Summary: The Promise E-Book

BusinessNews Publishing

• Herausgeber: Political Book Summaries
• Kategorie: Sachliteratur, Reportagen, Biografien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 27

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

The must-read summary of Jonathan Alter's book: “The Promise: President Obama, Year One”.

This complete summary of "The Promise" by Jonathan Alter, a bestselling author and journalist, presents his account of the achievements made, reckless decisions taken and challenges faced by the Obama administration during the president's first year in office.

Added-value of this summary:
• Save time
• Understand the hidden truth of Obama's first year in office
• Expand your knowledge of American politics

To learn more, read "The Promise" and discover the backstory of Obama's first year in office that has, until now, remained a mystery.

Leseprobe

Book Presentation: The Promise by Jonathan Alter

Book Abstract

From Franklin Roosevelt to Lyndon Johnson through to Ronald Reagan, American presidents have by-and-large done much of their domestic scoring in the first quarter of their first terms when their political capital is at its peak. The initiatives they push through in Year One tend to set the tone for the rest of their presidencies.

By the time Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States on January 20, 2009, his new administration was facing two active and long-running wars, the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression and the people’s unrealistic expectations that dramatic political change was about to happen. Yet in spite of that, President Obama has managed to use a huge and underappreciated stimulus bill to kick-start the economy, navigated his way through auto bailouts and bank rescues, faced down the Pentagon, reached out to the Muslim world, advanced nuclear nonproliferation and managed the wars America was engaged in. For all that, however, he’s most likely to be remembered for the health care reforms which were encapsulated in House and Senate bills which came back from the dead over and over. This was his administration’s signature achievement and it is what he will be remembered for by history – for better or for worse.

About the Author

JONATHAN ALTER is a senior editor at Newsweek. He has written a column on politics, history, media and society at large since 1991. He is also an analyst and contributing correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC. Mr. Alter also wrote The Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope.

Summary of The Promise (Jonathan Alter)

President-in-Waiting

It’s easy to assume a President-elect can relax for a while after winning an election but for Barack Obama, the work involved began in earnest at 8a.m. on the morning after the election. Obama had decided two weeks earlier in October Rahm Emmanuel would be his new chief of staff and how the White House would be organized in the event he won. Obama’s closest political advisors – political consultant David Axelrod, family friend Valerie Jarrett and Capitol Hill veteran Pete Rouse – all agreed the incoming Obama administration should avoid the mistakes of the Clinton administration where a large group of advisors had direct access to the president. It was decided instead everything for Obama would instead be channeled through Rahm which was a more structured way to operate. Now all that was left to do was to appoint a Cabinet and fill the seven thousand or so political positions an incoming president decides on.

The highest profile cabinet appointment was that of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. Obama’s inner circle were initially against the idea until they were set straight by Obama who correctly noted: “You guys are missing the fundamental point – she’s the most qualified candidate.” Clinton was surprised to even be offered the job given the strong feelings which had been generated during the Democratic primaries. She resisted for a good week or so because she wanted to stay in the Senate where she would have direct involvement in health care reform, but ultimately she decided this was too good an opportunity to pass on.