The academy is of course the font of postmodern deconstructionism, of which Obama appears to have drunk deep. Commenting on O.’s ever-changing takes on the troop surge in Iraq, David Bueche remarks that O.:
has earned his place in history as the first postmodern candidate for president. He belongs to the deconstructionist school; his “texts” have no fixed meaning. He is able to take varying positions and claim consistency.