Customer Reviews

Citizen McCain

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This is a highly revealing book about Senator John McCain, one of the most fascinating figures to hit the political scene in many moons. Those who followed his unsuccessful but energizing presidential campaign will be delighted to see the more complete and complex figure who emerges in these pages. He is shown as a serious strategic thinker who keeps his eye on the ball to achieve a long term legislative goal. While describing McCain the book also gives a lot of insight into the process which led to the passage of the campaign finance overhaul. It's a great read for anyone interested in McCain, Washington politics, the campaign finance system in this country or all of the above.

Get personalities out of the equation.

An unvarnished up to date inside look at how our national legislation is formulated, processed, obstructed and finally passed. An vital and compelling insight into the capabilities and limitations of our constitutional process. Critical insight into the legislative process. A forceful argument for communicating with our elected representatives.

Who says so? I'm a student of government: Georgetown; AB [History/Government],1955; Stanford, MA [International Relations],1964; and victim of Congressional ambivalence (POW Hanoi, Vietnam 1967 - 1973].

Incidentally, Senator McCain comes across as a TR reincarnated; but that is not the fault of the author. McCain assumes the responsibilty himself. What you sees is what you gets. Don't fault the messenger; read the book and be a better citizen for the doing so.

I never thought that I would write a review of a book on campaign finance reform and call it a "page turner," but this one is just GREAT....It keep me enthralled all the way to the end, which is more than I can say about other books on similar subjects.

Despite what many think, living inside "the beltway" does not necessarily equate to an knowledge of the inner-workings of Congress. In fact, although I read the news coverage of the protracted campaign-finance reform battle, I didn't have a clear understanding of the difficulties behind-the-scenes.

What I enjoyed most about Elizabeth Drew's latest book--Citizen McCain--is that it delves into all of the inner workings: the wrangling and deal-making that accompany Congressional legislation. Ms. Drew is able to explain it in plain English--and it's fascinating.

I definitely recommend this book.

My mother-in-law always used to give me a subscription to the New Yorker for Xmas, so I have been a longtime reader and fan of Elizabeth Drew. For those of us in the hinterland who can only stand a limited amount of Washington politics, she is a good filter for it. Now she has taken on our most famous maverick politician, and the combination is a winner. There is enough inside detail to let you know how things work, and at the end you can close the cover and say "Thank God I don't have to live there!"

Always original and always unabashedly candid, John McCain has won over many fans in the realm of politics - as well as his fair share of enemies. Whenever I hear McCain is to appear on Hannity & Colmes or another show, I make it a point to tune in - because I know something provocative - and possibly something controversial, may be said. That's what sets McCain apart from the politically correct force-fed politicians of today - he refuses to rigidly adhere to the strident dogma of party lines. McCain, instead, subscribes to his own agenda - one of morality, reform, and good old-fashioned honesty.

While Elizabeth Drew primarily delineates McCain's co-authored monumental McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Bill throughout the book, she all the while allows us to delve into the innerworkings of the McCain office and his devoted staff. While others in his own party(and those outside as well) bash him and label him as being bitter towards Bush as to why he didn't back the President's tax cuts, McCain proves that he, above all, is a man of principle, not party line. True American patriots like John McCain are few and far between. As SC Senator Lindsey Graham says, "The thing about John McCain is that if you ever get to be his friend, he'll be with you thick and thin. There ain't a lot of that up here."

During the political season, it is good to read a political book which just gives some straight talk without attacking. Citizen McCain documents some of the years in which McCain worked with Congress on the McCain Fiengold Campaign Finance Reform Bill. After Congress got through with it, the final bill was not the same as it started. I'm sure he would like to see more reform. (At the time this was written, most people had not heard of Obama.)

The book gives insight into how Congress works and how it takes persistance, cooperation, and the maturity to have the patience of Job to get a bill passed. I enjoyed seeing him at work.

One trait which has not gotten the attention it deserves is his empathy. The author states: "...the empathy of someone who's suffered for someone he sees is hurting. There's a kindness, even a sweetness, that's unusual for people so ordinarily self-centered as polilticians." This book also shows his leadership during 9-ll.

Faith of My Fathers: A Family Memoir offers more insight into McCain especially his experiences as a POW. It also shows how he was a maverick even when he was 2 years old. In this autobiographical book, it is amazing how much he talked about the importance of others and the need to serve a cause greater than self-interest. It is not an "all about me" type of book.

John McCain is not only important, he is chronically interesting as well, whether running a campaign or plotting legislative strategy. Elizabeth Drew ably captures the many fascinating facets of this compelling figure. You can't understand what's happening in Washington without understanding McCain. And you can't really understand McCain without reading Drew's compelling book.

