The Choice

The Choice Bob Woodward Date: 02 July, 1996   —   Book product page Rating:

I picked up this book at the library in a bout of nostalgia for the Golden Age of Clinton. For such a flawed man, he sure was able to keep a lid on things. I miss that. But as I read through the book, it's clear that Woodward is really writing about Bob Dole and the Republican primaries leading up to the 1996 presidential election. Clinton is mostly included merely as a backdrop or for contrast. Even so, the book is an excellent account of politicking at the national level.

As with Woodward's other books, his brand of unbiased, "just the facts" journalism is as maddening as it is refreshing. You're going to come out of the book feeling the same way about the protagonists as you did going in, only more so. Fortunately, his subjects understand that, and open up to him far more than they do for other journalists. Woodward's books are always good for seeing his subjects as human beings - warts, halos, and everything - rather than carefully crafted public personas.

Interestingly, Woodward's book foreshadows many of the strategies that would be used by the Bush campaign. In one passage, Mike McCurry, President Clinton's media advisor, warns that taking Republican issues (welfare reform, balanced budget, etc.) off the table is all well and good, but it leaves personal attacks as the only alternative. That's something that the Bush campaign took to heart, eschewing debate on the issues altogether in the 2004 election and going straight to the personal attacks. Bush lost every debate on the issues, but won by attacking his opponent's character. He was able to frame the election, not in terms of who is right, but in terms of 'who do you trust'.

The book also tangentially charts the rise of the wacko-right and the conservative Christians. At one point Bob Dole's campaign managers are thinking Dole has a lock on the nomination because he's the moderate. "Oh my gosh! Don't say that." they're told by a campaign advisor. The term moderate was just becoming the kiss of death in the GOP. For an interesting take on that phenomenon, you should really read Christine Todd Whitman's book, "It's My Party Too".

The more I read, the more I came to admire Dole. He's really the last of an honorable breed of Republican leaders. Woodward writes that even Clinton was trying to help Dole secure the Republican nomination. "Look at all the nitwits they've got running," Clinton said, referring to the Republican field [Buchanan, Kemp, Alexander, Forbes, and Gramm]. "Dole's the only one that's got any capability to do the job. Something could happen to me... they might throw me out on my rear end... I want to have some confidence in the person I turn the keys over to." Dole and Clinton have kept up their friendship, and still work together occasionally. I really respect that.

"The Choice" is about a ten-year old political campaign, but intriguing for the insight you get into today's politicking. Nostalgia and relevance. You don't find that too often.