Synopses & Reviews
When Barack Obama won the presidency, many posited that we were entering into a post-racial period in American politics. Regrettably, the reality hasnandrsquo;t lived up to that expectation. Instead, Americansandrsquo; political beliefs have become significantly
more polarized by racial considerations were had been before Obamaandrsquo;s presidencyandmdash;in spite of his administrationandrsquo;s considerable efforts to neutralize the political impact of race.
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Michael Tesler shows how, in the years that followed the 2008 electionandmdash;a presidential election more polarized by racial attitudes than any other in modern timesandmdash;racial considerations came increasingly to influence many aspects of political decision making. These range from peopleandrsquo;s evaluations of prominent politicians and the parties to issues seemingly unrelated to race like assessments of public policy or objective economic conditions. Some people even displayed more positive feelings toward Obamaandrsquo;s dog, Bo, when they were told he belonged to Teddy Kennedy. More broadly, Tesler argues that the rapidly intensifying influence of race in American politics is driving the polarizing partisan divide and the vitriolic atmosphere that has come to characterize American politics.
One of the most important books on American racial politics in recent years, Post-Racial or Most-Racial? is required reading for anyone wishing to understand what happened in the United States during Obamaandrsquo;s presidency and how it might shape the country long after he leaves office.
Review
andldquo;One of the most important books on racial politics to appear in the United States, Post-Racial or Most-Racial? presents cutting edge analysis of racial attitudes and their effects on modern American politics. Tesler superbly sets out the extent to which heightened partisan and ideological polarization characterizing American politics in the last two decades is a deeply racialized division and argues persuasively that mass politics became more heavily influenced by racial considerations during Obamaandrsquo;s presidency andlsquo;in spite of his administrationandrsquo;s best efforts to neutralize the political impact of race.andrsquo; Statistically rigorous, theoretically nuanced, and politically important, this is a major work of original scholarship.andrdquo;
Synopsis
Barack Obamaand#8217;s presidential victory naturally led people to believe that the United States might finally be moving into a post-racial era. Obamaand#8217;s Raceand#8212;and its eye-opening account of the role played by race in the electionand#8212;paints a dramatically different picture.
The authors argue that the 2008 election was more polarized by racial attitudes than any other presidential election on recordand#8212;and perhaps more significantly, that there were two sides to this racialization: resentful opposition to and racially liberal support for Obama. As Obamaand#8217;s campaign was given a boost in the primaries from racial liberals that extended well beyond that usually offered to ideologically similar white candidates, Hillary Clinton lost much of her longstanding support and instead became the preferred candidate of Democratic racial conservatives. Time and again, votersand#8217; racial predispositions trumped their ideological preferences as John McCainand#8212;seldom described as conservative in matters of raceand#8212;became the darling of racial conservatives from both parties. Hard-hitting and sure to be controversial, Obamaand#8217;s Race will be both praised and criticizedand#8212;but certainly not ignored.
Synopsis
Most Racial starts where Michael Tesler and David Searsandrsquo; last book--Obamaandrsquo;s Race, the story of the 2008 presidential electionandmdash;leaves off. Teslerandrsquo;s new book will provide the definitive account of the role of racial attitudes in mass politics during the Obama presidency. It tells the story of how, when, and why a wide swath of Americans became significantly more polarized by racial considerations than they had been before Barack Obamaandrsquo;s ascendancy and in spite of his administrationandrsquo;s strenuous efforts to neutralize the political impact of race. Rather than ushering in a new, post-racial era, the first black presidency in history has ironically resulted in the most-racial era of modern times Marshalling a vast amount of observational and experimental survey data, Tesler shows how racial attitudes have andldquo;spilled overandrdquo; to influence so many aspects of mass political decision making. These range from peopleandrsquo;s evaluations of presidential candidates and their partisan attachments, to seemingly non-racially related issues such as preferences about public policy and their subjective evaluations of objective economic conditions. Anti-black attitudes, for example, became a significantly stronger predictor of opposition to governmental health care after Obama became the face of the policy. Some people even had more positive feelings toward Obamaandrsquo;s dog, Bo, when told it was John Kerryandrsquo;s dog. Most broadly, Tesler argues that this racialization of our politics is behind both a growing partisan division between racially liberal and racially conservative white and an expanding political divide between white and non-white Americans that could shape our politics for years to come. It is, according to our reviewer, andldquo;certainly one of the most important books on racial politics to ever appear in the United States.andrdquo;
About the Author
Michael Tesler is a graduate student in political science at UCLA. David O. Sears is distinguished professor of psychology and political science at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author of numerous books.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Obama as Most-Racial
Chapter 1. Racial Attitudes and American Politics in the Age of Obama
Chapter 2. The Spillover of Racialization Hypothesis
Chapter 3. The Obama Presidency, Racial Attitudes, and the 2012 Election
Chapter 4. Racial Attitudes and Evaluations of Public Figures in the Obama Era
Chapter 5. The Spillover of Racialization into Public Policy Preferences
Chapter 6. Racial Attitudes and Voting for Congress in the Obama Era
Chapter 7. The Growing Racialization of Partisan Attachments
Chapter 8. The Expanding Political Divide between White and Nonwhite Americans
Chapter 9. Conclusion: Racial Politics in the Obama and Post-Obama Eras
Notes
References
Index