The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory [Hardcover]

David Plouffe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 3, 2009

The architect of the Obama campaign reveals how it all happened- and how it will revolutionize our politics

David Plouffe not only led the effort that put Barack Obama in the White House, but he also changed the face of politics forever and reenergized the idea of democracy itself. The Audacity to Win is his story of that groundbreaking achievement, taking readers inside the remarkable campaign that led to the election of the first African American president.

For two years Plouffe worked side by side with Obama, charting the course of the campaign. His is the ultimate insider's tale, revealing both the strategies that delivered Obama to office and how the candidate and campaign handled moments of great challenge and opportunity. Moving from the deliberations about whether to run at all, through the epic primary battle with Hillary Clinton and the general election against John McCain, Plouffe showcases the high-wire gamesmanship that fascinated pundits and the drama and intrigue that captivated a nation.

The Audacity to Win chronicles the arrival of a new moment in American life at the convergence of digital technology and grassroots organization, and the exciting possibilities revealed by a campaign that in many ways functioned as a $1 billion start-up with laser-like focus and discipline. In this extraordinary book, David Plouffe unfolds one of the most important political stories of our time, one whose lessons are not limited to politics, but reach to the greatest heights of what we dream about for our country and ourselves.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...engaging, detailed and frequently illuminating account of the Obama presidential campaign..."
-Miami Herald

"...a gripping blockbuster of a book, manna for political aficianados and newcomers to elections alike, full of scrappy details, minute explanations of strategy, tales from the trail and candid assessments of mistakes made and lessons learned."
-Daily Kos

"After reading Plouffe's engaging, detailed and frequently illuminating account of the Obama presidential campaign, one can see how the campaign was lucky and good-- indeed, often very, very good."
-San Francisco Chronicle

"[Plouffe] gives readers a visceral sense of the campaign from an insider's point of view...He offers acute assessments of the larger dynamics at play in the 2008 race, and he is frank about missteps that the Obama campaign made along the way...A detailed and revealing account."
-Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"Plouffe has written the most important political book of the year. It reads like a thriller...I flipped it open, read a few lines and was hooked...But it's not the insider look at the past that makes the book so important. It's what it shows us about the present--and the effect it could have on the future."
-Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post

About the Author

David Plouffe served as the campaign manager for Barack Obama's primary and general election victories in 2008. He was the architect of the strategy for both elections. Prior to running the Obama campaign, Plouffe served as a leading Democratic Party media consultant from 2001 to 2007, playing a key role in the election of U.S. senators, governors, mayors, and House members across the country.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition edition (November 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670021334
• ISBN-13: 978-0670021338
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #261,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Plouffe served as the campaign manager for Barack Obama's primary and general election victories in 2008. He was the architect of the strategy for both elections. Prior to running the Obama campaign, Plouffe served as a leading Democratic Party media consultant from 2001 to 2007, playing a key role in the election of U.S. senators, governors, mayors, and House members across the country.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Comprehensive Inside look on Historic Campaign., November 4, 2009

By 

Joshua A. Neyhart - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory (Hardcover)

David Plouffe was the man behind the machine that was the extraordinary Obama Campaign for President in 2008. This book goes deeper than any of the other books written so far (and there have been many) on this incredible campaign story. I couldn't put the book down last night after seeing it on my doorstep. Plouffe has anecdotes that no other author on the 2008 election has had yet and his access and inside story are not only exciting but incredibly interesting. If you are a democrat who supported Obama this is a must read to see how Plouffe and company energized a nation and spread the message of change. If you are a republican this is a must read to see how it was the Obama campaign was so easily able to convince indie voters and some republicans to support Barack Obama. This book is history, fresh history, and is a must read for anyone interested in politics.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars One flawed but very important slice of the story, January 13, 2010

By 

Emilie - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory (Hardcover)

