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Kabuki Democracy: The System vs. Barack Obama Paperback – January 11, 2011

4.3 out of 5 stars 9

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In this agenda-setting essay, journalist and historian Eric Alterman explains what is really happening with the Obama presidency. While Obama's many compromises have disappointed liberals, Alterman argues that these concessions are largely due to a political system that is rigged against progressive change. These structural impediments to democracy have made the keeping of Obama's campaign promises all but impossible.

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.

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About the Author

Eric Alterman is a distinguished professor of English at CUNY Brooklyn College and holds a PhD in history from Stanford University. A columnist for the Nation, he is the author of ten previous titles, including the New York Times bestseller What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News. He lives in New York.

Product details

  • 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
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 9

About the author

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Eric Alterman
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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

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
9 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2011
Many years ago I read an article in The Atlantic which discussed economies as oil tankers. In the same way that oil tankers can't turn on dimes, any President's impact on the economy is slow to marerialize - - that is, if you're looking for everything to be sewn up in the same 22 minute horizon of a sitcom. Presidents have an impact, but you wouldn't feel it soon enough for the next election. That was the point of the article in The Atlantic.

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.
43 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2019
A fascinating look at the interplay between the Obama administration and the media. Not an apology, but an insightful look into how the media shaped what was possible.
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2011
I believe this book should be a must read for the middle class, and lower income families. This sheds quite a bit of light on how the politicians manipulate our destiny, and how they prevent whatever good the President is trying to do, if it cost them money in the form of tax breaks for the wealthy. The bottom line is they don't care if the country is in debt, as long as they get there money.
5 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2012
Quite frankly, I'm shocked that there are only six reviews on this provocative book. Eric Alterman gives an analysis regarding our rigged political system that is thoughtful, factual, and given without hysteria. To his credit, he makes no bones about the fact that his politics are liberal, yet he presents his material without hyperbole. In my opinion, Kabuki Democracy was written for a left of center audience, not the least of who are the leftist critics of President Obama's accomplishments, or the lack thereof.

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.
8 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2011
Right!
* 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.
8 people found this helpful
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