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Obama`s Race – The 2008 Election and the Dream of a Post–Racial America

David O Sears author Michael Tesler author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:The University of Chicago Press

Published:30th Nov '10

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Obama`s Race – The 2008 Election and the Dream of a Post–Racial America cover

Barack Obama's presidential victory naturally led people to believe that the United States might finally be moving into a post-racial era. "Obama's Race" - and its eye-opening account of the role played by race in the election - paints a dramatically different picture. The authors argue that the 2008 election was more polarized by racial attitudes than any other presidential election on record - and perhaps more significantly, that there were two sides to this racialization: resentful opposition to and racially liberal support for Obama. As Obama's campaign was given a boost in the primaries from racial liberals that extended well beyond that usually offered to ideologically similar white candidates, Hillary Clinton lost much of her long-standing support and instead became the preferred candidate of Democratic racial conservatives. Time and again, voters' racial predispositions trumped their ideological preferences as John McCain - seldom described as conservative in matters of race - became the darling of racial conservatives from both parties. Hard-hitting and sure to be controversial, "Obama's Race" will be both praised and criticized - but certainly not ignored.

"Obama's Race is a timely, provocative, and important book that anyone with even a passing interest in politics simply must read. In their careful and detailed analysis, Tesler and Sears make a persuasive case for why Obama's election does not represent a fundamental sea change in how people think about politics. The results are striking, sobering, and deeply revealing." - Cindy D. Kam, Vanderbilt University"

ISBN: 9780226793825

Dimensions: 232mm x 160mm x 32mm

Weight: 480g

208 pages