Party of One: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Rise of the Independent Voter [Hardcover]

Daniel Weintraub (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2008

Since his landslide reelection in a state dominated by Democrats, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has arguably become the nation's most successful Republican politician. His near-universal name recognition and status as governor of the nation's most populous state have placed Schwarzenegger at the forefront of such key issues as health care, environmental protection, and immigration. Combining liberal stands on social and environmental issues with conservative pro-business policies, Schwarzenegger has found favor with Republicans, Democrats, and independent voters, whose support has been critical to his success. PARTY OF ONE goes beyond a portrait of a political celebrity. Detailing Schwarzenegger's gambits, missteps, and achievements on a range of issues, it suggests that the "governator" represents the future of American politics, in which practical results will mean more to voters than partisan identity.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

* As improbable as it was that Arnold Schwarzenegger would be elected to govern the biggest state in the country, it turns out that was only the beginning of an even more remarkable story. Daniel Weintraub, an insightful and experienced reporter, takes us along on a journey in which Schwarzenegger has reshaped the political landscape in California--and possibly set a path that the rest of the country will follow. -- Karen Tumulty, Time Magazine -- * The grand goals, disappointing failures, and admirable successes of California's superstar governor are impressively chronicled in this sympathetic but critical book by Daniel Weintraub. This valuable work explores Arnold Schwarzenegger's conflicted inner core and explains why he has often struggled in Sacramento. -- George Skelton, Los Angeles Times -- * History will be the final judge of Arnold Schwarzenegger and the power of the independent movement. Daniel Weintraub, in this great book, captures the essence of the Schwarzenegger phenomenon and his effort to find the center of American politics. -- Leon E. Panetta, Director, Panetta Institute, and Former Chief of Staff to President Clinton -- * Daniel Weintraub is one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's closest and shrewdest observers. This book will be an essential element in understanding not only this multifaceted one-of-a-kind politician and the complex state he's trying to govern, but also Schwarzenegger's monumental ambitions for universal health care, environmental management, and bipartisan politics. -- Peter Schrag, Sacramento Bee -- * Daniel Weintraub's account of Arnold Schwarzenegger's governorship is loaded with insights into Schwarzenegger's uniquely contradictory "third way" politics, which may turn out to match voters' beliefs better than most homegrown politicians' do. You've seen the movies--now read the book. -- Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times --

About the Author

MICHAEL BARONE is a senior writer with U.S. News & World Report and a contributor to Fox News Channel. He is the principal coauthor of the biannual "Almanac of American Politics" and the author of "Our Country, The New Americans," and "Hard America, Soft America,"

"From the Trade Paperback edition."

Product Details

• Hardcover: 237 pages
• Publisher: Polipoint Press (January 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979482224
• ISBN-13: 978-0979482229
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #862,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Playbook for Arnold Politics, January 24, 2008

By 

M. Rexroad "Matt Rexroad" (Woodland, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Party of One: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Rise of the Independent Voter (Hardcover)

"Party of One" by Sacramento Bee columnist Daniel Weintraub is the book i just finished reading. It is a very good read that I would highly recommend.

The start of "Governor" Schwarzenegger was something that I missed. When I came back from Iraq in the summer of 2003 I had missed the signature gathering for the recall and the tensions surrounding it. When I left, Gray Davis was getting inaugurated for his second term. When I got back, he was toast, and the candidates to replace him included the Terminator, a porn queen, Peter Ueberroth, and Arianna Huffington, 2002 GOP nominee Bill Simon, Gary Coleman, and Senator Tom McClintock. It seemed like things were more stable in Baghdad.

Many of you will not find the parts about the recall as interesting as I did. What you will find interesting is the observations of someone that has observed the Governor almost every day for the past four years.

We all have our views of the Governor that may be based on individual issues. Weintraub breaks down some of the policy positions of the Governor with individual chapters on infrastructure improvements, environmental reforms, health care, immigration, prison reform, education, redistricting, and post-partisanship.

