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Revisiting Obama’s ‘A Promised Land’
Books, US politics Clare Egan Books, US politics Clare Egan

Revisiting Obama’s ‘A Promised Land’

"In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope."

That's maybe the best line from Barack Obama's infamous 2008 "Yes, We Can" speech.

The one that Will.I.Am set to music, with a host of celebrities in black and white earnestly reading the lines with their eyes locked on the camera. Reading the speech again now, it seems naive at best. At worst, it betrays the kind of delusional optimism that came to define the former President's time in public life.

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Who should the democrats nominate?
US politics Clare Egan US politics Clare Egan

Who should the democrats nominate?

Last weekend, Michael McDowell argued that the democratic party must select a “manifestly mainstream” candidate to face Trump in 2020. I was horrified (though not surprised) to see such a prominent commentator calling for people of colour to stand aside and keep quiet in the interest of the party.

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