Customer Reviews

Slate's Field Guide to the Candidates 2004

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Clocking in at 124 pages you can't expect an indepth treatment of each of the candidates but I can see this being useful for anyone who hasn't been thinking about the 2004 election since 2002. All the candidates are represented -- even Bob Graham who dropped out -- and each is subjected to a quick profile that includes policy flip flops, best and worst moments, biographical information and some analysis of their positions. Instead of some recycled Slate.com content, I would have preferred a little more new analysis but this after all is meant as a quick and dirty guide to the people gunning for the big chair in 2004, not an encyclopedia.

This quirky little book was created by the Slate magazine people, to give the non-politically astute reader a good feel for the men and woman running for the nomination of the two major parties, for the 2004 American Presidential election. The eleven candidates (ten Democrats and George W. Bush) are each given their own chapter, which begins with a quick list of important information (age, experience, personal and professional histories, and more), and then moves into such sections as the candidates agenda, worldview, buzzwords, best and worse things done, flip-flops (yep, they all have them!), gaffes, and a quick Slate article. The weakest part of the book is the chapter on Wesley Clark; as Clark only announced his candidacy as the book was going to press, he did not get the full treatment that the other candidates did.

Overall, I found this to be an interesting look at the 2004 candidates. The book is irreverent, with no candidate being given a free-ride. If you already have your mind made up about a candidate, then you will probably not like this book. But, if you are unclear about the candidates and would like a frank look at who they are and what they believe, then this is the book for you.