Election 2004: How Bush Won and What You Can Expect in the Future

I read the original Newsweek special edition of this book and loved it. It was a fascinating look at what the campaign strategies and mistakes were. First let me say I'm a big Bush fan. I did not detect a lot of liberal bias in this book. Sure, they dismiss the Swift Vets with no analysis and fawn over Kerry's performance in the debates. However the overall impression you get from the book is that the Kerry campaign was completely disorganized and dysfunctional, Kerry had no core beliefs and therefore his positions were in a constant state of flux, the Bush team were total pros, and Bush never wavered from his positions. If I did not already know Eleanor Clift was a huge apologist for the Democrats, I would have thought the book was written by Republicans. Actually what I see is some liberal bias and a ton of frustration from the writers. Inside they can't believe how bad the Kerry campaign was.

The Bush Administration's hideously monstrous mud-slinging presidential campaign against John Kerry is comprehensively studied in ELECTION: 2004, a remarkably even-handed book length investigative report from Newsweek magazine's editors and staff members. The Bush team, led by the thoroughly despicable Karl Rove, used every possible slanderous smear attack and innuendo against their opponent, including insinuations that Kerry was both an adulterer and a murderer. At the same time, the authors take pains to fully detail the Kerry team's own failings and mistakes, including their remarkably weak (and ruinously delayed) counter-attack against the Republican financed Swift Bloated Liars' stomach-churning morass of easily discredited fabrications. In short, the authors are very critical of both sides, presenting a fair and non-partisan view of possibly the most obnoxious and unpleasant campaign in U.S. history. Highly recommended for all political junkies.

This book was very good and it was amazing to see how both guys ran their campaigns. Seems like Sen. Kerry's campaign was a mess and Bush's was well-organized. This is a good handbook on the do's and dont's on how to run a campaign.

This is a very interesting story about what happened inside politics during the 2004 election process. The Bush campaign was very well-oiled and disciplined. Kerry's inability to counter the swift boat ads was just devastating to Kerry and may have made the difference in the election. The book has the inside story how how Kerry lost. It is not really that Bush won, but what really happened is that Kerry lost. In many ways Kerry and his campaign team just dropped the ball. They certainly dropped the ball on national health insurance. Over 41,000,000 Americans have no health insurance and are in desperate shape. They could have brought more than enough votes to the Kerry side to win. Kerry also could have won if he could have found a way to convince the voters of the truth of the war in Iraq, that it is a war of choice, not really a war of national security. In fact, there have been many good arguments that the war in Iraq has done just the opposite - it has put us at more risk, not less. The Republican well-oiled political machine has learned how to get the sound bites out to the red states that have maniputated the voters in the red states that do not have the time, the skill or the inclination to understand the political process at a deeper level than the sound bites. The election was close enough that many different things could have changed the outcome. As you read the book you will learn of many of thses factors that would have changed the outcome. There is a wonderful author event taped on 1/20/05 available on C-Span2 Book TV. Don't miss it.

The true inside story. It was amazing to read what was going on behind the scenes of all the stories that were reported during the campaign. The true character of the candidates was exposed, as well as the influence of those around them. Well written, fascinating...a great read. I couldn't put it down.