Scandal: How "Gotcha" Politics Is Destroying America (Paperback)

~ Lanny Davis (Author)
Key Phrases: gotcha cycle, gotcha politics, scandal machine, White House, President Clinton, Supreme Court (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This perceptive look into the Washington world of equal opportunity scandal mongering must be read by Democrats and Republicans alike--and by all fair minded people who want to end the politics of mutually assured destruction."--Alan M. Dershowitz, Harvard Law School"Lanny Davis and I disagree on nearly everything political, but he is an opponent conservatives respect because he argues with sincerity, passion, and great intellect."--Richard A. Viguerie, author of Conservatives Betrayed

Product Description

Scandal traces the colorful and fascinating history of scandals throughout U.S. history and offers an eye-opening perspective on how the scandals of today are taking a toll on our entire culture. Davis speaks frankly about the culture of scandal as it is used by both the left and right and urges both parties to leave partisan politics behind for the good of the country. His calls to pursue a middle ground during the midterm elections found a ready audience making his a vital voice as we move into the 2008 Presidential campaign. 

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (August 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403984751
• ISBN-13: 978-1403984753
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,124,831 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A review of abuses on both sides for political advantage, October 24, 2006

By	Craig Matteson (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Scandal: How "Gotcha" Politics Is Destroying America (Hardcover)

Lanny Davis is certainly a partisan Democrat. And that is just fine. His political leanings are more centrist than leftist. That is, he is more like Bill Clinton (whom he served and still defends tenaciously) than the MoveOn wing of the party. One of the goals of this book is to spark a centrist realignment of the parties into a "Purple Nation" and freeze out the extreme wings of both parties. Davis is not the only person with that fantasy, which is almost certainly going to remain unrealized.

Because American politics is tends to be somewhere close to 51-49, people on the losing side tend to see those just across the divide as possible allies. Davis thinks that the middle should get together and form a party of compromise without all the harsh "politics of personal destruction" that we are all heartily sick of.

I have to give Davis a lot of credit. He is the first Democrat or Republican of recent times that is willing to recount the abuses of the other side by his side (of course, while recounting the abuses of his side by the other side). Here he admits that Walsh did bad things. That Meese, Donovan, and Ted Olsen were all abused (as were, Davis says, Hamilton Jordon, Bert Lance, and Jim Wright). OK, I hear you starting to choke. Let me say again, that depending on where you stand, the more Davis is going to seem either partisan or too kind to the GOP. And that is one of Davis' points.

Our politics has become so fixed in partisanship for the sake of partisanship that we have a hard time granting any credit at all to the other side. And this is a fine point that needed to be made. I thank Lanny Davis for making it. Anyone reading this book with an open mind will be given food for thought about this serious issue in our current political scene even without agreeing with all the points Mr. Davis makes.

Where I think Mr. Davis goes off the rails is why these personal attacks are used in our current political system. In my view, it has two principal sources. The first is that the Congress has long abdicated dealing with the hot political topics of the day. They only want to deal with it when they have to. Otherwise they stall and fob it off on agencies full of unelected bureaucrats. To be at the front of a political fight is to get noticed and if the politics shift, you lose your office. And since getting elected is the real purpose of being in office nowadays (and we let them get away with it), they don't want to take the risk of giving their opponents any ammunition or finding themselves standing on the plank out over the water.

The second issue flows from this first one. It is the way the judiciary has stepped in to "fix" social problems with rulings from the bench without any actual basis in law. They simply make it up and assert it, and we buy it. So, to protect these phony rulings the extremists get further and further out on the lever (on both sides) and so only the extremists end up with power.

So, in reality, to realize his dream, Davis is going to have to also argue that Representatives in Congress should begin again to actually represent their constituents and make laws that are relevant to our times rather than focusing only fund raising for re-election. And he is going to have to advocate the judges stick to judging on the laws that actually exist. I am not sure he is willing to do either.

The other flaw in this book, or virtue depending on your take, is its secondary purpose as part of the rehabilitation of the reputation and legacy of Bill and Hillary Clinton. I am sure most of this is because Mr. Davis honestly believes what he advocates. However, I personally believe it has to do with strengthening the memory of the Clinton Presidency and his service there. And I wouldn't be surprised if it were also in part about getting these scandals out of the way for Hillary's run on 2008.

Nevertheless, this is an interesting book and a contribution to our present political debate.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From Watergate to modern times, the scandal machine has revved up, November 5, 2006

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scandal: How "Gotcha" Politics Is Destroying America (Hardcover)

In the late 90s the author was special Counsel to President Clinton and was offered a ringside seat to the inner sanctum of the political process: SCANDAL: HOW 'GOTCHA' POLITICS IS DESTROYING AMERICA offers damning details on all parties as it surveys the evolving 'scandal culture' affecting political elections and decisions. From Watergate to modern times, the scandal machine has revved up: SCANDAL documents exactly how it has evolved, the ideas underlying party manipulation of the political system, and different paradigms of change.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

1.0 out of 5 stars Lanny Davis is a Highly Paid Mercenary Propagandist, August 7, 2009

By	William W. Litsch - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Before anybody reads this book they should do a little research on the life of Mr. Lanny. His career is a long list of selling his counsel and his public support to the highest bidder, with few if any exceptions. He spreads lies for businessmen clients in Honduras, as is evidenced by his poorly argued interview on Democracy Now, in which he provides no material support for his opinions and instead only evinces belligerent personal attacks on its host. He is a corporate lawyer and is wholeheartedly in bed with any corporation willing to screw the little guy if it pays him well enough. He is connected to the Clinton Oligarchy from way back and has and will bend the facts to support them in any way he can. He supports the racist Israeli government in whatever endeavor against human rights and common decency it sees fit to perpetrate. All of Lanny's books should be seen through this lens. He will mix certain interesting and accepted facts with illusory details that help his clients and his well placed friends. I'm sure his is popular at parties. Walking around cleaning up the messes of those more powerful than himself. Spraying perfume on all the turds they leave behind, while he bemoans all the suffering they have to endure by all the stupid people that desperately want their leaders and "representatives" to actually represent the best of them, in both their characters and their governance.