Hoover Institution
Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, specializing in the study of race, multiculturalism and American political culture; author of A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited about Obama and Why He Can't Win
PROFILE
Shelby Steele
Guest
FROM Shelby Steele
To the Point
'American Exceptionalism:' Myth or Reality? Almost since the revolution that created the United States, Americans have considered themselves as a nation apart. "American Exceptionalism" is now a standard theme for Democrats and Republicans. With economic and military expansion, world leadership has been seen as an obligation. But, for all its contributions to human progress, does the US really behave that much better than other nations? Are there dangers in that kind of thinking? Should the US recognize its weaknesses as well as its strengths or, if it focuses too much on past mistakes, will it fail to take the actions required for the future? We hear an argument crucial to the assumptions that dictate national policy. How does America look to the rest of the world?
To the Point
Obama, Race and the Presidential Campaign Barack Obama 's mother was white and his father was African. In the United States, that makes him black. He doesn't talk about it the way Hillary Clinton talks about being the first woman president, but Obama could be the first black to win the White House. The latest poll by CNN shows that Barack Obama has caught up to Hillary Clinton among Democrats in New Hampshire, the first state scheduled to hold a presidential primary next year. What's made the difference is a switch among women. New Hampshire Democrats still think Clinton has the best chance to win in November, but Obama is more likable, more believable and more likely to unite the country. Why do so many white voters support him? Why are so many black voters supporting her? We talk about transcending the racist past while confronting racial differences as a present reality.
Recommended
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.