A Second Recovery

This chapter discusses Barack Obama's second major humiliation at the ballot box and his major comeback as president, after his rating improved dramatically in the polls. It recounts diplomatic relations with Cuba and the signing of bilateral and multilateral agreements to reduce carbon emissions. Beyond Obama's overtures to Cuba and confronting the problem of global warming, the chapter also describes how he undertook a number of other new initiatives. These included an unsuccessful effort at comprehensive immigration reform and an agreement with Iran to stop its development of weapons-grade uranium and plutonium. Obama also placed new emphasis on the issue of race relations, a matter he had largely ignored through his first six years as president. The chapter emphasizes that Obama remained optimistic about the future and stayed true to his beliefs in interdependency, diversity, and the establishment of a middle-class society in the final year of his administration.