Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charlie Savage asks "Has Obama become Bush?" in this deeply reported investigation of the national security state.
Barack Obama promised change from George W. Bush's global war on terrorism. But the Obama administration used drones to kill suspected militants and vacuumed data on Americans' phone calls. Obama criticized Bush's unilateralism and secrecy, but launched wars without going to Congress and presided over an unprecedented crackdown on leaks.
With extensive reporting, Savage explores how and why Obama and his legal team--an elite, liberal group who vowed to restore the rule of law--end up accused of entrenching the sweeping powers of the post-9/11 security state. If legitimate, the accusation stands to change the legacy of Obama's entire presidency.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charlie Savage is a Washington Correspondent for The New York Times. His first book, Takeover, a bestselling and award-winning account of the Bush administration's efforts to expand presidential power, was named one of the best books of 2007 by The Washington Post, Slate, and Esquire.