What A Party!: My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators and Other Wild Animals [Hardcover]

Terry McAuliffe (Author), Steve Kettmann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 23, 2007

"I thought I knew Terry McAuliffe as well as anyone, but this time he surprised even me.  Who knew Terry could sit still long enough to give us a book this good? What a Party! is a must-read for all of us who love politics, believe in public service, and know that laughter is often the best survival strategy."
 
--President Bill Clinton
 
"No one knows more about American politics than Terry McAuliffe. He gives
us some remarkable insights and knows how to make his accounts both humorous
and informative."
 
--President Jimmy Carter
 
"I've often said Terry's energy could light up a city, and readers of this book will know why. Terry's excitement for politics--and life--is evident on every page."

 

--Senator Hillary Clinton

 

    For more than twenty-five years, Terry McAuliffe has been at the epicenter of American politics.  Just out of Catholic University in Washington, Terry took a position with the Carter-Mondale campaign and quickly became one of the campaign's chief fund-raisers--and hasn't looked back since. The list of Terry´s former mentors, friends, and close associates in the nation's capital reads like a who's who of legendary Democrats: Tip O'Neill. Jimmy Carter. Dick Gephardt. Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton. Al Gore. The list goes on and on. Terry has fought hard for the Democratic Party his entire life and, as Bill Clinton reveals here for the first time, he was the first one in the party to see opportunity in the Republican gains in the 1994 Congressional elections.
      Without question the most successful fund-raiser in political history, Terry established himself as a heavyweight Democratic strategist and leader who was George W. Bush´s most vocal and persistent critic during the first four years of the Bush 43 presidency. He earned rave reviews even from former critics for his groundbreaking work as chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2001 to 2005, pulling the DNC out of debt for the first time in its history.  Terry has served as a confidant and adviser to President Clinton and countless presidential candidates, a mediator among party leaders, the chairman of a national convention and presidential inaugural, and a forceful spokesman for the party--all without losing his reputation as a colorful, fun-loving character liked and respected even by his Republican adversaries.
      What a Party! is a fascinating, hilarious, and provocative look at the life of one of Washington's legendary figures. From wrestling an alligator to running the Democratic National Committee to his friendship with President Clinton, Terry McAuliffe's wonderful memoir covers it all and is, without doubt, the political book of the year.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The ex–Democratic National Committee chair and political super– fund-raiser lives up to his nickname Mad Dog in this boisterous memoir. McAuliffe is rabidly aggressive toward Republicans (whom he describes as "willing to lie and cheat any way they could"), savaging them on talk shows and facing them down in bristling social encounters. He relentlessly pursues donors, happy to wrestle alligators and sing karaoke for checks ("for $500,000 I didn't mind humiliating myself"). He golfs, dances and plays cards with his political masters Hillary and Bill Clinton ("the Babe Ruth of American presidents"), forever preening over the role his advice and prodigious fund-raising played in their success. But on the exchange of money for access implicit in his activities, he is blustery but evasive. McAuliffe has incisive comments on the Democrats' shortcomings, especially their faintheartedness in fighting Republicans. Though he champions the Democrats as the party of the little guy—contrasting their jeans-and-barbecue shindigs with "swank, hoity-toity" GOP fund-raising events —that stance is undercut by all the name-dropping ("Ben Affleck joined Robin, Marsha, Dorothy and me for a quick tour of the skeet range") and elbow rubbing with grungily dressed billionaires. McAuliffe's inflated self-regard may give more ammunition to Republican opponents than his partisan vitriol does to Democratic allies. Photos. (Feb. 1)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

McAuliffe, who has been involved with Democratic campaigns for the past 25 years as fund-raiser, advisor, and chairman of the Democratic National Committee during President Bush's first term, offers an energetic, behind-the-scenes look at politics. He began his career as a fund-raiser with the Carter campaign in 1980 when he became famous for wrestling an alligator. McAuliffe has gone on to raise more than $1 billion for Democrats. As an entrepreneur and millionaire, McAuliffe might be assumed to have more in common with the Republicans. But he traces his bona fides back to his childhood and his family's long-standing interest in Democratic politics. Despite his love for Democrats, he lambastes his party for failing to fight harder when the 2000 presidential election popular vote--and arguably the electoral votes as well--favored Al Gore; the Kerry campaign's reluctance to challenge Bush's qualifications as commander in chief when he allegedly had not completed his National Guard duty obligations; and a host of other sins. McAuliffe's exuberance and insider status combine to make this a fascinating look at political campaigns. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; 1st edition (January 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312357877
• ISBN-13: 978-0312357870
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #518,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #36 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( C ) > Clinton, Bill

