One Dream: Barack Obama, Race, and the American Dream

This essay examines the way in which Barack Obama, in his "More Perfect Union" address, dealt with the Rev. Wright controversy and confronted issues of race. We argue that Obama, faced with a controversy that jeopardized his candidacy, first explained the anger of both white and black Americans and then linked the problems of race in America to the American Dream, arguing that only by making that dream available to all citizens could those problems be remedied. We then draw implications for both dream narratives and for Obama's political discourse.