I had an "aha" moment in the middle of this book... I realized that 3 out of the first 4 books I've read for this challenge have been non-fiction, and 2 have been political. My usual genre of choice has always been historical fiction and fantasy with a little mystery and biography thrown in..... So why the non-fiction/political focus I found myself wondering? Here's where the "aha" part comes in..... I have taken on this challenge to honor my mother (those of you who have found my blog will probably know this) .... she died a year and a half ago and was the most serious reader I've ever known (and I hang around with quite a few intense readers)
My mom spent much of her life in a wheel chair and she was never, ever without a book.... she had a book for each room of the house (really!) so it wasn't unusual for her to be reading 3.... 4.... 5... books at a time. Her genre of choice? Political/Current Events.......Usually at least two to three of the books she was reading at any one time were of a political nature. In comparison, I have read very few books of a political bent.... but without conscious thought, I have begun my year of reading with two of them.......
My mother spent the last few months of her life in and out of hospitals, Intensive Care Units, ER's and a variety of Rehab/Nursing homes. It wasn't a good time (big understatement here)..... in spite of all this.... she maintained an enthusiastic interest in the world around her.... CNN or NPR was always on in her room.... she was absolutely fascinated with all the hoopla around the Presidential campaign of 2008 and had fallen completely in love with Obama ever since his miraculous 2004 convention speech.... a friend who was active in his campaign in Massachusetts had sent her a photo of a smiling Obama and it became a little tradition between Mom and me that no matter what new facility or room she was moved to, the first thing we did was get that picture up on her bulletin board.... Mom didn't quite make it to election day........ She would have been so pleased.....
With all this in mind......the book I read this week was: "Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime". Loved this book! ...... Everything you ever wanted to know about the behind the scenes stuff that goes on in a big campaign is here - plus much, much more..... the huge personalities and the dynamics between them....not only the ones mentioned in the title but so many others.... Joe Biden, John and Elizabeth Edwards, Ted Kennedy, Joe Lieberman, Jeremiah Wright...... and the lesser known movers and shakers on each side of the campaign.... an absolutely delightful mishmash of characters. There's not one boring page in the entire book and that includes the index. Do these characters have anything in common? Well....they all have, without exception, huge egos, and they all are incredible control freaks... in fact really every character in this book is a control freak.... the biggest control freak?... probably a tie between Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin.
I could barely wait for Sarah Palin to enter the fray and I was not disappointed. I can't tell you how many of my independent and conservative friends ended up not voting for McCain because they just could not believe he had chosen Sarah Palin as his running mate. Although the reasons the McCain campaign chose her are detailed (basically he needed a "game changer") it's still hard to get beyond what a huge mistake this choice turned out to be for McCain. Palin doesn't end up faring very well in this book but I actually think Hilary does.... her dedication, hard work,and loyalty (even to Bill and that's no easy task)... are well documented here...... It's easy to see why Obama is so determined to make her Secretary of State and this process is detailed in the book as well.
The most wacky character? (eliminating Pakub because she just won the control freak award although she's a major contender in this category too).... I'd say Bill Clinton wins this category with a lesser known character, John Robert's mistress, Rielle Hunter, and the Reverend Jeremiah Wright tied for second. Biggest surprise? ..... Probably Elizabeth Edwards..... not half as nice as I thought.....and, by the way......also a close contender in the control freak contest. Most "normal" couple?.... Barack and Michelle....by a landslide......
I don't think I'll ever forget the Presidential campaign of 2008 but if my memory grows a little hazy... I'm glad I'll have this book around to reread.....
No comments:
Post a Comment