Customer Reviews

Bad Boy: The Life And Politics Of Lee Atwater

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Like Lee Atwater himself, this biography is entertaining, and quick-and-dirty. Also like Atwater, it is essentially skin deep, offering little assessment on how a figure like Atwater could arise and become so powerful within the Republican Party so fast. There's also not much about Atwater's innovation -- "oppo" research-based politics that turned the nascent 24-hour news cycle to the advantage of the savvier campaign. Atwater invented the style of "war room" campaigning that was enhanced by another southerner, James Carville, four years later.
Still, the book is well-crafted and does an excellent job of chronicling Atwater's life. It is especially admirable for revealing the truth about Atwater's alleged deathbed renunciation of hardball politics -- which never really happened. The real story is far more interesting.

Lee Atwater knew politics and how to work it. This book gives a compelling look at the transformation of a good ol' boy into the man responsible for the election of the most powerful man in the world. Mr. Brady does a fine job of showing all sides of Lee. From the insecurities that drove his attitude through the frailities of a man on his death bed,this book does justice to the real man. Lee Atwater set the trend for the future of politics. This book is a must read for anyone in the business of getting people elected.

Atwater was pretty much a moral scumbag, but the father of politics as we know it today. He did it his way and for that he is a hero. Brady tells the truth about the man and his life. Reading, you feel like a part of the action. It's a great book, but don't pick it up unless you're comfortable being obsessed with politics for the rest of your life!

About the political life of Lee Atwater, "the godfather of spin," this book details Atwater's political strategies, from managing local races to running Bush's 1988 campaign. Woven into the biography are valuable lessons about campaigning -- information that they don't teach you in college. Though many disagree with Lee Atwater's personal -- and political -- life, it shouldn't dissuade you from learning from this brilliant strategist. (We certainly don't endorse his sins, but you'd better understand them if you're going to work in politics).

Lee Atwater was the founding father of today's political professional. Brady's book reveals all sides of Atwater's personality -- from the man who intimidated many to the fun-loving blues player. A very interesting story and a must-read for anyone in the business of getting people elected.

Joseph Brady's biography is likely to be the definitive study of the late Lee Atwater. It is meticulously researched and engagingly written. His presentation is sympathetic to Atwater but not flattering. It is must reading for anyone interested in the national politics of contemporary America

More so than most American political figures, Lee Atwater is proving in death to be much larger than he was in life. It is so in part because Atwater's magic or gift to American politics was his uncanny ability to tap into the nation's bloodstream at that critical juncture where good and evil intersected, and then be able to cull the "low-hanging fruit" from the evil side, fruit that had otherwise been a hodge-podge of mean-spirited themes that reflected badly on the nation's character, and yet as a behind-the-scenes political operative, be able to turn them into an ideological message that rendered much of America's dark rightwing politics both coherent and respectable. Considering how many times it had been tried before and failed, this was no mean trick, and remains a testament to Atwater's consummate skills.

To those who loved him, (and his funeral was a virtual hall of fame of the rightwing of the U.S. political spectrum) and for the reasons noted above, he remains the Chief spear-carrier, messenger and keepers of the rightwing faith. For those who hated him, he was and will forever remain an impresario of evil, the alter ego and muse of the dark side of American politics. Either way, Jon Brady has penned a mini-master piece here. This is a careful tracking of and reconstruction of the man, his times, and the influences that produced one of the nation's most incendiary behind-the-scenes political operatives of our times. Brady leaves no stones unturned. It is what good biography is made of.

Atwater himself leaves no doubts about the evilness of his own body of work as he made a deathbed confession in which he asked god and the nation to forgive him for what he had done. And while this was itself indeed a rare and uncommon admission, it did little to undo the huge damage done to the American political process and to the American psyche.

However, it would be wrong to shoot the messenger, for as other biographers have noted, Atwater became a kind of reverse mirror of our times, and as this author shows, what he did in High School, manipulating emotions and sentiments and playing dirty tricks, was exactly the same as what he did on the national scene, writ large.

Atwater, a "D" student, truant and cripple, was simply a keen observer of the contemporary political and human process, and in his own way of -- "winning ugly," "being a bad boy," "practicing black politics," being a force for evil," "the hammer that drove the wedge into the heart of the American political process," (or choose your own metaphor -- was not being "mean," he was merely showing us who we really are. Five Stars

As one active in politics, I've read many a political book, but have never read one that taught me so much and touched my emotions so much as well. I found myself laughing outloud at certain parts, and fighting back tears in others. Phenomenally written.

I read this for several reasons. I worked with Lee, and virtualy every person named in the book. It was a time in my life I'll never forget. Lee might not realize it , but he did fulfill his dream. He taught me, and so many others like me, when he didn't know it. It was a privilidge to have been one of his students. Now to the book. I never knew that one of my photos was placed in the casket by Sally. I took the christmas card picture mentioned on page xix. That is an honor. Lee had me photograph every party, mixer, event, and many trips. We even played guitar after hours occasionally. As an employee of both the RNC and the NRCC, my interaction was close and personal. Everyone who is on the course to become politically active, behind or in front of the cameras/podiums/candidates, should read this book and learn from this book. However, they should note the following: on page 237, Dick Cheney was the Representative from Wyoming, not Colorado. How do I know? I did his successor's (Craig Thomas, now a U.S. Senator) media, and was there when Craig was selected to run. And, on page 245, Ed Rollins is called the Deputy Chairman of the Republican National Congressional Committee. Wrong, it was the National Republican Congressioanl Committee. And, he was Chairman. Nitpicking? No. Lee would want information to be accurate. NSR (no spin required)

If one wishes to understand how and why such a scumbag as Lee Atwater could have reached such prominence, read BARE KNUCKLES AND BACK ROOMS, a truly enjoyable, instructive, and entertaining book by Ed Rollins.