In the latest volume in this classic series, Rockman, Rudalevige, and Campbell once again bring together top-notch scholars, this time to take a comprehensive look at the first two years of Barack Obama’s presidency. Assessing Obama’s political strategy, as well as his administration’s successes and setbacks, chapter authors critically examine a presidency marked by continued partisanship, major policy battles, and continued global turmoil.

ISBN: 978-1-60871-685-2

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I. Preface and Overview
Bert A. Rockman, Purdue University
Andrew Rudalevige, Dickinson College

II. "Change We Can Believe In" Meets Reality
Joel D. Aberbach, University of California, Los Angeles

III. Strategic Assessments: Evaluating Opportunities and Strategies in the Obama Presidency
George C. Edwards III, Texas A&M University

IV. Political Forces on the Obama Presidency: From Election '08 to Governing
James E. Campbell, University at Buffalo, SUNY

V. Public Opinion and the Presidency: The Obama and Anti-Obama Coalitions
Gary C. Jacobson, University of California, San Diego

VI. Obama and the Public Presidency: What Got You Here Won't Get You There
Diane J. Heith, St. John’s University

VII. The Privileges of Access: Interest Groups and the White House
Lawrence R. Jacobs, University of Minnesota

VIII. Rivals, or a Team? Staff and IIssue Management in the Obama Administration
Andrew Rudalevige, Dickinson College

IX. Obama and the 111th Congress: Doing Big Things
Barbara Sinclair, University of California, Los Angeles

X. Obama and the Law: Judicial Restraint at the Crossroads
David A. Yalof, University of Connecticut

XI. Ambition, Necessity, and Polarization in the Obama Domestic Agenda
Christopher H. Foreman, Jr., University of Maryland

XII. Continuity and Change in Obama's Foreign Policy
Robert Singh, Birkbeck College, University of London

XIII. Economic Crisis and Political Change: A New New Deal?
M. Stephen Weatherford, University of California, Santa Barbara

XIV. Concluding Thoughts: President, Person, and System
Bert A. Rockman, Purdue University, Colin Campbell, University of British Columbia, and Eric N. Waltenburg, Purdue University

I consider this an indispensable text for my course on the American Presidency. The contributing scholars are experts in their field and their contributions are accessible to both undergraduate and graduate students. Best of all, the text provides a timely scholarly analysis of the current President and places his performance in a context that allows for analysis and comparison with previous Presidents.

- Carole Kennedy, San Diego State University

"The Obama Presidency is an ideal text for an undergraduate course on the American presidency. The essays in this volume are accessible, lively, and introduce students to the big questions and debates within presidency research. Covering a wide range of issues, these essays help situate the Obama presidency within a broader historical context. More importantly, this book gives students a model of what good political science scholarship should be." - H. Abbie Erler, Kenyon College

"I have used the previous books in this series on the Clinton and George W. Bush presidencies to great advantage. The essays present an excellent mix of sound scholarship and early assessment of very recent and contemporary issues regarding the respective presidencies. My students in upper division courses on the presidency are uniformly appreciative of the good writing and astute insights that characterize these essays. Many of these essays form the basis of excellent class discussion. I look forward to using the Obama book." - Nathan Firestone, University of Pittsburgh and Point Park University

"This book provides students with a comprehensive, balanced, and timely accounting of the first 2-3 years of the Obama Administration. There is little doubt that President Obama has exhibited a unique, somewhat novel leadership style and has exercised it in the context of the most serious social, economic, and military challenges faced by any president since FDR. The book considers the triumphs and disappointments of the Obama Presidency and the particular paradox of the President and his team having achieved considerable legislative victory, while at the same time engendering serious political dissent." - Michael Eric Siegel, The American University and Johns Hopkins University

Bert A. Rockman is currently professor of political science and department head at Purdue University. His books include The Leadership Question, which was awarded the Richard E. Neustadt Prize. He also has been a recipient of the Herbert A. Simon Award.

Andrew Rudalevige is Walter E. Beach ’56 Chair of Political Science at Dickinson College, and has held visiting posts at Princeton University and the University of East Anglia, England. His books include The New Imperial Presidency and Managing the President’s Program, which was awarded the Richard E. Neustadt Prize. In a prior life he worked in state and local politics in his home state of Massachusetts.

Colin Campbell is Canada Research Chair in U.S. Government and Politics at the University of British Columbia. Previously, he was university professor of public policy at Georgetown University. He has published nine books, three of which have won awards.