cover image Turning Point: Picking Up the Pieces After Eight Years of Failed Progressive Policies

Turning Point: Picking Up the Pieces After Eight Years of Failed Progressive Policies

Bob Ehrlich. SelectBooks, $27.95 (448) ISBN 978-1-59079-338-1

According to Ehrlich (America: Hope for Change), Republican former governor of Maryland, the presidency of Barack Obama has been detrimental to the economy and foreign policy of the United States%E2%80%94not to mention race relations, family structure, health care, and many other aspects of American life. That is the pessimistic premise of this collection of weekly Baltimore Sun and Washington Post columns spanning President Obama's term in office. They chronicle noteworthy moments such as the optimistic period following the 2012 presidential election, the Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act, and the barbs and mudslinging of the 2012 election and its aftermath. The author captures, in honest, albeit alarmed, fashion, one conservative American's impressions of living under a progressive presidency. However, he never loses his sense of humor, concluding with satirical "what-if" pieces, including an article detailing a news day in an alternate-universe America with President Mitt Romney and an Obama diary entry revealing the "truth" behind the Benghazi terrorist attack. This comprehensive collection will be a necessary read for right-leaning audiences as 2016's election season gets into full swing. (Jan.)