Citizen McCain (Hardcover)

by Elizabeth Drew (Author) "IN EARLY JANUARY 2001, at breakfast in the Senate Dining Room, John McCain was in an upbeat mood..." (more)
Key Phrases: White House, Capitol Hill, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Congressional politics can be a dirty, rough-and-tumble game, but Washington legend Elizabeth Drew takes us ringside to an unusually fierce fight: the quest for campaign finance reform, spearheaded by maverick senator John McCain.

Little known outside Arizona, McCain gained prominence when he broke from the Republican leadership and still came close to earning his party's nomination for the presidency in 2000. Derailed by George Bush (whose lieutenants, one of Drew's interviewees remarks, fought "the dirtiest, nastiest campaign I've ever seen"), McCain struck out against entrenched, big-money interests, earning plenty of enemies on Capitol Hill and plenty of admirers outside the Beltway. Drew gives us a day-by-day, sometimes hour-by-hour account of McCain's courtly but tough battle, fought with handshakes here, cajoling there, and shrewd calculation everywhere.

Readers wanting to know how things really get done in Washington have a fine guide in Drew, and admirers of McCain will find still more reasons to respect him after watching him in combat. --Gregory McNamee

From Publishers Weekly
Drew offers a focused narrative that follows Senator John McCain through the 2001 legislative session as he maneuvers toward his goal of campaign finance reform. The highly respected Drew, a former New Yorker political writer and author (The Corruption of American Politics, etc.), was granted extraordinary access to McCain, including many private interviews and the cooperation of his staff. She is careful to note, however, that this is not an approved biography. The result is an instructive, even suspenseful, fly-on-the-wall account of how recondite parliamentary ploys, masterful management of the press and public relations, opportunistic coalition-building and sheer tenacity, energy and conviction laid the groundwork to challenge the formidable forces aligned against finance reform. High-profile players intent on disrupting McCain's fragile coalition include White House advisor Karl Rove, Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, ultraconservative Republican Congressmen Dick Armey and Tom DeLay, along with unions and various lobbyists. In the midst of her narrative, Drew is forced to change her focus from the battle over campaign finance reform to the events of September 11. In Drew's view, McCain provides a rare example of leadership as he makes numerous media appearances including one as the sole guest of Jay Leno designed to reassure the public after the terrorist attacks. In that regard, the book's title is revealing. For Drew, McCain is a man to whom the title "citizen" attaches as an honorific without irony, the reference to Orson Wells's manipulative Kane notwithstanding.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (May 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743230027
• ISBN-13: 978-0743230025
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,011,659 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An insider looks at Senator John McCain, May 1, 2002

By A Customer

This is a highly revealing book about Senator John McCain, one of the most fascinating figures to hit the political scene in many moons. Those who followed his unsuccessful but energizing presidential campaign will be delighted to see the more complete and complex figure who emerges in these pages. He is shown as a serious strategic thinker who keeps his eye on the ball to achieve a long term legislative goal. While describing McCain the book also gives a lot of insight into the process which led to the passage of the campaign finance overhaul. It's a great read for anyone interested in McCain, Washington politics, the campaign finance system in this country or all of the above.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Civics 101 - A Man for All Seasons, October 21, 2002

By	Richard A. Stratton "The Beak" (Atlantic Beach, Florida United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Get personalities out of the equation.

An unvarnished up to date inside look at how our national legislation is formulated, processed, obstructed and finally passed. An vital and compelling insight into the capabilities and limitations of our constitutional process. Critical insight into the legislative process. A forceful argument for communicating with our elected representatives.

Who says so? I'm a student of government: Georgetown; AB [History/Government],1955; Stanford, MA [International Relations],1964; and victim of Congressional ambivalence (POW Hanoi, Vietnam 1967 - 1973].

Incidentally, Senator McCain comes across as a TR reincarnated; but that is not the fault of the author. McCain assumes the responsibilty himself. What you sees is what you gets. Don't fault the messenger; read the book and be a better citizen for the doing so.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Seeing McCain through rose colored glasses, August 15, 2008

By	Wolfie (near the grape vines) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Citizen McCain (Paperback)

So much is published about John McCain from those who seem to know him only from the campaign trail and yet we actually get to see only the side of him that he willingly presents for the cameras and not a more complete and honest account of the man.

