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Alpha Dogs: The Americans Who Turned Political Spin into a Global Business

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In the early 1980's, I remember walking into the Manhattan offices of Sawyer Miller on East 60th Street, and wondering what went on beyond its reception desk's wall of television monitors. Were they part Madison Avenue, part CIA and NSC? Who were these green beret alpha dogs who parachuted into campaigns to save the day? How did a Mayflower descendant/son of a shoe company exec (Sawyer) team up with the son of a shoe salesperson (Miller)? How did Miller, the man credited with "Coke is it," "Have a Coke and a Smile," and "Great Taste, Less Filling" end up selling candidates to American and international voters? Now I know. James Harding explains the history of modern political consulting, and gives detailed accounts of the growth of the self confident Sawyer Miller Group, its tactics, clients, successes, speeches, ads, and failures, and its growth around the world and effects on international elections. It is a fascinating read. At times their negative ads turned off voters, but engaged others; some were informative, others were created to "relate" to the voter, and sometimes their clients political and corporate clients lost, proving that ads are not always magic potions. As for going negative: the author tells us that even Thomas Jefferson went negative against George Washington in 1796, and Cicero, in 63 BCE, wrote about how it is delicious to go negative against your opponent when running for political office.

The author writes on how Sawyer Miller's clients ranged from the Dali Lama and Vaclav Havel to Lech Walesa, Shimon Peres, Puerto Rico's Colon, Chile's Valdes, Ecuador's Borja, Bolivia's "Goni,"and Corey Aquino, and from Chris Dodd, Jane Byrne, and Scoop Jackson to Bruce Babbitt, as well as saintly domestic clients and international rogues known for alleged torture tactics. They worked for Amex, Drexel, BAT, Goldman, Resorts Intnl and more. The consultant who penned Newt Gingrich's Contract With America, also penned documents for Tony Blair, Boris Yeltsin, and Silvio Berlusconi. The author explains how politics became tactics instead of ideologies, and candidates were packaged like consumer products. In Harding's hands, we learn about the machinations of Black, Manafort ,Stone; Squier, Napolitan, Garth, Schwartz, Wirthlin, McCleary, Grunwald, Carville, Sawyer, Miller, and more.

Chapter 1 tells the story of the birth and growth of consulting by framing it within an exciting fly on the wall account of consultant Ned Kennan's (aka Nadav Katznelson) meeting with Boston's multi term mayor, Kevin White. Kennan, who focused on the driver's of voter behavior, loved to give bad news to the powerful, which he did to White, who was 20 points behind in the latest polls. In Chapter 2, we watch as Sawyer learns the limits of consulting, polls, personalities when he heads to Venezuela and tries to turn a pussycat of a candidate into a tiger. Chapter 3 relates the story of New Coke, its political-like battle with Pepsi, and the lesson it has for understanding polling results. By far my most favorite chapters were Chapters 4 and 5, which tell the stories of American political consulting in Israel and the Philippines. The account of Mrs. Aquino, the downfall of Marcos, and the roles of Cardinal Sin, Reagan, the U.S. media, certain Senators, and "American" consultants were so enlightening and suspenseful that I read that chapter a second time.

Briefly, to K.I.S.S. and Keep on Message, I recommend this as a lively informative and necessary read in this Presidential election year.

With only a limited understanding of political campaigning, mostly garnered from an appreciation of Josh in the The West Wing, I thought this book was a well-intentioned but ultimately misguided gift from a friend which might, at its most useful, end up being re-gifted. But from the first few pages I found myself completely sucked into this authoritative and beautifully written account of Sawyer Miller, a political consultancy firm which sold the art of American politics to the rest of the world. A must read for anyone who wants to read between the lines of political spin - and about the people who wrote them. Outstanding.

Any regular watcher of Jon Stewart and 'The Daily Show' will recognize this author, who made a hilarious appearance there a few days ago to talk about this book. The surprise is: the book behind the author is actually quite good.

It's about the political spinmeisters who brought behind-the-scenes image consulting into its modern form. James Harding bores in on one particular political consultancy, Sawyer Miller. It's an excellent choice. The opening story about Sawyer Miller's counseling of Kevin White, the Irish mayor of Boston, is equal parts funny and insightful. ("Voters don't like you!" the consultant tells the candidate, while devising a strategy that helps him win anyway.) The consultants go around the world -- helping Cory Aquino oust Marcos in the Philippines, another riveting story -- and in and out of countless elections and boardrooms to find ways for candidates to get out the right message. It is not always pretty, what goes on out of view of the camera. From bare-knuckled fighting to seat-of-the-pants improvising, the tactics of a campaign invariably tell a memorable tale.

Harding is a knowing, graceful guide. He has a sensible grasp of politics and the unpredictable dynamics that rule virtually every campaign. His writing weaves subtle observation and sharp insight into the narrative with seeming effortlessness. He always offers just the right amount of historical background to any episode. He never gets bogged down in more policy than you want. Yet I really appreciated his smart, illuminating explanation of the politics in any situation his protagonists wandered into, and they did wander far and wide.

A highly enjoyable book.

It's a well written book but maybe I'd like to see more of the personal side of these guys. We get told what the office life was like and how "alpha dog" the men who worked there were, but we don't actually see many examples of this.

The book's thesis is tempered by the fact that these guys seemed to be on the losing side of things more than the winning, but it's a nice snapshot of politics in the 80's and how polling and television ads were just starting to make their impact.

A book for political junkies only, most people won't be that interested.

It's a book largely about the losing side. 2 Sharp idealistic guys with prodigious talent and big plans who get their asses handed to them on a regular basis by Right wingers who are way better at the game. In the end they all either sell out or fall apart. Harding is a good writer but not a great story teller.

Harding presents a an interesting history of the birth of modern political consulting in the United States and abroad through the lens of legendary Sawyer-Miller Group. Harding's argument is that the American style of campaigning (personalized candidates, negative attack ads, style over substance, reliance on emotional appeals and platitudes instead of specific policy discussions) born in the late 1970's and 1980's was exported around the world through US-based political consultants looking to kill time, make extra money, and test new campaign strategies and tactics in foreign elections. The Sawyer-Miller Group made extensive use of sophisticated polling and market research techniques as well as Madison Avenue marketing strategies to promote candidates. They mastered the art of strategic communication and helped usher in the current era of personalized politics.

The book is quite interesting, but meanders in spots. Harding does a great job of chronicling some of the more spectacular elections and political revolutions worked on by Sawyer-Miller (e.g. Marcos in the Philippines and Pinochet in Chile). However, he tends to pay short shrift to campaigns and events in the United States. It would have been interesting to read more about how the consultants adapted the lessons learned in those "experimental" foreign campaigns to US-based campaigns--what was applicable, what wasn't? I also think Harding would have benefited from some of the work done in academia on the rise of personalized politics. Certainly, the success of campaigns based on these types of strategies created a copy-cat like scenario. However, significant changes to the primary process--particularly for Presidential elections--opened the door for a more personalized approach to campaigning.