Perspectives on the first stage of a political journey

A history-focused examination of the first stage of Obama's presidency

Obama in historical context: politics and policy

We tend to view the character of an administration through the persona of its president especially that of Barack Obama, with his unique baggage of race, personality, political style, and campaign message of hope and renewal. In The Unbearable Heaviness of Governing, Morton Keller takes a critical look at the realities that have shaped the first stage of Obama's presidency. He offers a history-focused examination of this president's developing style of governing, with particular attention to his signature policies of health care reform, the stimulus package, and financial reform.

Keller compares the current president to predecessors from Woodrow Wilson to FDR, LBJ, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and beyond and notes that, as yet, there is no clear consensus on the character or content of Obama's presidential leadership or where he fits in the prevailing typology/classification of America's chief executives. Taking into account the general standing of the president, his program, and his party; the sources of public discontent; and the appeal (or lack thereof) of the opposition, Keller concludes with a discussion of the administration's prospects in the realms of policy and politics.

Morton Keller is a professor emeritus of history at Brandeis University. He has written a number of works on American political and legal history (most recently, America's Three Regimes: a New Political History) and directs the Hoover Institution's Working Group on Critical Junctures in American Politics and Government.