Scholars Craig Burnett, Jeff Bloodworth, Daryl Carter, Jonathan Lightfoot and Aisha Wilson-Carter (from left to right) analyze the Obama presidency with the input of discussant Wendell Primus (far right). // Photo courtesy of Moriah Sukhlal

As scholars, public officials, political experts and White House and congressional staff filed into the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center Theater on Wednesday, April 19, Hofstra’s campus buzzed with anticipation for the start of Hofstra’s 13th presidential conference: “The Barack Obama Presidency: Hope and Change.”

The conference, which took place from Wednesday, April 19, to Friday, April 21, included concurrent scholarly panels, plenary sessions and special exhibits which examined Obama’s historical terms in office and the impact of his legacy on the American presidency and politics.

“This conference provides scholarly analysis and key insights into what it takes to become a president,” said Susan Poser, president of Hofstra University, “to build and lead a team of policymakers, to work across political lines and to engage with journalists as they document for history, the arc of a presidency.”

While the plenary events, Media Coverage of the Obama Presidency, The Leadership and Legacy of First Lady Michelle Obama and Enacting the Affordable Care Act, welcomed the address of administration officials and journalists, scholars participated in 15 panels to examine a range of topics including public, foreign, domestic, education and health care policies, as well as presidential leadership.

On Friday, April 21, researchers participated in a scholarly panel to analyze the “Party Politics, Public Support and Policymaking” of the Obama administration. The panel, moderated by Craig Burnett, associate professor of political science at Hofstra, consisted of researchers from across the United States including guest discussant Wendall Primus, senior policy advisor on budget and health issues to Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi from 2005-2023.

The panel began with Jeff Bloodworth, professor of history at Gannon University, presenting his research on “The Obama Coalition’s Kryptonite: Ralph Stanely, Bruce Springsteen and the White Working Class.”

“Barack Obama was a master coalition builder,” Bloodworth said. “Only Obama could have united the kings and queens of bluegrass merengue, blues, jam bands, rock and hip-hop into a motley rainbow coalition of sonic electoral support.”

Bloodworth discussed the uniqueness of the political campaign strategy of the 2008 Obama coalition which enabled Obama to overturn the two white working-class voting blocks that would have hindered him from “earning the transformational mantel,” according to Bloodworth.

“Those were the Appalachian rural populace and working-class whites in the north,” Bloodworth said.

Both groups still comprise the largest voting demographic. While these regions have historically been key Democratic inroads, they collapsed in the post-1968 era. As a result, Bloodworth noted that the 2008 Obama campaigns realized their hope of “political realignment” depended on Obama winning back Stanley and Springsteen voters.

The 2008 Obama campaign was successful due to its realization that “the northern white working class was the democratic key to victory,” Bloodworth said. “Like the rural populace and Appalachian, the campaign especially targeted those voters in swing states where they comprised the majority of the electorate.”

Afterward, Daryl Carter, professor of history at East Tennessee State University, presented his project “A Reawakening: Barack Obama and the Resurgence of Mainstream Extremism.” Carter’s research focused on how the historical undertones of the war with Iraq and the election of America’s first Black president resulted in a resurgence of mainstream extremism.

“As Obama headed toward victory over Arizona senator John McCain in the fall of 2008, the economy entered a deep recession, one which accelerated and confounded major problems,” Carter said.

The Iranian war unleashed damaging effects on the U.S., as it compounded economic disillusionment, frustration due to lack of opportunity, an unprecedented increase of immigration leading to a minority-majority nation. These issues allowed the floodgates to open and introduce mainstream extremism, according to Carter.

For instance, Carter shared an anecdote with the audience. When he was performing research for his book, “Brother Bill: President Clinton and the Politics of Race and Class,” he stated a woman had said, “My country’s been stolen.” “Well,” Carter said, “did someone file a police report on that?”

To clarify, Carter explained that the woman “was reflecting … the fear, anger [and] frustration over the previous decade which had allowed this [the election of a Black president] to occur.”

The last research presentation, “American Race Relations During the Obama Years and Beyond: Irony of Fate,” was presented by Jonathan Lightfoot, professor of teaching, learning and technology at Hofstra and Aisha Wilson-Carter, adjunct associate professor of writing studies and rhetoric at Hofstra.

Their research examined how “expectations were managed with respect to Black and white Evangelicals and systemic racist policies, and race relation,” Wilson-Carter said. “As we began analyzing the expectations for the first Black president, what we discovered was that the religion and politics and political affiliation became less prominent and at the core of the intersection was really representation and what that meant between the various nuance range of expectations.”

Regarding the intersection of race, religion and politics, Lightfoot and Wilson-Carter claimed that Obama’s strategic political and community campaign and his involvement with the Black Evangelical Church allowed him to gain the vote of the larger Black community.

“Barack Obama owed the Black Southside of Chicago church community a debt of gratitude for helping him to not only learn what it means to be a Black man in America,” Lightfoot said, “but for helping him to launch a political career that had brought him to the brink of assuming the head seat at the table of world power.”

Their research procured two major findings. The first was that the Black church played a significant role in American politics as it aided in “voter education and registration, hosting town hall meetings and holding officials accountable,” according to Wilson-Carter, and that the public perceived Obama’s first term to be more successful than his second.

Shortly after, discussant Wendell Primus shared his perspective on the three papers. In response to Lightfoot and Wilson-Carter’s research, Primus contextualized the issue.

“I see it as kind of one of the overriding issues here is abortion versus social justice,” Primus said.

Primus reasoned that most white Evangelicals voted for Republicans due to their tendency to lean towards the issues that coalesced with biblical teachings.

Regarding Carter’s paper, Primus presented an alternative look at the rise of extremism.

“Obama took on two big issues, climate change and the [Affordable Care Act], both very divisive,” Primus said.

He also acknowledged the strategic technique that Bloodworth discussed: the use of musicians in political campaigns to gain votes in key regions.

Students who attended the scholarly panels reflected on the impact of the Obama presidency and even related to the personal anecdotes of the researchers.

Madison Elliot, a freshman English major, reflected on her memory of Obama being elected as president.

“The points on representation really hit home cause I remember being a little kid when Obama was elected,” Elliot said. “Watching on TV with my mom, we’re a Black family … seeing my people in the White House was important.”

Geneva Pierre, a sophomore neuroscience major, related to Wilson-Carter’s presentation.

“I do agree that it [the impact of Obama’s presidency] is a racial, religious and political thing,” Pierre said. “They all tie into one; you can’t ignore one. Obama did what he could as [Wilson-Carter] stated, ‘America does what America does.’”

Although former President Obama was not in attendance, he prepared a special video message for the conference.

“One of the things I tried to do was tell a generous, inclusive story about America where everybody has a seat at the table and where we can all be a part of perfecting this union,” Obama said. “I’m also proud that our administration was able to operate at the highest levels of power and still have a moral compass and an ethical code; we made some mistakes, but every day I had the privilege of working with a group of talented, idealistic people trying to change the world – they made me want to be a better president.”