I confess, I was looking for something more colorful, something about the back stage frustrations and conflict and silliness and fun that must happen between the rallies. I wanted more perspective on how the insiders were dealing with the campaign on an emotional level. And though Plouffe touches on a few moments, that's not his focus. This book is about the marketing and selling of a candidate to the electorate and the number-crunching that goes along with that. Plouffe admits that he's not a great writer -- maybe when Axelrod gets back into private life he'll have time to write from his perspective and maybe he'll be more comfortable with the medium. But Plouffe is not. There is a repetition of points, the dialog is awkward and stilted, there are typos, there is at times too much emphasis on the strategy and tactics. And I agree with others, it suffers for not having an index. Even though Plouffe addresses the omission, I still found myself turning to the back of the book several times.

This is not a tell all, this is not a "what the butler saw". He's careful because some of the players in the election are now players in the WH and really, for the purposes of this book, there's no need to stir up a hornet's nest by slinging old grievances. But if you followed the campaign and were impressed by it, the historic nature, the ups and downs, the high drama, I can't think why you wouldn't at least peruse this book. It's not the last word on the story, but it's certainly an important one.

121 of 160 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An internal perspective of the largest grassroots campaign ever, November 3, 2009

By 

Jeremy R. Whittaker "Jeremy Whittaker" (Mesa, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory (Hardcover)

The person who posted the first review of this book must not even know who David Plouffe is. He thinks he is just some author who wrote a book, hilarious. Perhaps this is what is wrong with the Republican party today. They just run their mouths with negative things to say with absolutely no facts or basis backing what they say. This could explain why people who identify themselves as Republicans are now into the teens.

About the book, if you followed the 2008 elections like I did this book will bring back memories with every turn of the page. Not only that but you get the perspective of David Plouffe who is a member of Obama's elite circle of trust. This is an excellent book and I have not been able to put it down since I started reading it this afternoon.

If you were constantly refreshing your web browser in 2008 waiting for the polls to be updated then you will be happy to know David Plouffe was doing the same exact thing. What took me by greatest surprise was all of my thoughts I had during the election were reiterated by David in this book. It truely brings back the day by day rollercoaster emotion that some of us went through. It is great to know that they were thinking and going through the same thing. For instance what was John McCain thinking when he conceded Michigan? Could they possibly not have the intelligence to realize they couldn't win without this state? Another example was his utter surprise when Hillary Clinton came on stage introduced as the next president of the United States. This after facing a loss that put her out of commission and there was no way possible for her to come back. Last thing I can think of is when the Clinton campaign wanted Obama to foot the bill for the attacks they had just thrown at them for the last two years. Could she be serious? I'm glad Plouffe had the insight to put this to rest before it became an issue.

The most down to earth part of this book was when Plouffe was talking about how he used to play an electoral college game as a kid and now he was playing it for real. Or when he stepped back to realize that he had just elected Barack Obama and how surreal this was. He describes looking over a lake and at that point you truely felt like you were standing right beside him.

I think my greatest surprise in this book was David's insight of the McCain and Clinton campaign. They both made mistakes that obviously cost them the election on many fronts. What surprises me the most is how these campaigns were ran so ineffective and to some level with sheer stupidity. One part particularly "Sarah ________ Palin", this had me laughing out of control. It is clear now had it not been for the other campaigns being so grossly mismanaged this fight probably would have been a lot more difficult.

Regardless of your political party this book offers perspective of Barack Obama's campaign manager. Whether or not you like it this campaign is the largest grassroots campaign ever, period. Only someone as ignorant as the person who published the first comment would not want access to information on how this was built from the ground up. Do yourself a favor and purchase the book today.

I must make one last defensive note, if you look at the numbers nobody can blame Obama for the problems Bush has created, So lets stop pretending any of our economic problems have anything to do with Obama.

Unemployment 2001-4.2% Jan'09-7.6% Now-9.8%
Budget 2001-$281Billion Surplus Jan'09-$1.2Trillion Deficit Now-1.4Trillion Deficit
Debt 2001-$5.7Trillion Jan'09-$10.6Trillion Now-$11.9Trillion