The Teleological Discourse of Barack Obama, by Richard Leeman, provides an in-depth analysis of President Barack Obama’s speeches and writings to explain the power of the 44th president's speaking.This book argues that, from his earliest writings through his latest presidential speeches, Obama has described the world through a teleological lens. Teleology is the philosophy of discovering in the essential nature of humans or countries the telos, or ideal, towards which one should progress. Obama consistently portrays freedom and equality as essential to human nature and the American spirit. Understanding his discourse as teleological helps explain the inspirational and philosophical nature of his rhetoric, as well as his famous patience, perceiving progress where others become frustrated. Teleological discourse is ancient, with its roots in philosophies such as Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics and Christian theology, and its handprints evident in Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. In order to discover the roots of Obama's teleological perspective, Leeman also examines the speeches of presidents Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan, as well as the civil rights discourse of Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglass, and W. E. B. Du Bois. Although the roots of his teleological discourse run deep, President Obama's particular use of the philosophy is very modern. The Teleological Discourse of Barack Obama is an essential contribution to the study of American politics and political rhetoric.

This handsome leather-bound volume features 85 of Barack Obama’s most influential and impactful speeches—spanning more than a decade from his time in the Senate to his final day in the presidency. Hailed as one of the greatest orators of modern times, former President Barack Obama has inspired millions through his speeches. This gorgeous collection—a hearty 704 pages, in a timeless leather-bound edition with a foil-stamped cover and gilded edges—provides a comprehensive look at how Obama’s message of hope and change evolved from before his presidency until his last day in office. Today more than ever, these speeches resonate with optimism and keen insights that people of all viewpoints and political backgrounds can appreciate and learn from. Pieces include… Pre-presidential speeches that signified Obama as a rising star. Speeches from some of the most important events of his presidency. His first and second inaugural addresses, all of his State of the Union addresses, and his moving 2017 farewell speech. Dozens more, covering the greatest issues facing the United States and the world. Perfect for any political aficionado, newshound, or admirer of the 44th president of the United States, this collection makes an ideal gift.

The Teleological Discourse of Barack Obama, by Richard Leeman, provides an in-depth analysis of President Barack Obama's speeches and writings to explain the power of the 44th president's speaking. Highly regarded for his eloquent and inspiring rhetoric, Obama is often compared to Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. However, Leeman's study shows that Obama's teleological philosophy and discourse more closely resembles Ronald Reagan's rhetoric.

“This incisive work” examining Obama’s speeches and the theories of W.E.B. DuBois “illuminates the influences of words and ideas” (Choice). The racial history of US citizenship is vital to our understanding of both citizenship and race. Robert E. Terrill argues that, to invent a robust manner of addressing one another as citizens, Americans must draw on the indignities of racial exclusion that have stained citizenship since its inception. In Double-Consciousness and the Rhetoric of Barack Obama, Terrill demonstrates how President Barack Obama’s public address models such a discourse. Terrill contends that Obama’s most effective oratory invites his audiences to experience a form of “double-consciousness,” famously described by W. E. B. Du Bois as a feeling of “two-ness” resulting from the African American experience of “always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others.” An effect of cruel alienation, this double-consciousness can also offer valuable perspectives on society. When addressing fellow citizens, Obama asks each to share in the “peculiar sensation” that Du Bois described. Through close analyses of selected speeches from Obama’s 2008 campaign and first presidential term, this book argues that Obama does not present double-consciousness merely as a point of view but as an idiom with which we might speak to one another. Of course, as Du Bois’s work reminds us, double-consciousness results from imposition and encumbrance, so that Obama’s oratory presents a mode of address that emphasizes the burdens of citizenship together with the benefits, the price as well as the promise.

A collection of Barack Obama's greatest speeches, now including his farewell address, selected and introduced by columnist E.J. Dionne and MSNBC host Joy-Ann Reid. "It is a political partisan's dream to see them [Obama's words] so finely gathered here." - Washington Post We Are the Change We Seek is a collection of Barack Obama's 27 greatest addresses: beginning with his 2002 speech opposing the Iraq War and closing with his emotional farewell address in Chicago in January 2017. As president, Obama's words had the power to move the country, and often the world, as few presidents before him. Whether acting as Commander in Chief or Consoler in Chief, Obama adopted a unique rhetorical style that could simultaneously speak to the national mood and change the course of public events. Obama's eloquence, both written and spoken, propelled him to national prominence and ultimately made it possible for the son of a Kenyan man and a white woman from Kansas to become the first black president of the United States. These speeches span Obama's career--from his time in state government through to the end of his tenure as president--and the issues most important to our time: war, inequality, race relations, gun violence and human rights. The book opens with an essay placing Obama's oratorical contributions within the flow of American history by E.J. Dionne Jr., columnist and author of Why The Right Went Wrong, and Joy Reid, the host of AM Joy on MSNBC and author of Fracture.

Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the United States. In a country with a rich history of racial animosities, Obama represents a notable deviation in the trajectory of America’s presidential history. At the close of his second term in office, a survey of the personalities and events associated with his presidency is fitting. In this walk through recent history we will be keen to point out the president’s successes, failures, and challenges. Governing in a society ripe with ideological and partisan polarization, the Obama Administration was surrounded by controversy, much of it manufactured by his opponents but salient nonetheless. This volume will attempt to provide perspective and clarity on the most important individuals and experiences connected to Obama during his eight years in office, but also his early life. Information included in this volume also includes discussion of his transition out of office and events taking place at the beginning of the Donald Trump Administration. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Barack Obama Administration contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, including the president, his advisors, his family, his opponents, and his critics, as well as members of Congress, military leaders, and international leaders. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Barack Obama.

In Hope Draped in Black Joseph R. Winters responds to the enduring belief that America follows a constant trajectory of racial progress. Such notions—like those that suggested the passage into a postracial era following Barack Obama's election—gloss over the history of racial violence and oppression to create an imaginary and self-congratulatory world where painful memories are conveniently forgotten. In place of these narratives, Winters advocates for an idea of hope that is predicated on a continuous engagement with loss and melancholy. Signaling a heightened sensitivity to the suffering of others, melancholy disconcerts us and allows us to cut against dominant narratives and identities. Winters identifies a black literary and aesthetic tradition in the work of intellectuals, writers, and artists such as W. E. B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, and Charles Burnett that often underscores melancholy, remembrance, loss, and tragedy in ways that gesture toward such a conception of hope. Winters also draws on Walter Benjamin and Theodor Adorno to highlight how remembering and mourning the uncomfortable dimensions of American social life can provide alternate sources for hope and imagination that might lead to building a better world.