More of my notes from the book "Game Change." It's the story of the 2008 election, so far, I'm only into the chapters on the 3 Democratic front runners (Obama, Clinton and Edwards).
As mentioned yesterday, I'll publish some of my notes and comments. Some may not be in full sentence/paragraph form. Where appropriate, I'll put quotes from the book. I would really appreciate your comments as I'm still trying to make up my mind if I like the book.
Chapter 3 - "The Ground Beneath Her Feet". Her is Hillary Clinton. I suppose the title chapter is a take-off on the wings beneath her wings. From what I've read in this chapter and others, the left leaning Dems had a lot of problems with Hillary's vote on Iraq. Leading into the primaries, she was trying to find a way to back-peddle on the vote. Explain her actions. Whatever words you want to call it. I've written before about flip-flopping, I don't see it as bad if it fits. I don't see this as a major change for her.
Lots of discussion in this chapter about her bi-partisanship -- but not really. Seems she was appearing bi-partisan and still trying to ram her Democratic agenda through. I get the feeling she can be pragmatic when it fits. The bi-partisanship and Iraq vote cost her a lot of liberal votes.
Chapter 4 - "Getting to Yes" - the title matches the name of a book on negotiations. Good book. My only note from this chapter is a quote from Obama when he saw some of the problems with Rev. Wright starting up. "I think the world would look at us differently the day I got elected, because it would be a confirmation of what America is about, the constant perfecting of who we are. I think I can help repair the damage that's been done."
I need to look back, but it was never clear to me what damage Obama saw. This seems to relate to what the right leaning people have called his "apology tour" after his election.
Chapter 5 - "The Invincibles" - Popular idea in this timeframe was that the Clintons were invincible. Hillary hired a "team of rivals" to run her campaign. I'd heard someone talk about Bush's team all being in sync (this was described as a bad thing). In this case, the team of rivals were so conflicted, they didn't help her.
Clinton saw Obama as jumping in line (pg 85). She saw it as a personal betrayal when her supporters went over to him. Obama saw Hillary as being unable to "bring the country together" (pg 87 - he hasn't done much better)
Clintons saw a "fawning press coverage of Obama" (pg 90). The Republicans saw this also.
More coverage to come
Showing posts with label Chelsea Clinton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chelsea Clinton. Show all posts
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Game Change
A friend loaned me the book "Game Change" by John Heilmann and Mark Halperin. Thse two reporters had a lot of behind the scenes looks at the 2008 election and the book describes those scenes.
The book is NOT about the policies of the people involved in the election. I doubt seriously that it will change anyone's mind about the candidates. It may give you some insight into why they do things they way they do. And it may give some insight into their character.
I have not finished reading the book. The first 14 chapters are about the Obamas, the Clintons and the Edwardses. The next three are about McCain/Palin. It's not clear who the last six are about, but I'm thinking it's about President Obama. After all, he did win.
So starting today, I'll publish some of my notes and comments. Some may not be in full sentence/paragraph form. Where appropriate, I'll put quotes from the book. I would really appreciate your comments as I'm still trying to make up my mind if I like the book.
One thing I've noticed about the book and the characters involved, is their language. There is a lot of profanity. I guess that shouldn't surprise me, given the language our VP has used on micro-phone, but it still disturbs me. I'm by no means perfect, but I hope my language has never been that bad.
Chapter 1 - Hillary Clinton thought about running for presidency in 2004, but decided to stay loyal to her promise to serve her Senate term. Chelsea did not want her to run and this had a big influence on her. She was not very respectful of a lot of other Democrats. She was also somewhat resentful of playing "second fiddle" to former President Bill Clinton.
Chapter 2 - Obama sees President Bush's "empathy deficit." On 1/22/06, he committed not to run for president. "You can always change your mind" (pg 30). (Compare this to Clinton's attitude). He had a low respect for senate life - seemed bored by the whole process.
More comments from the book later, now it's time for your comments
The book is NOT about the policies of the people involved in the election. I doubt seriously that it will change anyone's mind about the candidates. It may give you some insight into why they do things they way they do. And it may give some insight into their character.
I have not finished reading the book. The first 14 chapters are about the Obamas, the Clintons and the Edwardses. The next three are about McCain/Palin. It's not clear who the last six are about, but I'm thinking it's about President Obama. After all, he did win.
So starting today, I'll publish some of my notes and comments. Some may not be in full sentence/paragraph form. Where appropriate, I'll put quotes from the book. I would really appreciate your comments as I'm still trying to make up my mind if I like the book.
One thing I've noticed about the book and the characters involved, is their language. There is a lot of profanity. I guess that shouldn't surprise me, given the language our VP has used on micro-phone, but it still disturbs me. I'm by no means perfect, but I hope my language has never been that bad.
Chapter 1 - Hillary Clinton thought about running for presidency in 2004, but decided to stay loyal to her promise to serve her Senate term. Chelsea did not want her to run and this had a big influence on her. She was not very respectful of a lot of other Democrats. She was also somewhat resentful of playing "second fiddle" to former President Bill Clinton.
Chapter 2 - Obama sees President Bush's "empathy deficit." On 1/22/06, he committed not to run for president. "You can always change your mind" (pg 30). (Compare this to Clinton's attitude). He had a low respect for senate life - seemed bored by the whole process.
More comments from the book later, now it's time for your comments
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Should Chelsea's picture come down?
Chelsea Clinton had her picture taken with the owner of a restaurant and he put it in his window. He has photos of other famous people including Regis Philbin and even politician Rudy Giuliani. Apparently though, the Clintons aren't happy with the photo.
Bill Clinton's lawyer sent a letter to the restaurant owner, demanding the photo be taken down. The letter included threats of "any and all options" if the picture stayed.
The legality comes down to weather or not Chelsea is a private citizen (she is) and whether the owner has the right to publish the picture (he doesn't).
But wouldn't it have been a little nicer if Bill has sent a letter asking him to take it down? Maybe Hillary could have gone and had her picture taken to replace the Chelsea photo.
You can view the story here. Note that the restaurant seems like a nice place, the man claims that he looks at Chelsea as his daughter and he's a well dressed, nice looking man. In short, it's a good picture.
I agree the picture should come down, the request should have been more civil. I'm not sure this is as much an attack against our former president, as it is an attack on society in general. When we have to threaten through lawyers instead of just making a request, I think we've gone too far.
Bill Clinton's lawyer sent a letter to the restaurant owner, demanding the photo be taken down. The letter included threats of "any and all options" if the picture stayed.
The legality comes down to weather or not Chelsea is a private citizen (she is) and whether the owner has the right to publish the picture (he doesn't).
But wouldn't it have been a little nicer if Bill has sent a letter asking him to take it down? Maybe Hillary could have gone and had her picture taken to replace the Chelsea photo.
You can view the story here. Note that the restaurant seems like a nice place, the man claims that he looks at Chelsea as his daughter and he's a well dressed, nice looking man. In short, it's a good picture.
I agree the picture should come down, the request should have been more civil. I'm not sure this is as much an attack against our former president, as it is an attack on society in general. When we have to threaten through lawyers instead of just making a request, I think we've gone too far.
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