One one side, McCain is a war hero. On the other McCain as a war hero returned home to find his loving and dutiful (first) wife, mother of McCain's three oldest children horribly injured and permanently disabled. What do you think John McCain did then and why do we see so little of that part of his life?

On June 8, 2008 the Times UK provided objective insight and in the process of exploring the complete life of John McCain and in the process revealed a side of McCain that demonstrates he is a first rank opportunist whose ambition rules integrity.

John McCain met his first wife, Carol while he was at the US Naval Academy. The Times UK article notes that McCain was "a privileged, but rebellious scion of one of America's most distinguished military dynasties - his father and grandfather were both admirals." An examination of McCain's performance at the academy shows he was often disciplined for misbehavior and ultimately graduated near the bottom of his class. McCain struggled at the Naval Academy, finishing 894th out of 899 students, and was rejected by the U.S. National War College until his family intervened with the Secretary of the Navy. In active service, McCain was, by his lengthy acknowledgement in a commencement address given recently, a "discipline problem" resulting from a violent disposition with poor judgment and that he was frequently insubordinate. By all accounts McCain was slow to prove himself.

The Times UK article explains that when McCain returned to America in 1973 he had simultaneous personal high and low points. On one side he proved himself to be a war hero as a POW and he was lauded by Richard Nixon upon his return. When he returned he also found that his wife, Carol, had been seriously hurt in a violent car crash three years earlier. After six months of medical procedures, Carol was discharged from the hospital but her prognosis was bleak. Carol suffered through surgeries that whittled away her legs and she was confined to a wheelchair and was forced to use a catheter. Despite the trauma and the disability, Carol learned to walk again through sheer force of will, but during recovery Carol gained a lot of weight and suffered from a lot of pain. H. Ross Perot, the brilliant billionaire Texas businessman, future presidential candidate and tireless long-time advocate for American prisoners of war, paid for Carol's medical care.

Carol told the Times UK that she thought they would live happily ever after once John was home. But with new wings as a war hero, McCain was moving in ever-more elite circles. Ross Perot introduced McCain to Governor of California, Ronald Reagan. Nancy Reagan immediately liked Carol and took her under her wing.

But by that point the McCains' marriage had begun to fray and according to the Times UK, quoting Robert Timberg: `John started carousing and running around with women.' The Times UK author pens that in 1979 - while still married to Carol - John met Cindy at a cocktail party in Hawaii. Over the next six months he pursued Cindy, flying around the country to see her. Then with Cindy effectively won, McCain began to push to end his marriage.

Carol and McCain divorced in 1980 and one month later he married the heir to an Arizona brewing fortune, this girl named Cindy who was 18 years younger. Carol attributes the divorce to John's inability to be mature. Carol and her children were absolutely devastated. `It was a complete surprise,' says Nancy Reynolds, a former Reagan aide.

The Times UK story digs deeper and adds that "[s]ome of McCain's acquaintances are less forgiving, however. They portray the politician as a self-centred womaniser who effectively abandoned his crippled wife to `play the field'. They accuse McCain of seeking marriage to Cindy, the former rodeo beauty queen, for financial reasons." In 1980 McCain was earning a naval officers salary, while his new father-in-law, Jim Hensley, was a multi-millionaire with deep political connections. McCain has acknowledged that he had girlfriends during this time with Carol, without going into details.

Although McCain is a war hero there are many who won't forgive or forget his treatment of his first wife. The Times UK quotes Ted Sampley, who the newspaper describes as veteran who fought with US Special Forces in Vietnam and who is now a leading campaigner for veterans' rights. The Times UK write that Sampley said: `I have been following John McCain's career for nearly 20 years. I know him personally. There is something wrong with this guy and let me tell you what it is - deceit. When he came home and saw that Carol was not the beauty he left behind, he started running around on her almost right away. Everybody around him knew it. Eventually he met Cindy and she was young and beautiful and very wealthy. At that point McCain just dumped Carol for something he thought was better. This is a guy who makes such a big deal about his character. He has no character. He is a fake. If there was any character in that first marriage, it all belonged to Carol.'

As a final point the Times UK adds that Ross Perot, who paid her medical bills all those years ago, now believes that both Carol McCain and the American people have been taken in by a man who is unusually slick and cruel - even by the standards of modern politics. According to the Times UK, Perot said that `McCain is the classic opportunist. He's always reaching for attention and glory.'