Audacity: How Barack Obama Defied His Critics and Created a Legacy That Will Prevail
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
"An essential starting point for those assessing the Obama presidency.” —Washington Monthly
Two presidencies later, the time has never been better to revisit the legacy of Barack Obama. In Audacity, New York Magazine writer Jonathan Chait makes the unassailable case that, in the eyes of history, Obama will be viewed as one of America’s best and most accomplished presidents.
Over the course of eight years, Barack Obama has amassed an array of outstanding achievements. His administration saved the American economy from collapse, expanded health insurance to millions who previously could not afford it, negotiated an historic nuclear deal with Iran, helped craft a groundbreaking international climate accord, reined in Wall Street and crafted a new vision of racial progress. He has done all of this despite a left that frequently disdained him as a sellout, and a hysterical right that did everything possible to destroy his agenda even when they agreed with what he was doing.
Now, as the page turns to our next Commander in Chief, Jonathan Chait, acclaimed as one of the most incisive and meticulous political commentators in America, digs deep into Obama’s record on major policy fronts—economics, the environment, domestic reform, health care, race, foreign policy, and civil rights—to demonstrate why history will judge our forty-fourth president as among the greatest in history.
Audacity does not shy away from Obama’s failures, most notably in foreign policy. Yet Chait convincingly shows that President Obama has accomplished what candidate Obama said he would, despite overwhelming opposition—and that the hopes of those who voted for him have not been dashed despite the smokescreen of extremist propaganda and the limits of short-term perspective.
Jonathan Chait
Jonathan Chait is a political columnist for New York magazine. He was previously a senior editor at the New Republic and has also written for the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Atlantic. He has been featured throughout the media, including appearances on NPR, MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, HBO, The Colbert Report, Talk of the Nation, C-SPAN, Hardball, and on talk radio in every major city in America. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Read more from Jonathan Chait
The Big Con: Crackpot Economics and the Fleecing of America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAudacity: How Barack Obama Defied His Critics and Created a Legacy That Will Prevail Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Related to Audacity
Related ebooks
The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Obama's Legacy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBarack Obama Selected Speeches Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Barack Obama: Conservative, Pragmatist, Progressive Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Barack Obama: The Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Barack Obama: Our 44th President Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Audacity: Inspiring Speeches of Barack Obama Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Think Like Obama Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We Are the Change We Seek: The Speeches of Barack Obama Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mandela: The Authorised Biography Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Inaugural Presidential Address, Official Transcript Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Man of the World: The Further Endeavors of Bill Clinton Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Promise: President Obama, Year One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hard Choices Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Living History Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris: Conversation Starters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRoosevelt and the Holocaust: How FDR Saved the Jews and Brought Hope to a Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The State vs. Nelson Mandela: The Trial that Changed South Africa Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5White House Diary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Barack Obama Speeches Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI Have a Dream, Martin Luther King Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Barbara Bush: A Memoir Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Bill and Hillary: The Politics of the Personal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5And Then Life Happens: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
American Government For You
The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The January 6th Report Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Disloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/525 Lies: Exposing Democrats’ Most Dangerous, Seductive, Damnable, Destructive Lies and How to Refute Them Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Get Trump: The Threat to Civil Liberties, Due Process, and Our Constitutional Rule of Law Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Great Reset: And the War for the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fear: Trump in the White House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The U.S. Constitution with The Declaration of Independence and The Articles of Confederation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Life Sentence: The Brief and Tragic Career of Baltimore’s Deadliest Gang Leader Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Friendly Fascism: The New Face of Power in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Awakening: Defeating the Globalists and Launching the Next Great Renaissance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/563 Documents the Government Doesn't Want You to Read Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Why We're Polarized Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Laptop from Hell: Hunter Biden, Big Tech, and the Dirty Secrets the President Tried to Hide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Science of Coercion: Communication Research & Psychological Warfare, 1945–1960 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 9/11 Report: The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Profiles in Courage: Deluxe Modern Classic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Treating People Well: The Extraordinary Power of Civility at Work and in Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Enough Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An Introduction to Legal Reasoning Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmerican Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Washington: The Indispensable Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Audacity
18 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Audacity: How Barack Obama Defied His Critics and Created a Legacy That Will Prevail, Jonathan Chait effectively argues the case for Obama's signature achievements, primarily his sparing the nation from a depression following the inherited 2008 recession, his health care reforms, and his environmental efforts to stem global warming. But Chait is not strictly a cheerleader for Obama, as he also properly addresses the failures and disappointments during the administration, particularly in foreign policy in the Middle East, where he may have slowed the bleeding of the Bush years but was never able to fully stop it.It is, of course, far too early to definitively assess Obama's legacy, especialy since his successor has vowed to dismantle substantial elements of his accomplishments. But Chait has provided a thoughtful, measured overview of the Obama years, which may in hindsight soon start to shine even brighter as the new administration careens ahead on an alarming course.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Not sure what I expected, but this book wasn't it. I like reading about history, but this book was more like reading a really dry elementary school text book than what I was expecting. There are many better books out there about Obama - including his own.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/54.5 stars
This book is really good at breaking policies and actual history down in understandable facts instead of just a bunch of information that doesn't have a clear meaning. If you have any interest at all in the subject matter, it's worth a read for sure. A lot of not well known occurrences both good and bad that happened concerning this administration are brought to attention.