The O bama Presidency: Hope, Change, and Reality

Objectives The purpose of this article is to assess specifically whether P resident B arak O bama has been a transformational leader and, more generally, the utility of the concept of transformational leadership. Methods The article explores the differences between the aspirations of leaders, their rhetoric, and the hopes of leaders’ passionate partisan followers and the much harsher contextual constraints influencing what leaders, and especially U . S . presidents, can hope to achieve. Results The O bama presidency, in particular, has shown significant sensitivity to its contextual opportunities. In general, it has seized the opportunities it did have to achieve outcomes that it defined as important but these opportunities have been sharply constricted as well. Conclusions The notion of transformational leadership, and the rhetoric that accompanies it, is massively asymmetric. Leadership takes place when strategic opportunities arise, and these more frequently than not are rare.