Game Change, by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin and narrated By Dennis Boutsikaris, had Washington shaking even before it went on sale. It reveals some shocking information about the 2008 presidential campaign. The authors went out of their way to find out the back story and gossip from numerous angles on the candidates and on others around them. Senator Harry Reid, leader of the Senate, was singled out for racially insensitive words about then Senator Barrack Obama.
The authors leave no one out. They have written about Elizabeth Edwards, John Edwards's wife, going into tantrums and sweating like crazy about him and his antics. The authors exposes more about the Sarah Palin selection and how rushed the process was. Not only was no one in the Republican leadership consulted, but little thought and consideration appeared to be given to the choice. The choice was a tactic to knock the Obama campaign off guard and that part worked until Palin self destructed in numerous interviews.
Then Senator Barrack Obama is shown to be heavily stagged through the campaign. They show the two sides of the man, calm cool and collected when on the stump, profane with flashes of anger off the stump. "This # @!% Would be really interesting if we were not in the middle of it." – Barack Obama, September 2008
Hillary and Bill Clinton take their lumps too. President Clinton's comments inappropriate and Obama's observation that Hillary could not control her husband. The book also covers Obama's hard sell to get Clinton on board for Secretary of State. The book opens doors into other mysteries from the campaign like Giuliani's Florida gamble and why he left the race.
When listen to the book it's like living through the campaign once again, but you get to be the fly on the wall with inside view of what really goes on. You will get insights that will inform you, but also make you angry. This should have come out during the campaign, but the press was not doing its job well. Maybe that's the most damning insight of all. If you're a political junkie like me, get the audio book and enjoy the drama.
Listen to the audio sample of the Game Change Audiobook .