Orbe (Western Michigan Univ.) argues that the Obama presidency has forever altered the way communication and diversity are discussed in America, but the discussion is still often about race. His meticulous research reveals how the public's attitudes about President Obama's communication style affect perceptions of his temperament and leadership ability. Orbe's data are drawn from interviews with 300-plus participants from 12 states; one facet of the book that provides great interest--too rare in scholarly efforts--is extensive excerpts from these interviews with a variety of people. At the center of the book are four chapters on the role of race in a "post-racial" society. While conducting his research, rather than asking questions about race he allowed his focus groups to bring up the issue of race independently, an excellent strategy. Orbe argues in his concluding chapter that race continues to make a difference in people's perceptions of Obama, and that a "post-racial" society has not yet eventuated. The work is the latest in the "Lexington Studies in Political Communication" series edited by Robert E. Denton, Jr. Summing Up: Recommended.
