No Excuses: Concessions of a Serial Campaigner (Paperback)

~ Robert Shrum (Author)
Key Phrases: vice preside, years lacer, debate prep, New Hampshire, White House, Ted Kennedy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With this lengthy but frequently gripping memoir, Shrum recounts his three-decade career in American politics, which he began as a speechwriter for New York's Mayor John Lindsay and ended as a campaign strategist for John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. More insider history than memoir, the book focuses almost exclusively on the author's professional experience, featuring richly detailed accounts of his efforts working on Edward Kennedy's, Al Gore's and John Kerry's unsuccessful presidential bids (conversely, Shrum covers his engagement and wedding to Marylouise, his wife of 18 years, in three swift pages). Unsurprisingly, given his background, Shrum writes with eloquence and passion; more unexpected is his disarming candor. He's by turns effusive and brutal, for example waxing poetic about Edward Kennedy after vehemently criticizing Jimmy Carter. Later, he voices somewhat harsh ambivalence toward Bill Clinton. A deep sense of disappointment pervades the book: Shrum's string of failed presidential campaigns led to talk of the "Shrum curse," which the author never managed to overcome. Casual judgments and frank disclosures along the way make this a provocative and entertaining behind-the-scenes look at American politics. B&w photos not seen by PW. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

With experience working with the presidential candidacies of eight Democrats, as well as on the elections of senators, governors, and mayors, and with a reputation that has ranged from wunderkind to curse, Shrum offers a long and broad perspective on the Democrats' political strategizing over the past 30 years. Among his clients: George McGovern, Dick Gephardt, Al Gore, and John Kerry, as well as Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Given their track records as winners and losers, Shrum's involvement in their candidacies has left him with a reputation as "the black cat of American politics, someone who had connived, confused, consulted, and condemned" Democratic candidates. Shrum recalls candidates in unguarded, vulnerable moments, when they actually spoke their minds, and in calculating moments, when they wanted the words—and ideas—placed in their mouths. Shrum also recalls the infighting, self-destruction, and spin typical of American politics as it has evolved in the last three decades. Although he does detail his own shortcomings, he laments the tendency to blame the consultant when the campaign ends in defeat. An enlightening and amusing look at American politics by a consummate insider. Bush, Vanessa
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (June 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743296524
• ISBN-13: 978-0743296526
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #146,784 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shrum Offers Honest and Provocative Insider's Account, June 5, 2007

By	Richard M. Marano - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: No Excuses: Concessions of a Serial Campaigner (Hardcover)

If you enjoy reading an insider's account of a presidential campaign, then this book is difficult to pass up. Shrum is as candid as ever, and has produced a powerfully well-written and passionate memoir. He presents an inside look into several presidential campaigns from his vantage point, and pulls no punches. Whether one agrees or disagrees with Shrum's analysis, kudos to him for his honesty.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a page turner by a great wordsmith, June 28, 2007

By	Martin J. Keenan (Great Bend, KS USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: No Excuses: Concessions of a Serial Campaigner (Hardcover)

Shrum is first and foremost, a wordsmith, a speechwriter, which led to political consulting. From the start of the book where he describes meeting JFK as a teenager---to the conclusion, in which Sen. Edward Kennedy throws Shrum a retirement party, the book is filled with interesting stuff about politics. A true "inside-baseball" account of the presidential races in recent decades.
Shrum seems even-handed in his assessment of people in politics, and the times he reveals unflattering information about people doesn't come across as score-settling, but simply telling it like it is. All good political books have to have some new information---some zingers about political stars, but Shrum's assessment of people is balanced by both positive and negative information. The one guy who seems to get no criticism in the book is Ted Kennedy, and it is clear that Ted and Shrum are close friends and that Shrum has too much respect for the Kennedys to
throw in any zingers about him or his clan. A great read by a great writer.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eyewitness to power, August 10, 2007

By	Jon Hunt "musician, teacher" (Old Greenwich, Ct. USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: No Excuses: Concessions of a Serial Campaigner (Hardcover)

Whether or not you agree politically with Robert Shrum, "No Excuses" is a no holds barred look at his career as a speechwriter and as a consultant. From McGovern to Kerry, Shrum has been at the right hand of those running for office and those serving...it's been quite a ride and he captures it with style and panache.

Most of us who are aware of the author know two things about him.....he's been on tv a lot over the past years... (his countenance is one not easily forgotten) and his track record for lending a hand in unsuccessful presidential races has been, well, astoundingly bad. Shrum acknowledges this but he has a great amount of self-deprecation in these losses and shares some of the blame when things haven't gone well. But he reminds readers that he has been very good at getting senators and governors elected. This might seem to be a covering explanation for the presidential level, but the political process is filled with those who need to be elected if they want to further their aspirations.

The "not so surprising" aspect of "No Excuses" is that Shrum can write well! (he can't drive or type, he tells us) The book never lets down and keeps forging ahead from one campaign to the next with the author contributing his take on the candidates and others around him. He minces no words about those he likes and dislikes. Certainly Ted Kennedy and Shrum's own astute wife, Marylouise, are the political and personal heroes of his life. The backroom decision-making processes are what makes his experience so intriguing. Especially of concern was his listening to and advising both John Kerry and John Edwards about their 2002 vote authorizing Bush to use force in Iraq. No clear-cut ideologies here. The book crackles with drama as election nights 2000 and 2004 are recounted (and also "re-counted"!) as they shift back between victory and defeat. Shrum is in such a unique position of being a speechwriter and a consultant that it is sometimes hard to know where he draws the line. Apparently, it was hard for him, too, to know exactly how he fit into the picture, on occasion.

As I read "No Excuses" I felt in many ways like it was a walk down "memory lane" as I cut my teeth in politics around the same time Shrum did. He did give me a better perspective on those candidates for whom I had voted...the ones I felt passionate about and the ones for whom it was just a pull of the lever. McGovern and Clinton I'd go for again, but Carter and Kerry, no. I'm sure many readers will identify with those men and it's just as well we didn't know how the campaigns were "made".

On a more current note, I was surprised to read about the antipathy between Kerry and Edwards. After the election, Kerry told Shrum he wished he had never picked Edwards. With Kerry now out of the presidential picture, Edwards will come under more scrutiny for those who read about him from Shrum.

Bob Shrum has given us what I would consider a nicely balanced look at his life in politics, taking the hits when necessary and gaining the credit where he should. "No Excuses" is simply a fascinating read, regardless of one's political persuasion. I highly recommend it for its compelling narrative, Shrum's detail of recollections and for his being an eyewitness to power and history in the making.