5.1 Dorrien (2012)
Dorrien, Gary (2012) The Obama Question: A Progressive Perspective. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Quick Look
Author
Gary Dorrien is the Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and Professor of Religion at Columbia University. He is the author of 14 books and approximately 250 articles which range across the fields of ethics, social theory, theology, philosophy, politics and history. His trilogy, The Making of American Liberal Theology, is considered by many to be the definitive work in the field. Yet he also wrote The Remaking of Evangelical Theology, which evangelicals themselves praised as a surprisingly fair characterization of their movement by a liberal. His book Social Ethics in the Making, a comprehensive interpretation of social ethics as an academic field as well as a tradition of public discourse, won the Choice Award as the outstanding book in ethics of 2009. He has been described as “the preeminent social ethicist in North America today” by Princeton University philosopher Cornel West. I've also reviewed on this site Dorrien's The Remaking of Evangelical Theology (see 4.10). |
This Resource’s Key Interpretations and Insights Related to the Purposes of This Website
The author explains why progressives should still strongly support Obama, even if they are disappointed with some of his positions. He also skewers the key far-right hate-mongers for their disinformation campaigns.
1. If you want to have a fully informed and fair perspective on the first three years of Obama's presidency, it's important to be familiar with what makes this author and his book unique. It's Dorrien's rare ability to read, organize and fairly represent all the most important positions related to a subject that makes his books, articles and teaching so compelling.
2. Dorrien has a very good argument for why (even though he often agrees with many of his fellow progressives' criticisms of Obama's actions during his first three years in office) no one should see those actions either as betrayals of his promises or (more importantly) reasons for not actively supporting him for a second term.
3. Ugly character assaults and gross misrepresentations of policies have always been part of American politics. However, as Dorrien points out, polls reveal that startling, unprecedented percentages, not only of Republicans but of the general population, believe the outrageously false characterizations about President Obama and his policies spewed out incessantly by the far-right. They're so ridiculous they'd be laughable, if they weren't such a threat to the health of our democracy.
4. Dorrien has good insights into Obama's locations on the philosophical, religious and political spectrums. This allows him to explain (from the perspective of his own position, quite a bit to the left of Obama) why this center-left president is a unique, and often misunderstood, politician.
Additional Important Interpretations and Insights
5. For Dorrien its's the far-right take over of the Republican Party and its politically motivated obstructionist stance since Obama's election that is basically responsible for the asymmetric polarization in Congress.
The author explains why progressives should still strongly support Obama, even if they are disappointed with some of his positions. He also skewers the key far-right hate-mongers for their disinformation campaigns.
1. If you want to have a fully informed and fair perspective on the first three years of Obama's presidency, it's important to be familiar with what makes this author and his book unique. It's Dorrien's rare ability to read, organize and fairly represent all the most important positions related to a subject that makes his books, articles and teaching so compelling.
2. Dorrien has a very good argument for why (even though he often agrees with many of his fellow progressives' criticisms of Obama's actions during his first three years in office) no one should see those actions either as betrayals of his promises or (more importantly) reasons for not actively supporting him for a second term.
3. Ugly character assaults and gross misrepresentations of policies have always been part of American politics. However, as Dorrien points out, polls reveal that startling, unprecedented percentages, not only of Republicans but of the general population, believe the outrageously false characterizations about President Obama and his policies spewed out incessantly by the far-right. They're so ridiculous they'd be laughable, if they weren't such a threat to the health of our democracy.
4. Dorrien has good insights into Obama's locations on the philosophical, religious and political spectrums. This allows him to explain (from the perspective of his own position, quite a bit to the left of Obama) why this center-left president is a unique, and often misunderstood, politician.
Additional Important Interpretations and Insights
5. For Dorrien its's the far-right take over of the Republican Party and its politically motivated obstructionist stance since Obama's election that is basically responsible for the asymmetric polarization in Congress.
Endorsements
"Ultimately, Dorrien says, the Obama question is whether Obama's presidency will mark the end of the Reagan era--when giant corporations and the wealthy got whatever they wanted, military budgets soared, and American politics was ruled by the fantasy of tax cuts paying for themselves." ~from the front flap of the book jacket
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“Gary Dorrien’s noted gifts for critical analysis, rigorous argument, and beautiful writing are on full display in this important book. He examines the complete Obama from Hawaii to the White House, exploring Obama’s mind, policies, and politics--and contending persuasively that progressives must not give up on Obama or the nation’s common good.” ~Ronald Stone, author of Prophetic Realism and Moral Reflection on Foreign Policy. ~from the back cover:
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