Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Game Change

I just listened to the audio book version of Game Change, a story about the behind the scenes of the 2008 presidential election. I really like these kind of books, and this one was excellent. Heilemann and Halperin did a masterful job of weaving the tale that most of us didn't see.

I'll have to say, of all the principals covered in the book; Obama, Clinton, McCain, Palin, Biden, and the Edwards, I'm not sure that I came away thinking better of any of them.
Certainly I had liked McCain for a while, hoping that he would have beaten Bush in the 2000 Republican Primary. The McCain portrayed in the book was one whose campaign was in disarray; decisions made without a lot of consideration; and ultimately destined to lose. A prime example was the Palin choice for his VP nomination. Its not that they picked her, but the process they used. They really had no idea what they were getting. There is absolutely no excuse for the way it was handled. He wrapped up the nomination much earlier than Obama, and his convention was second. It is incomprehensible that he made his decision at the last minute and really didn't know what he was getting.

His handling of the economic crisis in the September of 2008 cemented his fate. He faltered and Obama shone. Of course, my belief going into the election was that McCain, indeed any Republican, would not only have to run a nearly flawless campaign, but they would need help in the form of a Democratic screw up. There was just too much Bush fatigue.
Obama certainly was a masterful politician, cool under pressure and deliberate in his decision making. The book definitely reinforced that perception. Yet he was still playing the political game. That's not an indictment on my part except that many of his followers seemed to believe that he transcended politics and the media seemed to give him a free pass. While he certainly possesses some leadership skills, he was certainly very, very green when he was elected. Perhaps its not fair to call him an empty suit, but in truth, his accomplishments were the fact that he was elected to the offices. Don't get me wrong, those are no small feats. Being elected to the U.S. Senate is anything but trivial, and being elected President of the U.S. is something only 43 men have done (yes, he is the 44th President, but Grover Cleveland counts twice since he was elected to two non-consecutive terms).

Senator Clinton's portrayal in the book was fascinating. The prohibited front runner for the Democratic nomination, and indeed the presidency, her campaign stumbled, squandering their lead and cash. While her campaign was certainly hurt by the Obama campaign's political skills and savy, many of her wounds were self-inflicted. She thought that she was going to win, and acted like it. While Obama called the Democratic super delegates himself to elicit their support, Clinton would have campaign surrogates make some of the calls. And of course, President Clinton was both an asset and a liability. The Clintons seemed to think that everyone was against them, including the media, who wouldn't give them a fair shake and drooled over Obama.

President Clinton was furious when a remark that he made was interpreted as injecting race into the debate. Its interesting to see someone on the Democrat side of the aisle be saddled with that attack.

Both the Edwards came across much worse than before. Not only did John apparently have an affair, but the 2000 presidential race had changed him from a "nice guy" into a megalomaniac. Of course, after reading about Elizabeth Edwards, I'm not sure I blame John for finding comfort in the arms of another woman. She was portrayed as nasty, petty and demeaning, not only to campaign staff, but to her husband as well.

Biden came across as Biden. I can certainly understand how angry Obama must have been when Biden told some reporters that he was more qualified to be President than Obama.

A host of Democratic Senators, including Harry Reid and Chuck Shuemer were instrumental in getting Obama to run in the first place. They were afraid that Hillary could not win the general election. Of course, they were also afraid of the Clintons, and would not support Obama until it became clear that he could win. Well, at least they were upfront about it.

Palin was certainly not spared in the book. She definitely had her issues, and it became clear that she was not ready to become president. While she certainly made public gaffs, things were worse behind the scenes where she nearly had a melt down. I do have some sympathy for her. She was instantly thrust in the spotlight; becoming one of the most recognizable people in the world in a very short time. Most people have years, even tens of years preparing for that moment. There were only a few days between when she was first contact about the VP nomination and being introduced to the world in Dayton, Ohio. In her personal life, she had a pregnant teenage daughter and a child with downs syndrome. I really do have disdain for the bloggers and people who made her family an issue, suggesting one one had that her husband was not the father, while others that her daughter was actually the mother. It was wrong.


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