Description
Book SynopsisWith Joe Biden stepping back into the national scene, the time is ripe for a close assessment of the administration in which he served as vice-president.
The Center Did Not Hold weighs the progressive—and not so progressive—contributions of the Obama-Biden White House across more than a hundred issues involving international relations, domestic cultural and economic matters, and social justice.
While Obama and Biden campaigned in the early 2000s on a host of progressive promises, Eisenberg’s meticulous accounting shows that, over eight years, they failed to achieve any substantial, lasting change to that end, instead perpetuating a tradition of cautious centrism.
Among the disappointments, the former president and vice-president reneged on environmental promises, pandered to lobbyists, prosecuted a record number of whistle-blowers, and failed to implement the simplest of financial reforms in response to the 2008 crisis. Under Biden’s trademark “counterterrorism plus” strategy, they oversaw tens of thousands of civilian deaths in Afghanistan, and escalated violence in the Middle East.
Trade Review"Part-primer, part-primal scream... In relentless detail… Eisenberg accuses Obama and [Biden] of having left ‘a lingering bad taste in the mouths of many progressives.’”
—reviewed in the Times Literary Supplement
“Cogent… [A] reality check.”
—reviewed in OpEdNews
Table of ContentsCONTENTS
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
PART I—DEMOCRACY 1
Transparency 3
Binney, Drake, Loomis, Wiebe 5
Kiriakou 7
Associated Press 8
Surveillance 9
Snowden 11
Risen 13
Vacations 16
Clinton Endorsement 18
Trans-Pacific Partnership 19
Japan 23
Democracy Rankings 25
Expense Accounts 26
Democratic Party 27
Freedom of the Press 29
Speeches 30
Real Estate 32
Sanders Endorsement 33
PART II—ENVIRONMENT 35
Cap and Trade 37
Arctic 38
Oceans 39
Nuclear Energy 40
Flint 41
Air Pollution 43
Flood Standards 46
Bees 47
Monarch Butterflies 49
Dakota Access Pipeline 51
Greenhouse Gas 52
PART III—FINANCE & ECONOMY 53
Bankers 55
Rubin 57
AIG 59
Bankruptcy Law 62
Solyndra and Other Grants to Cronies 65
Geithner 68
Foreclosuregate 69
HSBC 71
Campaign Finance 73
Revolving Door 75
SEC Chairmen 79
National Debt 81
Economic Growth 82
Corporate Profits 83
Forbes 400 84
Corporate Cash Abroad 85
PART IV—FOREIGN POLICY 87
Drones 89
Arms 91
Haiti 92
Honduras 96
Blackwater 98
Libya 100
Iraq 102
Israel and Palestine 105
Bahrain 107
Egypt 109
Syria 111
Cuba 113
Afghanistan 114
North Korea 117
China 119
Special Ops 121
Yemen 124
Iran Deal 126
Burma 128
Bomber 129
Nuclear Arms Modernization 130
F-35 132
Gitmo 134
Armenian Genocide 136
Two Terms, Two Wars 137
PART V—JUSTICE 139
Gun Control 141
Police Militarization 143
Military Tribunals 146
TSA 149
Whistleblowers 152
Torture 155
Assassination of U.S. Citizens 158
NDAA and Habeas Corpus 160
Deportation 163
War on Drugs 165
Solitary Confinement 168
White-Collar Crime 171
Supreme Court Nominee Rejected 173
Clinton Email Scandal 175
Kissinger 177
Asset Forfeiture 179
Clinton Foundation 182
Clemency 183
Dreamers 185
PART VI—SOCIAL POLICY 189
Test Scores 191
Tax Code Simplification 193
Obamacare 195
Tax Cuts Retained 198
Medical Marijuana 200
Social Security 202
Militarization of Federal Agencies 205
Drug Overdose Crisis 207
GMOs 209
Unions 211
Manufacturing Jobs 213
Racial Wealth Disparity 214
Suicides 215
Race Relations 216
Income Inequality 218
Wealth Inequality 220
Infrastructure 221
Mortgage Fee Reduction 222
Minimum Wage 223
Quality of Life 224
About the Author 225