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Storyteller!, January 30, 2007

By 

Paul E. Begala "Paul Begala" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What A Party!: My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators and Other Wild Animals (Hardcover)

I've known Terry McAuliffe for almost 20 years. I've worked with him, fought alongside him -- hell, our boys play on the same basketball team. But this book told me a lot about Terry I didn't know. And (I'm embarrassed to say) a lot about politics as well. Terry didn't just kiss the Blarney Stone, he chewed it up, swallowed it and made it part of every fiber of his being. But more than an Irishman's gift of gab, this book is filled with insights into politics, including the answer to the toughest question: Why would a guy worth millions, with a gorgeous wife and five great kids, spend so much time helping Democrats win elections? Because he's never forgotten that the Democratic Party is the party of the people, the party of the American Dream, the party of the forgotten middle class. And all of us who have climbed from immigrant roots to the top can only justify our rise by helping the next bunch of folks climb as far as they can.

No one would begrudge McAuliffe if he'd retreated into his wealth, golfing with tycoons at exclusive country clubs. Instead, he's used all the blessings of liberty he's been given to widen the winner's circle, deepen the meaning of freedom, and broaden the American Dream for everyone.

If you want to tell your neighbors why you're a Democrat, or if you've ever wondered what we Clinton Democrats stand for, this book is a must-read.

I don't review a lot of books. And Terry has no idea I've written this. But unlike most Washington phonies, I've actually read this book, and so I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Paul Begala

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every Page was FUN to Read - It doesn't get any BETTER - RUSH OUT to BUY IT!!!!, February 11, 2007

By 

A Customer (Westport, CT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: What A Party!: My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators and Other Wild Animals (Hardcover)

Does a political book get any better than this one? I don't think so. This is one of the finest books on politics you can ever hope to read. It's entertaining and insightful on every subject it touches. This is coming from a reader who is usually on the other side of the political arena. McAuliffe's personality was absolutely captured in this book. His contagious commitment to his party, and the people he was loyal to is evident throughout every page.

Is the book honest; does it give the unvarnished truth about what happened during the times and events that McAuliffe is writing about? Of course not, nor would you expect it to. When you read this book, you are looking for an understanding of what it was like for the dominant financial fundraiser of the Democratic Party of his generation to do what he did. From that perspective, it just doesn't get any better than McAuliffe's book.

It is not a short book either. It is close to 400 pages done with a moderate size font, but in those pages, the man demonstrates a joy for life, and it's a life on a big scale. He knows the movers and the shakers, the real guys and the pretend guys. It's all here, and for the reader you get the inside scoop on life at the top of one of the two major political parties in our land.

Talk about bias though. McAuliffe does sometimes speak about history and events as though he's the only one who's got the story straight. He also tends to think of the Democrats as being pure as the driven snow, and the Republicans as though they are in bed with the devil. Only partisans live that nonsense.

The author has to be forgiven for his partisanship because he has so much invested in the GAME. You are not reading the book to learn about history. You are living this man's life in these 400 pages, and it feels very real. Some of the fabulous stories you will read in this book include:


· How's he's trying to get a couple of hundred grand out of a guy by inviting him to a party. He tells him Sammy Davis Jr. is coming and will be singing, even though Davis had been dead 10 years.

· He goes to a guy in California to get a million bucks and the guy brings his friend who is dressed like a bum. The bum takes out a wrinkled check, has holes in his t-shirt, and writes a check for a million also.

· The stories on Lew Wasserman, the man who ran Hollywood for decades are priceless. McAuliffe asks Wasserman how his desk could be absolutely clean, not a piece of paper on it. Wasserman tells him, "If I get a piece of paper here, I either throw it out or act on it. I don't let anything sit." What a priceless piece of advice to the rest of us.