The Weintraub writing style in this book is exactly what you get in the Sacramento Bee.

Even if you think you know everything about the Governor, Weintraub has so many good facts included in this book that most any political observer can take something valuable from it.

Like it or not, people all over the country are going to be looking for a road map on how to try and be more like our Governor. They will use this book to do it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Party of One - a chronicle of high hopes and lost opportunities, June 5, 2008

By 

Chuck DeVore "Chuck DeVore" (Irvine, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Party of One: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Rise of the Independent Voter (Hardcover)

"Party of One," by veteran California newspaper columnist Daniel Weintraub, details the amazing life of America's second most important chief executive, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Weintraub begins with a brief overview of Schwarzenegger's early life in a small town in Austria, as a bodybuilder who, "...left his native country as a young man to pursue his vision of the American Dream. He believed with the passion of the converted that anyone who worked hard and focused on his goals could make it in America. Not just make it - but make it big. Fame. Wealth. Adulation. A beautiful family."

The author, befitting his profession as a political journalist, quickly fast forwards to 2003, the year of California's fateful recall of Gov. Gray Davis. During that election, Schwarzenegger promised to "tear up" the state's credit cards as California groaned under a huge deficit caused by a complete lack of spending restraint coupled with the tech bubble bursting that served to end a spike in capital gains tax earnings. It was this political promise that would serve as the central criticism in Weintraub's story; the greatest failing; the biggest lost opportunity. Weintraub writes, "Schwarzenegger's failure to deal with the long-term, structural problem in the budget - the fact that spending was programmed by law to grow faster than tax revenues - allowed state spending to rise from $78 billion when he took office to $102 billion as he ran for reelection three years later, an increase of more than 30 percent... By the time he was reelected in November 2006, the state was spending more per capita and more as a percentage of the economy than it ever had before... His goal of bringing the state's books back into the black - the defining issue in his first campaign for the governor's office - would continue to depend on little more than a gamble, a hope that the economy would perform better than his own experts expected. It might have been a good formula for political success. But as fiscal policy, it would never get the job done." Schwarzenegger's fiscal failings became increasingly obvious in 2008 as California's deficit came back with a vengeance at $17 billion.

Weintraub adequately retells the phases of Schwarzenegger's public career, his first foray into politics with his after school program initiative, his initial year in office, his failed "year of reform," his retooling by coming out with a proposal to massively borrow to build infrastructure, and his push to capture the environmental issue. All of this is set into the context of examining how Schwarzenegger, while nominally a Republican, governs with no discernable set of principles - a "liberaltarian," as Brink Lindsey coined.

Weintraub wraps up by breezing through Schwarzenegger's convincing reelection in 2006 and his efforts in 2007 to increase government involvement in healthcare, reform the prison system (something I had a supporting role in), and reform the political process.

All in all, Weintraub tells the story of a remarkable man trying to govern a remarkable state, doing some things well, but failing in other, more basic tests of leadership. Weintraub leaves the impression that Schwarzenegger could have done more and could be doing more, but somehow is falling short of his initial high promise.

Reviewer: Chuck DeVore is a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010, a California State Assemblyman, he served as a Special Assistant for Foreign Affairs in the Department of Defense from 1986 to 1988, retired from the Army National Guard as a lieutenant colonel, and is the co-author of "China Attacks."

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Explains complicated politics clearly, March 11, 2008

By 

Joe Mathews - See all my reviews

This review is from: Party of One: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Rise of the Independent Voter (Hardcover)

This is a terrific book. It takes a very complicated and important subject -- how California is governed -- and explains it in a way that is clear, accurate and fun to read. The book is particularly valuable for explaining a much misunderstood and timely subject: Schwarzenegger's health care plan, which passed the Assembly but failed to get out a committee in the state Senate. Although this book is important and should show up on a few college syllabi, it doesn't feel like homework. Some of the writing is more than clear -- it's beautiful.