The Way to Win, John F. Harris
The Way to Win, John F. Harris
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The Way to Win
Clinton, Bush, Rove, and How to Take the White House in 2008

Author: John F. Harris, Mark Halperin

Narrator: William Dufris

Unabridged: 16 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 10/17/2006


Synopsis

In The Way to Win, two of the country's most accomplished political reporters explain what separates the victors from the victims in the unforgiving environment of modern presidential campaigns.

Mark Halperin, political director of ABC News, and John F. Harris, the national politics editor of The Washington Post, tell the story of how two families-the Bushes and the Clintons-have held the White House for a generation, and examine Hillary Clinton's prospects for extending this record in 2008. The Bushes and Clintons have dominated because they are the premier political innovators of their age; each family closely studies the other's successes and failures and uses these lessons to shape its own strategies for winning elections and wielding power.

In the case of George W. Bush, his strategic genius is Karl C. Rove— arguably the most influential White House aide in history. Halperin and Harris cut through the myths and controversies surrounding Rove, revealing in brilliant, behind-the-scenes detail what he actually does-his trade secrets for winning elections.

In the case of the Clintons, the chief strategist is Bill Clinton himself. Drawing on their fifteen years reporting on and interviewing him, Halperin and Harris deconstruct and decipher the Clinton style—identifying techniques that all candidates can use in their pursuit of the White House.

Halperin and Harris make clear that presidential politics can be even more cynical than people suspect. But they also make argue that the most important factors in the way to win the presidency are having significant ideas and prompting them in a disciplined way. The book takes a lively and irreverent approach while also making a serious argument: That every candidate who runs in 2008 must have a strategy for ensuring that he or she does not wind up like Al Gore or John F. Kerry, who allowed their public images to be hijacked by the likes of Matt Drudge and other impresarios of what the authors call, the "Political Freak Show."

On the brink of what will be one of the most intense, most exciting presidential elections in American history, The Way to Win is the book that armchair political junkies have been waiting for. Filled with peerless analysis and eye-opening revelations from the trenches, it is a must-read for everyone who follows American politics.

About John F. Harris

John F. Harris is the national political editor of The Washington Post. He covered the 2004 presidential campaign for the Post from the swing state of Ohio, whose electoral votes were decisive in that year's election. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling biography of Bill Clinton The Survivor.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Victor on March 13, 2021

I admitedly read this after "Game Change" and because it was recommended based on my rating for that book. I was expecting something similar and i was left highly dissatisfied.......more

Goodreads review by Connor on April 25, 2023

Interesting bits on Rove and Bush 2......more

Goodreads review by Prateek on October 15, 2007

Fans of ABCNews.com daily political column, "The Note" will love this expansive analysis of the political landscape of the 2008 election (author Mark Halperin is the founder of The Note). Written before most of the current slate of candidates entered the race, this book is less about the horserace a......more

Goodreads review by Gary on March 11, 2008

The best book to read if you want to understand the influence of the media, and how candidates operate in the new media environment. I'm not sure why the author's added "in 2008" in the title; it should be "The Way to Win: Taking the White House," because I feel this is going to be relevant for a lo......more

Goodreads review by Chris on December 02, 2007

An exploration of the Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton syndrome and how to win the 2008 election. A lot of this advice is not exactly rocket science. Things like 'Know a lot of people' and 'Never lose control of your public image' are pretty intuitive. 'Don't claim to have invented the internet' should pro......more