Demonizing a President: The "Foreignization" of Barack Obama

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This groundbreaking political expos scrutinizes the motivations behind the unparalleled attacks on President Barack Obama that attempted to undermine his eligibility to lead the country. The ascendancy of the first Black president was a watershed moment in American history. In response, Obama's adversaries engaged in relentless and systematic mudslinging throughout his campaign and well into his presidency, "othering" him as a foreign and dangerous political figure. Never before has a presidential candidate been so maligned, by so many, in such a variety of waysand yet won. This provocative study investigates the unrest behind the Obama campaign and election, and the controversial political machine that caused it. Martin A. Parlett, himself a former campaigner for Barack Obama, examines the role identity politics and racialization played in the anti-Obama movement, shows how foreignization is the latest tool for political dissent, and discusses the ways in which Obama successfully used the "outsider" label to his own advantage. The book questions the popularand often contradictorynotions of Obama as illegitimate, Muslim, Marxist/Communist, socialist, Kenyan, terrorist, and angry African American. Additionally, chapters trace political marginalization and race throughout history from slavery to Reconstruction to the Civil Rights Movement, concluding with the culture of distrust in the American political psyche since the events of September 11, 2001.

Reviews

It is a credit to Parlett that he manages to decipher and disentangle the numerous charges aimed at Obama in a manner that is comprehensible and comprehensive; his book's argument is laid out clearly for academic and layman alike. . . . Some would prefer to take up arms. Yet in the end, the clear and sensible tone is what makes this book a triumph of reason over ignorance. * Review 31 *
An excellent bibliography and a careful index make this a particularly valuable volume. . . . Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. * Choice *
Demonizing a President is a remarkable book for both scholarly and general readers . . . a must-read text for those who want to understand a formula of fear in American political discourse that is at once historical and contemporary. . . . Demonizing a President thus represents a valiant and even audacious attempt to correct the persistent focal lenses that have repeatedly and maliciously undermined the forty-fourth president. * Presidential Studies Quarterly *

Author Bio

Martin A. Parlett is a researcher and communications professional specializing in political communication.