Carlos Lozada reviews Audacity: How Barack Obama Defied his Critics and Created a Legacy that Will Prevail by Jonathan Chait and A Consequential President: The Legacy of Barack Obama by Michael D'Antonio (and more). Mike Konczal on the austerity of the Obama years. David Leonhardt on the most successful Democrat since F.D.R. Obama hoped to be a transformational president — he failed: He got a lot done, but still left us living in Ronald Reagan's America. Obama's hidden legacy: Behind the headlines, he rebuilt American policies in ways the Trump team will have hard time undoing — and may not even want to. Trump is not Obama's legacy — he's the legacy of anti-Obamaism.
Ashley Deeks (Virginia): The Obama Administration, International Law, and Executive Minimalism. Obama hoped to transform the world — it transformed him: The president entered office with a vision for a cosmopolitan foreign policy; then he encountered drones, Syria and a growing wave of illiberalism. Obama and the limits of "fact-based" foreign policy: How America's best and brightest once again steered the country to failure. Barney Frank says Obama should change our approach to the world: After he leaves office, he'll be one of the only voices of reason and experience about America's role as the world's policeman. Obama leaves behind a mixed record on technology and surveillance.
From n+1, Aziz Rana on decolonizing Obama: What happened to the third-world Left? Obama's legacy as a historian: Historians discuss and debate the president's use of the bully pulpit as a history lectern. Obama out: As a great orator leaves office, we have reached peak speech. Where does Obama rank in American oratory? Rembert Browne on how Barack Obama is not cool. Ai-jen Poo on how Obama should become Organizer-in-Chief: After he leaves office, he should use his life of experience to help the organizations that serve people who are overlooked.
Obama shouldn’t go quietly: Trump presents an unprecedented threat to American values — Obama should stand up for them.