· A fundraiser is brought to meet former Vice President Mondale in 1984. The fundraiser happens to be gay unbeknownst to Mondale. He tells the VP, there's something I need to tell you. "I've come out of the closet." After the man leaves, Mondale ask in a serious voice, "What was he doing in my closet."?

· The stories on Tip O'Neill are nothing short of spectacular. Tip tells McAuliffe about JFK and Tip doing a fundraiser. At the end of the evening JFK asks Tip how did we make out. Tip responds we got cash and checks. The future President comes back, "You take the checks, I'll take the cash."

· His stories on boar hunting are dead on accurate. I've done this, and the man knows what he is talking about.

· He's got a couple of tips about fundraising that you could never hope to learn unless someone passed them on to you. They include always accept a drink from a potential donor. It loosens every body up. Don't let anybody get drunk however, because they might not remember the amount they committed to. When doing a fundraiser always use a smaller room than you need. It gives off a more successful appearance.


When I read any book I am looking for that one thought that makes the whole book worthwhile. On page 200 I found that thought. President Clinton talks about what he believes in passionately.

"Don't let somebody bad-mouth you out of the game, and then sit on the sidelines and lay down. Don't let them score without trying to tackle them. If you're going to play, you ought to know going in what to expect...So half the time when you get hit upside the head, people don't necessarily believe it. What they're really interested in is: how are you going to respond? That's how they can get some guidance as to what sort of President you'd be, or senator, or congressman, or governor."

The second fabulous insight was a statement that President Clinton made about what he learned from Nelson Mandela about anger and hatred, when he asked Mandela, "....didn't you really hate those who had imprisoned you?"

Mandela responded, "Of course I did, for many years. They took the best years of my life. They abused me physically and mentally. I didn't get to see my children grow up. I hated them. Then one day when I was working in the quarry, hammering the rocks, I realized that they had already taken everything from me except my mind and my heart. Those they could not take without my permission. I decided not to give them away." Mandela then told Clinton, "Neither should you." P164

Read the book, it's a BLAST.

Richard Stoyeck

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hustling through life!, February 7, 2007

By 

Jon Hunt "musician, teacher" (Old Greenwich, Ct. USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What A Party!: My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators and Other Wild Animals (Hardcover)

If you're a loyal Republican (and I'm anything but) you'll probably want to read the first few pages of "What a Party!"...up to the point where Terry McAuliffe starts his McAuliffe Driveway Maintenance business at the age of sixteen. You'll get the idea that Terry works hard and thinks big. Beyond that point, however, watch out! This book is one big delightfully funny partisan romp from the Carter years through Bush 43. Along the way, McAuliffe raises tons of money for the Democrats, becomes close to the Clintons, butts heads with more than a few, knocks back a few cold ones from time to time and tells some of the best stories from the political world. Terry McAuliffe is a self-described "Irish storyteller" and if you like Democrats, you'll love this book.

"What a Party!" has such a frenetic pace to it that you might get a little winded just trying to keep up with Terry McAuliffe. If he's not on a plane somewhere he's on the phone raising funds, arranging loans, allocating monies...and all the while seeming to have a great time doing it. You get the feeling that if someone accused McAuliffe of being self-promotional he'd take that as a huge compliment. What makes this book intriguing as well is that McAuliffe takes you behind the scenes of what campaigns are like and into the White House for that rare glimpse of personal time spent with Bill and Hillary Clinton. You could describe the author as the most partisan of partisans and that would be not only an apt reflection but a necessary one, given his job as DNC chairman.

It's really the stories, though, that make this book shine. There's always a smile that comes to my face when I read the name Zell Miller and Terry McAuliffe doesn't disappoint here! When the author is welcomed back to the White House by Bush 43, then told by the president not to steal the silverware, the possible retorts sent in by Washington Post readers are hilarious!

"What a Party!" is indeed a party. Terry McAuliffe may have to present a colder, more calculating side to his business life, but underneath you get a sense of his being a warm family man, happy to share his experiences with us. I highly recommend his book.