Civic Studies » Barack Obama

Empathy and Justice

Peter — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 15:47:28 +0000

My remarks at a conference entitled “Empathy …. or Ways of Caring,” Harvard Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, March 15, 2019. (Apologies for some cutting and pasting from previous posts.) Doris Sommer mentioned that Barack Obama popularized the notion … Continue reading → Continue reading →

President Obama on how he discusses policy with Republicans

Peter — Tue, 04 Oct 2016 15:05:20 +0000

Jonathan Chait’s entire interview with the president is fascinating. It offers Obama’s perspective on his own presidency, which is not the objective reality, but it is full of insights. For instance, Chait asks, “So it’s January 27, 2009, and you hear Boehner say he … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Krugman evolves

Peter — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 13:55:01 +0000

In today’s column, Paul Krugman defends president Obama as “an extremely consequential president, doing more to advance the progressive agenda than anyone since L.B.J.” Krugman challenges “the persistent delusion that a hidden majority of American voters either supports or can be … Continue reading → Continue reading →

the State of the Union’s peroration on citizenship

Peter — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 20:11:10 +0000

The President concluded his final State of the Union address with a rousing statement about citizenship. That was appropriate, because he has done the same thing in almost all of his most important speeches, including the 2004 Democratic Convention speech that launched his … Continue reading → Continue reading →

missing the civic empowerment messages of a Pope and a President

Peter — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 22:13:10 +0000

Michelle Boorstein compares the enthusiastic responses to Pope Francis in 2015 and Barack Obama in 2008 and collects several explanations for both: People have “an undeniable, sweeping affinity, a gut reaction to a new leader to whom we attach huge expectations … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Citizen, Renew Thyself

Joshua Miller — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 13:05:31 +0000

A citizens movement doesn't have to be leaderless, but the kinds of leaders ensconced at the top of large institutions are not well-suited to be the leaders of civic renewal movements. They can inspire and celebrate such movements, but neither Barack Obama nor Bernie Sanders nor Pope Francis can lead them. Their institutional authority appears to be inimical to the very bottom-up power they're trying to engender. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Obama faces the new organizers

Peter — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 20:14:04 +0000

Peter Dreier has a great piece on President Obama’s background as a community organizer. The priceless photograph above comes from Dreier’s article. I also explore this aspect of the president’s past in We are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For, … Continue reading →

The post Obama faces the new organizers appeared first on Peter Levine.

Continue reading →

the Left between Obama and Hillary Clinton

Peter — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 16:50:58 +0000

Let’s define “the Left” as thinkers and organizational leaders who are open to voting for Democratic candidates but generally critical of the party, holding more radical policy objectives than elected Democrats do. The Left has had plenty of reason to … Continue reading →

The post the Left between Obama and Hillary Clinton appeared first on Peter Levine.

Continue reading →

my Fox News piece on ObamaCare

Peter — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 11:48:42 +0000

In lieu of a substantive post here today, I’ll link to my own op-ed (on the somewhat unlikely venue of FoxNews.com), entitled “ObamaCare and America’s youth — why lessons of 2014 will last a lifetime.” I argue that the big … Continue reading →

The post my Fox News piece on ObamaCare appeared first on Peter Levine.

Continue reading →

the president and the humanities

Peter — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 18:02:48 +0000

At a General Electric plant in Milwaukee last month, President Obama seemed to disparage one of the disciplines of the humanities: “I promise you, folks can make a lot more potentially with skilled manufacturing or the trades than they might … Continue reading →

The post the president and the humanities appeared first on Peter Levine.

Continue reading →