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Politics Lost: How American Democracy Was Trivialized By People Who Think You're Stupid Hardcover – April 18, 2006

by Joe Klein (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 34 ratings
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People on the right are furious. People on the left are livid. And the center isn’t holding. There is only one thing on which almost everyone agrees: there is something very wrong in Washington. The country is being run by pollsters. Few politicians are able to win the voters’ trust. Blame abounds and personal responsibility is nowhere to be found. There is a cynicism in Washington that appalls those in every state, red or blue. The question is: Why? The more urgent question is: What can be done about it?

Few people are more qualified to deal with both questions than Joe Klein.

There are many loud and opinionated voices on the political scene, but no one sees or writes with the clarity that this respected observer brings to the table. He has spent a lifetime enmeshed in politics, studying its nuances, its quirks, and its decline. He is as angry and fed up as the rest of us, so he has decided to do something about it—in these pages, he vents, reconstructs, deconstructs, and reveals how and why our leaders are less interested in leading than they are in the “permanent campaign” that political life has become.

The book opens with a stirring anecdote from the night of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. Klein re-creates the scene of Robert Kennedy’s appearance in a black neighborhood in Indianapolis, where he gave a gut-wrenching, poetic speech that showed respect for the audience, imparted dignity to all who listened, and quelled a potential riot. Appearing against the wishes of his security team, it was one of the last truly courageous and spontaneous acts by an American politician—and it is no accident that Klein connects courage to spontaneity. From there, Klein begins his analysis—campaign by campaign—of how things went wrong. From the McGovern campaign polling techniques to Roger Ailes’s combative strategy for Nixon; from Reagan’s reinvention of the Republican Party to Lee Atwater’s equally brilliant reinvention of behind-the-scenes strategizing; from Jimmy Carter to George H. W. Bush to Bill Clinton to George W.—as well as inside looks at the losing sides—we see how the Democrats become diffuse and frightened, how the system becomes unbalanced, and how politics becomes less and less about ideology and more and more about how to gain and keep power. By the end of one of the most dismal political runs in history—Kerry’s 2004 campaign for president—we understand how such traits as courage, spontaneity, and leadership have disappeared from our political landscape.

In a fascinating final chapter, the author refuses to give easy answers since the push for easy answers has long been part of the problem. But he does give thoughtful solutions that just may get us out of this mess—especially if any of the 2008 candidates happen to be paying attention.
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  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Doubleday
  4. Publication date
    April 18, 2006
  5. Dimensions
    6.43 x 1.03 x 9.52 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0385510276
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0385510271
  8. See all details
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Customers appreciate the book's value for money and its well-written content. They find it informative and interesting, with solid information about current sociopolitical issues. The author is praised as talented.

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4 customers mention "Value for money"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's value for money. They find it well-written, interesting, and thoughtful. The author is described as talented.

"Well-written, interesting and thoughtful...." Read more

"Joe Klein is an exceptionally talented writer. He knows politics and he expresses the reality very well. I'm enjoying the book muchly...." Read more

"...So is good reporting. If you like Time, it's an ideal book...." Read more

"...A bit wordy but still understandable. Definitely worth the buy." Read more

3 customers mention "Information quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides solid information about current socio-political issues. They find it well-written and interesting, with amusing trivia and half-baked ideas.

"Well-written, interesting and thoughtful...." Read more

"...A recommended read for those seeking solid information about our present socio-political circumstances." Read more

