Perils of Obamamania Barack Obama, the Left and the lesser evil

?A change we can believe in? has incited an unprecedented liberal frenzy ?yet in the midst of this Obamamania, few progressives have stopped to question what this change might entail, or how it might undermine wider political struggles. As his policy platform drifts further toward the center ground, will progressive support for Obama permanently shift American politics to the Right? Does this frenzy simply reflect a final surrender to the status quo?

Adolph Reed takes Obama to task. Examining the persistent doctrine of supporting the ?lesser evil? ? helping to elect the least-worst candidate at any cost?he argues with acerbic wit that the Left?s faith in Obama will permanently shift the terms of political debate rightward. Writing from decades of involvement in black and activist political movements, Reed challenges a trend that could undermine a new generation of change.

?Everything [Reed] writes is informed by a strong historical memory of a time when there was a ?Movement? and when the distance between rhetoric and conviction was much less than it is now.? ? New York Times Book Review