The Obama presidency : promise and performance / edited by William J. Crotty.

Representation and counter-representation in the Obama presidency / William Crotty -- Obama by the numbers : a comparison with previous presidencies / Bruce E. Caswell -- Obama's health reform : the managerial president and the political storm / James A. Morone -- Environmental policy : the success and failure of the Obama presidency / John C. Berg -- Shifting global paradigms and Obama's adaptive foreign policy / Lawrence C. Reardon -- African-American perspectives of the Obama presidency / Shayla C. Nunnally -- Minority party strategies and political successes in opposition to the Obama policy agenda / R. Lawrence Butler -- Coalitional divisions and realignment dynamics in the Obama era / Arthur C. Paulson -- Recalibrating the Obama presidency : the off-year elections and their consequences / Maureen F. Moakley -- Principles and pragmatism in the Obama presidency / William Crotty.

Includes bibliographical references.

"In this illuminating examination of the Obama presidency, William Crotty and the contributors present an analysis of the motivations and political thinking underlying the administration's policy actions along with assessments of the public's reaction to policy consequences the agenda favored. Throughout the Obama administration, efforts were made to alleviate the worst of the economic stress facing the nation, move the president closer to the center of the American political spectrum, and prepare for the upcoming reelection campaign. This book goes a long way in explaining the policy decisions made and their consequences, as well as the choices facing a nation in transition."--Back cover.