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Legislative Success and Political Failure: The Public's Reaction to Barack Obama's Early Presidency
Author(s) -
JACOBSON GARY C.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
presidential studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.337
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 1741-5705
pISSN - 0360-4918
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-5705.2011.03852.x
Subject(s) - presidency , political science , legislature , politics , public administration , democracy , legislation , law , public opinion , political economy , sociology
During his first two years in office, fulfilling prominent campaign promises, Barack Obama pushed through legislation attacking the recession and its causes, initiated sweeping reforms in the health care system, and shifted U.S. forces from Iraq to Afghanistan. His reward was to see his Democratic Party suffer a crushing defeat in the 2010 elections. I examine the contours of opinion regarding Obama before he was elected and as they subsequently evolved during his early presidency in order to understand where, how, and why the president's legislative and policy successes turned into political failures.