In “KABUKI DEMOCRACY”, Eric
Alterman argues that while the Obama presidency has undoubtedly been a disappointment
from a progressive point of view, its failures aren’t due to a collapse of his
political imagination, or to strategic errors during his first year of governance. Rather, the
political system suffers from a series of structural bottlenecks that encourage
transformative change while standing in the way of its progressive counterpart.
Expanding on this thesis,
KABUKI DEMOCRACY: The System v. Barack Obama deconstructs all aspects of the
political system—from lobbying to the Supreme Court to the failure of the press
to the prominence of anti- government ideology—to reveal how structural
impediments have blocked Obama from carrying out his democratic mandate.
Alterman offers a clear game plan for potential change, expounding on his
belief that “with regard to almost every single one of
our problems, we need better, smarter organizing at every level and a
willingness on the part of liberals and leftists to work with what remains of
the center to begin the process of reforms that are a beginning, rather than an
endpoint in the process of societal transformation.”
Blending incisive political
analysis with a clear agenda for change, KABUKI DEMOCRACY cuts through the
false promise offered by the transformative politics of hope, arguing that real
reform will only come when accompanied by resurgent civic engagement.
Eric Alterman is an American
historian, journalist, author, media critic, blogger, and educator. His
political weblog named Altercation was hosted by MSNBC.com from 2002 until
2006, moved to Media Matters for America until December 2008, and is now hosted
by The Nation. He earned a B.A. in History and Government from Cornell
University, an M.A. in International Relations from Yale University, and a
Ph.D. in U.S. History from Stanford University.
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