Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime

Inside. John Heilemann and Mark Halperin must have talked to everyone involved in the 2008 presidential race. The result is titled, Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime, an insider’s view of the feats and foibles inside each major candidate’s campaign. This is required reading for political junkies, for whom every step and misstep can be savored. For those interested in the dirt, within days of release, the most startling revelations were covered in the press. I was less interested in the gossip, and more intrigued by strategy and execution. With even the short distance from these events, it is easy to see the gaps in the Clinton and McCain strategies that led to their losses. At times the level of backbiting and infighting among staffers of the same candidate made me feel like I was reading about high school cliques. Any reader looking for a distraction from the current political mauling over healthcare will find a few hours of gossipy revelation and a bit of insight into strategy and execution on the pages of Game Change.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)
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