Book 17 - Game Change - John Heilemann and Mark Halperin

I'd been wanting to get to this book for a while now, but there was a wait list at the library. My name finally came up, so I had to drop the other book I was reading so I could read this. I'm glad that I did.

Book 17 - Game Change - John Heilemann and Mark Halperin

Game Change is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the 2008 presidential campaign. It was written by a pair of political analysts who conducted exhaustive research and interviews with just about every major player from the campaigns of both the Republicans and the Democrats. What is revealed is a much more sharply focused picture of the rivalries between the candidates, their gaffes and peccadilloes, and the infighting among their respective staffs.

While Heileman and Halperin cover all the major candidates, much of the book is focused on the race for the Democratic nomination, especially the epic battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to become their party's candidate. The book reveals, among other things, the initial indecision by Obama on whether to run, the highs and lows felt by both candidates as the moved up and down in the polls, the infighting among Clinton's staff, and the interference of Bill Clinton in the campaign. The Edwards campaign is not ignored, however. Edwards' affair and illegitimate child is discussed in detail, as well as his wife's somewhat unstable mental state.

Over on the Republican side, the authors describe the meltdown and resurgence of the McCain candidacy. The Republican battle lacks the drama of the Democratic story, and seems more like a war of attrition, with each candidate's weaknesses eventually doing them in. Giuliani can't win the conservative vote, Huckabee can't get beyond the conservative vote. Thompson doesn't really seem all that interested in campaigning. Romney, despite his deep pockets, also struggles with the conservatives of the party, and McCain looks like the lesser of two evils for evangelicals suspicious of his Mormon background.

The authors have a field day with the VP candidates as well. The friction created between Binden and Obama by Biden's frequent gaffe's are discussed, but the authors devote much of their attention to Sarah Palin. McCain's campaign was looking to make a splash with their choice, and had been seriously considering the idea of running Independent/Democrat Joe Lieberman as the VP nominee. At the last minute they opted against it as too polarizing, and needed to make another choice. Palin's name was floated, and a vetting process that should have took weeks was done in a few days. Little was known about her when she was named and the McCain campaign had to struggle to answer questions the press was asking about her. They soon found that she lacked much of the basic expertise that would have been expected of someone a heartbeat away from the Presidency. It was also revealed that faced with the pressure of preparing for the debates and interviews she had somewhat of a mental breakdown, and their was great concern as to whether she could handle the position.

Even if you are not a political junkie, I think you would like this book. It is not so much focused on being a comprehensive historical account of the campaign as it is in relating the drama of the campaign. It relates the political strategies, unforeseen events, scandals, tragedies, infighting, victories and defeats that made this bid for the Presidency one of the most memorable in history.