The conning of Barack Obama
Business Times - 14 Oct 2011 The conning of Barack Obama A controversial new book claims that the idealistic president has been systemically thwarted in his reform programmes By LEON HADAR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT EVEN in the age of 24/7 news when the most recent gossip in the blogosphere can ignite never- ending debate on cable TV news shows, forcing a politician to resign from office or produce a diplomatic row, the printed pages of that most archaic form of 'dead-tree-ware' - the Book - can still upstage the Web page and make a difference in Washington's online media-saturated universe. Indeed, every once in a while, excerpts from a soon-to-be-published non-fiction book (which critics immediately denounce as, well, fiction) are circulated among officials and journalists, creating a 'buzz' and, in the process, redefining the political discourse and resetting the policy agenda. For example, a series of books by prominent investigative reporter Bob Woodward that pro...