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A review by rozeyh
Anything for a Vote: Dirty Tricks, Cheap Shots, and October Surprises in U.S. Presidential Campaigns by Joseph Cummins
4.0
Considering that the past is so influential on the present and future, reflecting on previous presidential elections is critical to predicting and understanding those trends that will shape 2020. Thus, this book, which details every presidential election hilariously, is very informative.
In this book, there is deep analysis of each presidential election, covering those mudslinging means and tactics that were used, and still, are by presidential candidates and staffers to win elections. Such tactics are revealed in this novel to have roots in elections long ago. Some examples that I learned from Anything for a Vote would be the claim that particular candidates are far too intellectual and above the nation's constituency to be elected. An election that always comes to mind when I hear this are the elections of 1952 and 1956, with Adlai Stevenson running against Dwight Eisenhower. Stevenson, it was proclaimed, spoke far above the layman and simply couldn't relate, with his 30-minute television advertisements when he dug deeply into policy. Eisenhower, on the other hand, spoke to the masses simply with terms and definitions as opposed to long explanations. That disparaging "egg-head" took on a new meaning when hurled at Stevenson who, admittedly, did truly look like an egg. This claim can also be seen more recently in 2000, with the election of Al Gore running against George Bush. Again, Gore was seen as privileged with his words far above the lexile of the common American and his image wasn't aided by his rolling his eyes at Bush's words at their debates, making it seem as he thought himself too sagacious for the mere Bush. These two displays of the "too intellectual" claim have roots in the election of 1800, between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, as I only found out through reading this novel. One pamphlet circulated at the time told that as opposed to running for the presidency, Jefferson would fair much better as a university professor, a stab at that supposed intellectualism.
Juxtaposing that intellectualism claim, there has been always been a claim of a candidate's supposed ineptness. For many who have immersed themselves in the political realm, the foremost candidate thought of is George W. Bush with his countless "Bushisms", as even this book recollects. His "misunderestimations" cost him the appearance of being an Al Gore when it concerned knowledge. He was not alone: In 1932, it was also believed that Herbert Hoover lacked sharpness as his responses to the Great Depression weren't based in any intellect brought to him by staffers and he wasn't the most eloquent. Four years later, another FDR opponent, Alf Landon, was also thought to be not to most adept.
My favorite "dirty trick" would have to be one plainly on the cover--"Van Buren Wears Women's Clothing" used in the election of 1840 between William Henry Harrison and Martin Van Buren. Imagine this "shot" being dispelled in this upcoming election! Besides this humor covered in this book, Anything for a Vote does introduce a number of traditional party intricacies, like the nominating convention and the emergence of Vice Presidential candidates being on the same ticket, and also the political parties. This historical digging is why I state this book is very informative.
All-in-all, my favorite presidential elections, whether because of this book or deepened by this book, are:
· 1800: Thomas Jefferson vs. John Adams
· 1828: Andrew Jackson vs. John Quincy Adams
· 1860: Abraham Lincoln vs. Stephen Douglas
· 1876: Rutherford Hayes vs. Samuel Tilden
· 1896: William McKinley vs. William Jennings Bryan
· 1928: Al Smith vs. Warren Harding
· 1940: Franklin D. Roosevelt vs. Wendell Wilkie
· 1948: Harry Truman vs. Thomas Dewey vs. Strom Thurmond vs Henry Wallace
· 1964: Lyndon Baines Johnson vs. Barry Goldwater
· 1972: Richard M. Nixon vs. George McGovern
· 1988: George H.W. Bush vs. Michael Dukakis
· 2000: Al Gore vs. George W. Bush
In this book, there is deep analysis of each presidential election, covering those mudslinging means and tactics that were used, and still, are by presidential candidates and staffers to win elections. Such tactics are revealed in this novel to have roots in elections long ago. Some examples that I learned from Anything for a Vote would be the claim that particular candidates are far too intellectual and above the nation's constituency to be elected. An election that always comes to mind when I hear this are the elections of 1952 and 1956, with Adlai Stevenson running against Dwight Eisenhower. Stevenson, it was proclaimed, spoke far above the layman and simply couldn't relate, with his 30-minute television advertisements when he dug deeply into policy. Eisenhower, on the other hand, spoke to the masses simply with terms and definitions as opposed to long explanations. That disparaging "egg-head" took on a new meaning when hurled at Stevenson who, admittedly, did truly look like an egg. This claim can also be seen more recently in 2000, with the election of Al Gore running against George Bush. Again, Gore was seen as privileged with his words far above the lexile of the common American and his image wasn't aided by his rolling his eyes at Bush's words at their debates, making it seem as he thought himself too sagacious for the mere Bush. These two displays of the "too intellectual" claim have roots in the election of 1800, between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, as I only found out through reading this novel. One pamphlet circulated at the time told that as opposed to running for the presidency, Jefferson would fair much better as a university professor, a stab at that supposed intellectualism.
Juxtaposing that intellectualism claim, there has been always been a claim of a candidate's supposed ineptness. For many who have immersed themselves in the political realm, the foremost candidate thought of is George W. Bush with his countless "Bushisms", as even this book recollects. His "misunderestimations" cost him the appearance of being an Al Gore when it concerned knowledge. He was not alone: In 1932, it was also believed that Herbert Hoover lacked sharpness as his responses to the Great Depression weren't based in any intellect brought to him by staffers and he wasn't the most eloquent. Four years later, another FDR opponent, Alf Landon, was also thought to be not to most adept.
My favorite "dirty trick" would have to be one plainly on the cover--"Van Buren Wears Women's Clothing" used in the election of 1840 between William Henry Harrison and Martin Van Buren. Imagine this "shot" being dispelled in this upcoming election! Besides this humor covered in this book, Anything for a Vote does introduce a number of traditional party intricacies, like the nominating convention and the emergence of Vice Presidential candidates being on the same ticket, and also the political parties. This historical digging is why I state this book is very informative.
All-in-all, my favorite presidential elections, whether because of this book or deepened by this book, are:
· 1800: Thomas Jefferson vs. John Adams
· 1828: Andrew Jackson vs. John Quincy Adams
· 1860: Abraham Lincoln vs. Stephen Douglas
· 1876: Rutherford Hayes vs. Samuel Tilden
· 1896: William McKinley vs. William Jennings Bryan
· 1928: Al Smith vs. Warren Harding
· 1940: Franklin D. Roosevelt vs. Wendell Wilkie
· 1948: Harry Truman vs. Thomas Dewey vs. Strom Thurmond vs Henry Wallace
· 1964: Lyndon Baines Johnson vs. Barry Goldwater
· 1972: Richard M. Nixon vs. George McGovern
· 1988: George H.W. Bush vs. Michael Dukakis
· 2000: Al Gore vs. George W. Bush