The Black Presidency

Short Review: I thought this was a fascinating book. This is primarily an evaluation of Obama in relation to race. Both how Obama was evaluated based on his race, but even more importantly how Obama's racial identity impacted the way he was president. I was fascinated by the inside politics of black political world and its interaction with the historic and current civil rights movement.

This was not a puff piece. Dyson is quite critical of Obama, but that critique was tempered with the reality of the limitations of both Obama as a person (one person can only do so much) and the limitations of the role (the President has a large bully pulpit, but not a lot of impact on day to day policing for instance.)

There was significant analysis of Obama's speeches and policy as well as a good comparison with the different styles of leadership between Obama and Eric Holder.

And as I explored a bit in my review, a very helpful section on the black leader as prophet or politician. I really liked Dyson's Tears We Cannot Stop and I like this even more.

It is fascinating to get another perspective on Obama and one that is well informed both because he personally knows Obama and because Dyson is himself well connected to a variety of influential leaders within the black community.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/black-presidency/