political system. If Obama can spend a record- breaking election-year war chest while at the same time decrying the "corrosive effect of money in politics," then as we enter this election the Left needs to reflect more deeply on its history and the role of real political dissent.