Elizabeth Drew is a serious andcreditable author who has written adull and uninspiring book about a trueAmerican hero. Citizen McCain isbasically a transcript of Ms. Drewfollowing McCain as he championedcampaign finance reform in Congress.There are basic facts about the bill,general discussion of various meetingsand a good primer about legislativeprocedures. But this book doesneither the protagonist nor his cause justice. There are too many passages that read like meeting transcripts and too much writing about severability clauses, motions to recommit, arcane legislative procedures. There was virtually no insight into how McCain's military heroism might have influenced his views of politics and reform. There was little depth or deeper truth in the discussions of how McCain relates to various Senators, some of whom are deeply committed friends, otherwho spread false rumors about him for political reasons, a fact thatis mentioned but not explored withthe depth it deserves. There waslittle fire or passion in her portait of McCain and no attempt to seriously explain why he is so admired by millions of Americans who dream of a politics of integrity and purpose. These things are mentioned, but only as facts, without bringing alive the man or his extraordinary biography or his electric appeal to so many Americans. For a far better and truer portrait of McCain, read two books by Robert Timberg. The first, Song of the Nightingale, traces McCain, Oliver North, John Poindexter and others through their military education,their service in Vietnam, and how the Vietnam experience affected theirlives, their world views and their service in Government. Timberg'sother book, John McCain: An AmericanOdyssey, is based on the McCainsections of Nightingale and brings him alive with the passion and fire of a man who has defied death, remained true to his friends and his causes, and taken that spirit of courage and independence to the core of his political life as he fights for what he believes. The highlite of Ms. Drew's book is the section quoting McCain after 9-11 about America as a nation of heroes, patriots and believers. It's pure McCain and definitely worth a look. This spirit enlivens the whole of Timberg's life story of McCain. But what Timberg does, andDrew does not, is bring alive this genuine American hero and shed light on why he has motivated and excited so many people who yearn for a politics that lifts our spirits and elevates us all to better heights. Reading Drew, we learn how a bill becomes a law. Reading Timberg, we are moved by what it means to be an American, we find ourselves cheering for this man who challenges us to give something back, we find ourselveswondering what lies ahead in his continuing personal voyage, and we find ourselves imagining whatpolitics might be like if the last destination in his voyage is to bethe leader of the free world.

John McCain is the new Don Quixote of American politics -- honest, decent, committed and innocent; a political virgin in a pleasure dome where most of the residents are dedicated to pleasing the big spenders.

He's an adopted Arizonan, probably more because of his wife than any other cause, but he's the perfect impratical heir to a long tradition of Arizona idealists who flopped magnificently on their own but set a grand stage for others. Think of Barry Goldwater, or Stu and Mo Udall, as the epitome of political idealism and the graveyard of personal achievement.

In a nation based on the idea that errors of opinion may be safely tolerated where reason is left free to combat them, McCain poses as a champion of restricting open political debate. Ironically, his McCain-Feingold bill to ban soft money in politics contained a neon sign pointing the easy way to simple evasion, allowing "unaffiliated" campaign committees to raise the same money from the same influence peddlers to achieve the same results.

Political limits have been sought for hundreds of years; in America, some of the first limits were ending the free whiskey for one's supporters on election day. Teddy Roosevelt banned corporate donations in 1907, and McCain is merely the latest but surely not the last in a long line of distinguished opponents of political influence peddling.

Drew, an excellent reporter, does a masterful job in detailing the long intrigues that bedevil all legislation. She has a good knowledge of the legislative process, and her this alone her book is a revealing insight into just what goes into the making of our laws.

The sad part, of course, is that McCain's efforts are meaningless. Money pours into politics for one simple reason -- donations buy favorable results for donors. People rarely give to politicians to improve the community; it's a pity McCain didn't learn this as a charter member of the Keating 8. If donors were really interested in good government, they'd buy snowplows for Washington. D.C., rather than giving "soft" or "hard" to politicians.

McCain is a maverick, as gutsy in politics as his grandfather was as an admiral in the Pacific in World War II. Like Goldwater, like his grandfather, John is totally authentic (okay, I've known McCain since his first campaign in 1982). Like Goldwater, his success may not be measured in immediate results; but, look for McCain's name to sound long and true if the campaign to make politics more open, honest, candid and accessible to everyone someday achieves positive results.

This is why Drew is worth reading; granted, she's wrapped up in campaign finance reform, but she touches some undercurrents in modern society that McCain has tapped. Like Don Quixote, McCain's aim is true; unlike Quixote, McCain's efforts may may pay off in another 20 or 30 years with a birth of new honesty in politics.

McCain is a masterful politician, and Drew nicely captures these skills. He is genuinely committed to public service for the public good; before his first campaign, he talked to a wide range of Arizonans about a potential role in state politics. His first thought was to run for the legislature; when a Congressional seat opened up, he seized the opportunity and won a close but significant victory in a state where the largest newspaper open favored conservative Republicans.

Like his grandfather, John McCain III knows how to seize opportunity when it arises. Many politicians are 90 percent show and 10 percent candor; McCain is the opposite, and it is this honesty which Drew so nicely portrays that has made him into yet another national figure from Arizona.

Here you can see a glowing report of John W. McCain in 2002 surrounded by several of the GOP sharks who have since resigned in disgrace, such as Dick Armey, The Hammer DeLay and of course the vicious Karl Rove. Having learned to defeat them he became them, and worse.

What this book best demonstrates is how well, how skillfully, McCain controls the media, including the once great Drew. See also Free Ride: John McCain and the Media, see also Drew's Fear and Loathing in George W. Bush's Washington and Corruption of American Politics: What Went Wrong and Why among her many others. How the mighty fell . . .