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Kabuki Democracy: The System vs. Barack Obama Paperback – January 11, 2011
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Brilliantly blending incisive political analysis with a clear agenda for change, Kabuki Democracy cuts through the clich's of conservative propaganda and lazy mainstream media analysis to demonstrate that genuine "change" will come to America only when people care enough to challenge the system.
- Print length214 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBold Type Books
- Publication dateJanuary 11, 2011
- Grade level11 and up
- Reading age13 years and up
- Dimensions5.5 x 0.56 x 8.25 inches
- ISBN-101568586590
- ISBN-13978-1568586595
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- Publisher : Bold Type Books; 1st edition (January 11, 2011)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 214 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1568586590
- ISBN-13 : 978-1568586595
- Reading age : 13 years and up
- Grade level : 11 and up
- Item Weight : 11 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.56 x 8.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #6,162,056 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4,827 in United States Executive Government
- #6,186 in General Elections & Political Process
- #7,746 in Political Conservatism & Liberalism
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Eric Alterman is Distinguished Professor of English, Brooklyn College, City University of New York. From 1995-2020, he was The Nation’s “Liberal Media" columnist and is now a contributing writer to the magazine and also to The American Prospect. In the past, he has been a senior fellow of the Center for American Progress, the World Policy Institute and The Nation Institute, a columnist for Rolling Stone, Mother Jones, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, MSNBC.com, The Forward, Moment and the Sunday Express (London) as well as a contributor to The New Yorker, The Atlantic and Le Monde Diplomatique, among other publications. Alterman has also been named a Media Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, a Schusterman Foundation Fellow at Brandeis University, a Fellow of the Society of American Historians and a member of the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.
Alterman is the author of the national bestseller What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News, as well eleven other books, including We Are Not One: A History of America’s Fight Over Israel, published late in 2022 by Basic Books, which was added to The New Yorker’s list of the best books of that year after both the list was initially published. In past years, he has won the George Orwell Prize, the Stephen Crane Literary Award and the Mirror Award for media criticism (twice). Alterman holds a PhD in US history from Stanford (minoring in Jewish Studies), an M.A. in international relations at Yale and a B.A. from Cornell. He lives in Manhattan and tweets at @eric_alterman and has an open Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/alterman.eric
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Alterman's taken it beyond lowering your expectations due to slow reactions. He looks at the numerous constraints which surround change - - structural, political, and cultural. He also looks at the personalities of the players. Short term, there's plenty of reason to lower your expectations from what Obama can deliver in one term, back half of a mid-term, or a second term.
This is a call for patience and diligence, to moderate your expectations. I first read this over the summer, when portions were published on The Nation's web site. It's not an easy message. But truth doesn't always come easy.
I don't know that it's necessary to list the topics that Alterman addresses or the merits of his conclusions -- most of which I agree. These are well-discussed in other reviews, as well as information about the book. Stylistically, this is not the easiest of reads; although a professor of journalism, Alterman's prose can seem convoluted because of the lengths of his sentences and paranthetical explanations within them. I did, however, read it in a few hours and will use the book as an outstanding resource when defending my political opinions regarding the state of our system and President Obama's job performance.
Let's get one thing straight: Kabuki Democracy is NOT an apology for Obama's policy failures since 2008. At the outset, Alterman lists those failures and acknowledges his own disappointment in the things President Obama has given in to. He believes that White House strategy had been politically naive and that Obama's advisors were ill-equipped to make wise decisions in face of the brutality of Washington politics. What Alterman does do is analyze those factors that have crippled Obama's ability to meet his 2008 campaign promises in a robust way: the unrelenting power of corporate and monied interests, the abuse of money in politics, and a media that no longer attempts to foster useful public discourse.
Agree with Obama or not, this book is worthy a read for every progressive who truly wants to understand what has gone wrong -- and why. Alterman's discussions left me feeling physically ill at times, and ill at ease all of the time. Our government is deeply corrupt and without a strong effort to change the scourge of money in politics we do not have much hope of setting it on the path of actually serving the people who elects its lawmakers, instead of special interests, corporations, and the very wealthy.
* It's not his fault he decided, after knowing the economy was ever-sinking even on the campaign trail, that he skipped a jobs bill (or a band-aid, cheap version of one, as he has now) and pushed the Congress to write a health care overhaul that the majority of America didn't want before, during, or after it was passed - and still does not want.
* It's not his fault he cozied up to Wall Street so much and for soooo much money, etc (Read: Charles Gaspirino's book [...] .
* It's not his fault 4 points he guaranteed for his Stimulus/Pork-U-Lust bill would do/not do failed (including unemployment would go past 8% if it didn't pass).
* Waited until re-election time to put out a so-called jobs bill (seems to be a cheap, band-aid, perhaps) he cooked up over a weekend or so.
* Not his fault he didn't keep his promise to Latinos/Hispanics to push/pass 'comprehensive immigration reform' his first year.
* Has a Democrat-controlled Congress for 2 years and did not do a lot he could have, but didn't.
We've been hearing this robotic mantra for 3 years from BO & his devotees.
Get's tiring.







