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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:Paperback

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 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: 9780226793832

Dimensions: 23mm x 16mm x 1mm

Weight: 312g

208 pages