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299 reviews for:
Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime
John Heilemann
4.08 AVERAGE
299 reviews for:
Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime
John Heilemann
4.08 AVERAGE
Despite an unfortunate tendency to over-analyze body language and use 1930s style breathless journalistic baseball metaphors, this is a striking inside look at the 2008 Presidential campaign, although it leaves the uneasy impression that the process produces not the best leaders, but the best campaigners who can survive the brutality of the process rather than the outcome.
From http://weeksnotice.blogspot.com/2010/01/heilemann-and-halperins-game-change.html
I read John Heilemann and Mark Halperin's Game Change (I won't even bother with the longest and worst subtitle I've seen in a long while), which had received attention in the blogosphere regarding whether political scientists would like it. I did, though not because I felt it was going to inform me about how people vote or why elections are won. It was a very fun, light, juicy book, and you can suck down the 400+ pages in short order, but the analysis can be summed up as follows:
Events that change the course of campaigns are game changers. There are many kinds of game changers, and all of them spark change.
That's really about it, with lots of breathless writing and sweeping metaphors--it offers no new analytical insights into the race. But the narrative definitely provides a very detailed behind-the-scenes view in the Bob Woodward mold. It also leaves you (or should leave you) generally scratching your head about why Iowa is so important for launching presidential campaigns. Hillary Clinton herself was still trying to figure out the rules, and spent $25 (!) million there. That is just a bizarre way for campaigns to start, though her and Bill's tirades don't leave you feeling too sorry for them. Neither John nor Elizabeth Edwards ends up looking very good, either.
As I often do when I read such books, I came away with the feeling that the life of a presidential candidate is entirely miserable, and I could not imagine doing it. Perhaps that is why there are so many affairs, so many f-bombs, so much confusion, and even depression. And near-vomiting: "Obama, who had a vicious stomach bug, spent much of the lunch trying not to puke on Clinton's shoes" (p. 418).
I lost track of the game changes because there were so many, but it doesn't really matter. Heilemann and Halperin's view of politics is essentially that of individuals colliding into each other, a sort of chaos theory for politics that remains undeveloped and unexamined. No matter--just ignore that and enjoy the story about the personalities.
I read John Heilemann and Mark Halperin's Game Change (I won't even bother with the longest and worst subtitle I've seen in a long while), which had received attention in the blogosphere regarding whether political scientists would like it. I did, though not because I felt it was going to inform me about how people vote or why elections are won. It was a very fun, light, juicy book, and you can suck down the 400+ pages in short order, but the analysis can be summed up as follows:
Events that change the course of campaigns are game changers. There are many kinds of game changers, and all of them spark change.
That's really about it, with lots of breathless writing and sweeping metaphors--it offers no new analytical insights into the race. But the narrative definitely provides a very detailed behind-the-scenes view in the Bob Woodward mold. It also leaves you (or should leave you) generally scratching your head about why Iowa is so important for launching presidential campaigns. Hillary Clinton herself was still trying to figure out the rules, and spent $25 (!) million there. That is just a bizarre way for campaigns to start, though her and Bill's tirades don't leave you feeling too sorry for them. Neither John nor Elizabeth Edwards ends up looking very good, either.
As I often do when I read such books, I came away with the feeling that the life of a presidential candidate is entirely miserable, and I could not imagine doing it. Perhaps that is why there are so many affairs, so many f-bombs, so much confusion, and even depression. And near-vomiting: "Obama, who had a vicious stomach bug, spent much of the lunch trying not to puke on Clinton's shoes" (p. 418).
I lost track of the game changes because there were so many, but it doesn't really matter. Heilemann and Halperin's view of politics is essentially that of individuals colliding into each other, a sort of chaos theory for politics that remains undeveloped and unexamined. No matter--just ignore that and enjoy the story about the personalities.
Being a political junkie, and after having worked on the Obama campaign, I was really hoping for a behind-the-scenes reveal of the 2008 political season. I was not disappointed. And the one thing I came away with -- a firm belief that John McCain and the upper echelon of his campaign staff should be tried for treason. Simply put -- to select Sarah Palin as a candidate for the Vice Presidency when they had no knowledge or background on her was beyond the pale, and reveals a level of selfishness that should not go unpunished. The John McCain revealed in this book isn't the John McCain everyone "thought" they knew after the 2000 trashing he received at the hands of the Bush machine. Perhaps he became jaded, or the potential for victory overwhelmed any sense of responsibility he felt for the country. But he totally sucks, and he could have really screwed us for a very long time.
If you too are feeling nostalgic for the 2008 election, I'd recommend this book.
There is very little to say about Game Change that isn’t immediately obvious to anyone who picks up the book. Game Change chronicles the 2008 (and leadup) primary and presidential elections.
Reasonably impartial and with a good balance between professionalism and relaxed prose the authors of Game change take us through the close contest between Clinton and Obama, the bizarre humiliation of Edwards and the shock choice of Sarah Palin as VP running mate for McCain.
The book is informative and fascinating but drags slightly too long on the primary races, while interesting we all know we really want to hear about Sarah Palin and her blunders rather than a protracted battle between Clinton and Obama. (in saying that the Obama Clinton Race is probably much for interesting on a academic level, whereas its just plain fun to read about Palin’s exploits.)
Game Change is probably the best summary of the election you can find – That is on the presumption that most of the information contained within is correct, I haven’t heard too much slamming of the work, and fact checking myself is just asking to ruin the fun of reading about political controversy.
Reasonably impartial and with a good balance between professionalism and relaxed prose the authors of Game change take us through the close contest between Clinton and Obama, the bizarre humiliation of Edwards and the shock choice of Sarah Palin as VP running mate for McCain.
The book is informative and fascinating but drags slightly too long on the primary races, while interesting we all know we really want to hear about Sarah Palin and her blunders rather than a protracted battle between Clinton and Obama. (in saying that the Obama Clinton Race is probably much for interesting on a academic level, whereas its just plain fun to read about Palin’s exploits.)
Game Change is probably the best summary of the election you can find – That is on the presumption that most of the information contained within is correct, I haven’t heard too much slamming of the work, and fact checking myself is just asking to ruin the fun of reading about political controversy.
Sooooo good! This is the best kind of celebrity gossip. Warning: McCain has the foul mouth of a sailor and Hillary Clinton isn't much better.
Very interesting to read this as the 2012 presidential campaign enters the home stretch. Well-written and reads like a novel!
A record-setter for me... a non-fiction book that was a quick read, and about politics to boot! It's got a behind-the-scenes, gossipy tone that keeps you hooked. It felt like it was well-researched and not a hatchet job on any one candidate. Wish I could get the same take on current events without waiting two years for a book.
adventurous
funny
medium-paced