"...to trivialize serious journalism -- all glitz, glamour, tinsel and trivia without a shred of individuality or intellectual insight...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • D. C. Carrad
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2006
    Verified Purchase
    Well-written, interesting and thoughtful. It helps to be a political junkie (as I am) to really enjoy this book, but I think it will appeal to the general reader as well. Klein is reasonably even-handed, though he clearly loves the Democrats more (as he candidly admits) and goes lighter on them. My only quibble is that he treats John Kerry far too lightly, giving him a pass for his military service in Vietnam and buying the wholly unsubstantiated claim that the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads and book have been "discredited". None of their claims have been. Can you imagine the reaction in the press if 250 people who served in the same unit as George Bush during signed statements saying he was unfit to be Commander in Chief? Kerry has buffaloed Klein about the Swifties and several aspects of his Vietnam service which is a shame. Still, in a book filled with lines like characterizing Al Gore's public political persona as that of a "panicked robot" you have to love this book! Well worth reading.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • Izaak VanGaalen
    4.0 out of 5 stars Authenticity and Politics
    Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2006
    Verified Purchase
    Joe Klein, columnist for "Time" magazine and author of "Primary Colors," has followed every presidential campaign since 1968. He is a pundit's pundit who follows the behind-the-scences maneuvering of political handlers and consultants. His new book is an indictment of how politics has changed over the last 30-odd years, and how it has been taken over by these marketing professionals. Klein laments the loss of authenticity in political discourse. Today's candidatles no longer seem to be able to utter meaningful and memorable sentences.

    Klein begins his book by citing an example of a spontaneous, consultant-free moment in political history when Robert F Kennedy addressed an inner city crowd in Indianapolis about the death of Martin Luther King. Kennedy gave the speech against the advice of his aides - he too had consultants. When he broke the news, he quoted Greek tragedian Aeschylus and told the crowd that, "I had a member of my family killed." He asked the audience to go home and pray, and, as it turned out, Indianapolis was one of the few major cities that did not have riots that night.

    Klein is most critical of the Democrats. His main targets are the recent presidential campaigns of Al Gore and John Kerry. In both cases the candidates seemed "overly cautious, cynical, mechanistic, and bland." He speculates that neither candidate had the self confidence to say what they really wanted to say, since the Democratic Party did not have a coherent platform. According to Klein, their political handlers had reigned them in so tightly on content and language that the end result was sterile consultant-speak.

    The politicians that Klein admires are the naturals: Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan. Klein argues that they were so successful because they made good use of their consultants without being controlled by them. This, however, points to a problem in a book about consultants. How much influence do they really have? Klein may be giving them too much credit. Clinton and Reagan were both gifted politicians above and beyond their consultants. Gore and Kerry, on the other hand, were both natural stiffs, and their choice of consultants made them even more uninspiring.

    The question that one is left with is why do candidates continue to hire these political handlers when it should be obvious to everyone that political discourse is becoming more and more trivial and innocuous. The answer, of course, is getting elected. Candidates address large and diverse constituencies. The tactical goal is to pander to the greatest number and to offend the least. Fine-tuning one's speech with this in mind is how elections are won. There is nothing unscripted, everything is staged. When one thinks of unscripted moments in recent presidential elections, think of Howard Dean's spontaneous remarks. And look what happened to him.

    It's politics lost. Neither Joe Klein nor anyone else will be writing a sequel called "Politics Found" anytime soon. Nevertheless, if you are a politcal consultant or handler this book is a must-read.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • J. Santee
    5.0 out of 5 stars Being treated like idiots by those who know how to manipulate the system
    Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2006
    Verified Purchase
    This book pretty much confirmed what I already knew. With the right PR person(s) and a bucket full of cash the world is yours to own. This stuff is not only going on in Washington, D.C., but has developed into a chronic disease process that has infected state and local government. It's almost like Pavlov's dog. You ring a bell and the dog expects food. In the political sense, all you need to do is know how to use the right words, slogans and phrases. People who use this process cannot afford to solve problems, if they did they would loose their issues and self serving "problems, which results in loosing the bully pulput. Once you loose your issue or pulput, you loose your power base. I have watched local and state public officials become very good at crafting self serving outcomes to maintained their power base just like the "big boys" in Washington.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • J. I. Monroe
    5.0 out of 5 stars Joe Klein's Book; Politics Lost
    Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    Joe Klein is an exceptionally talented writer. He knows politics and he expresses the reality very well. I'm enjoying the book muchly. Having worked for over 50 elected officials in my career in local politics, having experienced the 'elected politician' mentality, I find myself agreeing with much of what Klein says. This is an excellent read for anyone interested in the political scene!
    One person found this helpful
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  • ScoutBoy
    3.0 out of 5 stars Delivered promptly
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 24, 2019
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    Good read
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