Down and Dirty : The Plot to Steal the Presidency (Hardcover)

~ Jake Tapper (Author) "At 5:55 A.M. in Tampa, Florida, on Election Day 2000, Vice President Al Gore makes a run for the Florida Bakery..." (more)
Key Phrases: countywide hand recount, unread ballots, full hand recount, Broward County, New York, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In Down and Dirty, acclaimed journalist Jake Tapper takes readers deep inside the battle for the White House and reveals once and for all what actually happened, and who got away with what. Combining outstanding investigative reporting with exclusive insider information, this fascinating expose travels from the court rooms to the canvassing boards to the corridors of the legislature, as Tapper paints vivid portraits of all the major players, revealing shocking details about what happened behind closed doors, what deals were cut, and who did what to whom. Finally, Tapper delivers his wickedly perceptive insight onto the two men at the center of it all: Al Gore--the cold, ruthless, and uninspiring technocrat who constantly sold out his friends, staffers, and values in pursuit of power--and George W. Bush, the man who would be President--a brilliant schmoozer and deft liar with the intellectual inquisitiveness of the average fern. Expect Down and Dirty to ignite a firestorm of debate now that the reality of the Bush presidency dawns on the American public.

About the Author

Jake Tapper is the Washington DC star reporter for Salon.com, the top Web news magazine with hundreds of thousands of visitors each week.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316832642
• ISBN-13: 978-0316832649
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #566,646 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Juiciest View of the "Jeberglades", June 1, 2001

By A Customer

Jake Tapper takes the reader behind the scenes to reveal Election 2000's dirtiest secrets. "Down and Dirty" personalizes the Florida showdown, showing the worst of both sides in a way that should scare the American people into taking more responsibility for choosing our elected leaders. Tapper exposes Jeb Bush's intricate formula for dominating the Florida Republican party, in which he left few fingerprints behind while helping to ultimately deliver a Bush win in the "Jeberglades" and ensure his brother's victory. He illustrates the desperation of the Gore team, when they finally realized their legal argument was fundamentally flawed. From Gore calling top TV producers to sell his own conspiracy theory to a top Gore aide spreading salacious rumors about Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris, Tapper lets exposes the dirty tricks in politics that no one likes to talk about.

Like no other election book on the market, Tapper personalizes the Florida drama, introducing us to the players with all of their human flaws and insecurities. Most important, he shows us how a single person can impact a nation.

With the same chatty, irreverent tone that singled out his election coverage on Salon.com, Tapper hones in on the greatest evil of modern politics -- a voting public that just doesn't give a damn. "Down and Dirty" shows the American people that they need to wake up and pay attention to who their leaders are. Shouldn't we expect more from our politicians than legal antics and dirty tricks?

44 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm glad I'm not a politician, May 5, 2001

By	Alan Deikman (Fremont, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

Jake Tapper has very little nice to say about either side in the farce that was the 2000 Florida election. He's obviously turned off by GWB and I get the feeling he really doesn't like Gore. But he does take some time to document both honest Repubs and honest Dems (believe it or not there are some) at the county-government levels of the election machinery. Reading this, I feel mostly for those isolated individuals that were mostly concerned with doing the right thing, and ended up screwed no matter what they did. There is a lot of text in this book that says what the players are thinking (as opposed to doing) which gets you closer to the characters but seems out of place in journalism.

Tapper documents perdify, misadventure, and out-and-out stupidity on all THREE sides: Dems, Repubs, and the media. For whatever reason the media clearly ended up influencing the events in favor of the Republicans, and had they not the result might have been quite different.

The fact is that the GOP simply out-manuvered the Dems all though the campaign, and right through the post-election mess. If you want to see how they did it, this book is a good view into it. A must-read for anyone to be informed on contemporary politics.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You Care Who's President...Read This Book!!!, March 30, 2001

By A Customer

"Down and Dirty" is a fantastic book on the chaotic, raucous post-presidential election scramble in Florida. Tapper uses his sharp political skills to weed through the boring election crap and create a very readable, funny behind-the-scenes account of the Bush and Gore camps yelling, screaming and plotting against each other. The hardball tactics used by each side to claim the White House sheds light on both candidates, their duplicity and motives. Nowhere else will you find such a candid portrayal of our current president, George W., and his nemisis, Al Gore, as they get 'down and dirty' in the fight for their political lives. In addition, Tapper's descriptions of the canvassing boards and the confusion that consumes the local yokles as they muddle through dimpled, pregnant and hanging chads is written with exacting wit and wry humor. The author strips away the varnish and veneer found in other stodgy accounts written by teams of reporters and tells it like it is. If you read only one book on the post-election Florida mess, this is it.