Kaye in Daily Beast: ‘Why Obama Is No FDR,’ and progressive disappointment

Prof. Harvey J. Kaye of Democracy and Justice Studies is the author of an essay and book review posted at the widely read Daily Beast news and opinion website. Kaye assesses the book The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies, in which political columnist and former Newsweek senior editor Jonathan Alter presents the history of the Obama presidency from the Democratic Party’s debacle in the 2010 midterm elections to its victory in the 2012 general election. Kaye mostly praises Alter’s reporting but disputes some of his conclusions about Obama’s relative success, arguing that the president has failed to rally the public and politicians toward even greater progressive gains that should have been in reach. Kaye says it is a mistake to rank Obama’s major policy achievements with those of FDR and the New Deal or Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society. Read more.