Thu Feb 09 2012
In recent years, Americans have been appalled by the behavior displayed by some of the people we've elected to public office. It isn't partisan: it's greed, arrogance, lust for power, a sense of superiority and entitlement, and it indicates that a few of them are completely out of touch with how American people actually live.
This is particularly blatant in "The Politician" by Andrew Young, former aide to Sen. John Edwards, who ran for U.S. president several times and was Sen. John Kerry's running mate in the 2004 election. The essence of this absorbing account is that Edwards had an affair outside his marriage, fathered a child he refused to acknowledge, and asked Young to claim paternity to keep Edwards out of trouble -- which Young did -- all while Edwards continued to run for president. What Edwards did is almost unbelievable. But where the book is compelling is in how Young allowed himself -- and his wife -- to be seduced into covering up for "the former friend and boss who had betrayed (his) devotion and trust."
Young was dazzled with Edwards the first time he heard him speak: "I noticed right away that Edwards had a gift." Magazines called Edwards "the golden boy," "Senator Perfect" and even "the sexiest politician." Convinced the senator "was destined to lead the party and the country," Young became his "go-to guy" for all things and became like "family" to Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, even though "Gratitude was often in short supply with the Edwardses, as was empathy." After the 2004 election loss, Young writes, "As the Edwardses' lifestyle became ever more extravagant, I began to feel incredulous. His big issue was poverty, but he was flying around in a private jet, building a gigantic estate, drawing big checks from a hedge fund," and still getting $400 haircuts.
After Edwards met filmmaker Rielle Hunter in 2006, Young started suspecting the mysterious behavior of his boss. Many of the staff knew what was going on, and Elizabeth found out when she answered a "secret" cell phone hidden in John's luggage. John told his wife that yes, he had slept with Rielle, but just once; she was now Andrew Young's girlfriend. Then he persuaded Young to back him up. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's cancer, diagnosed in 2004, had spread. Despite putting on a positive, united front to the press, John was saying behind her back that Elizabeth was dying, telling Rielle that when Elizabeth "was out of the way" they would be married. When Rielle became pregnant and the National Enquirer found out, Edwards asked Young to claim paternity and hide Hunter away until the presidential campaign was over. Young and his wife, who went along with this bizarreness, found Hunter to be "very demanding" and "self-indulgent." She spent money without a thought: Rielle once called her spiritual adviser (each call was expensive) to see whether she should send her Reuben sandwich back to the kitchen. And when the Youngs took her to Santa Barbara, Calif., and looked at "nice houses in the $5,000 to $10,000 (per month) range," the only one she approved was a virtual palace in ultra-wealthy Montecito at $20,000 per month. Where'd all the money come from, you may ask: from heiress "Bunny" Mellon, 95, who believed in Edwards so much that she eventually forked over more than $6 million to his campaign, most of which went to the cover-up.
The author gives us an inside look at how politics work and paints unflattering portraits of several other politicians, including Kerry. Edwards may be an extreme case of politicians behaving badly, but the fact that he got away with it for so long is an indication that his behavior was accepted as usual. I'm not sure which of the principals I'd slap first.
The information in "Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime" by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin was gleaned from interviews with more than 200 people between July 2008 and September 2009. Unfortunately, the book has no footnotes or other documentation. What it does have is plenty of juicy details about the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign. The book is dominated, as was the news at the time, by the overlong drama of the Democratic primary race. Sen. Hillary Clinton felt it was her time for the nomination, and Sen. Barack Obama, although younger, had a kind of once-in-a-generation charisma. The thing is, the two got along very well. Clinton's problem was her husband; many thought Bill Clinton's "personal life" could destroy his wife's chance to be president, with rumors "rampant" regarding his "bimbo eruptions." Obama was seen as the "alternative to Hillary." But Obama had his own problems, and troubling facts emerged about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and other people from his past.
This book also goes into the John Edwards affair, but because the authors are journalists, the reader gets a more objective view than in "The Politician." Besides talking about the former senator's "narcissism" and "burgeoning megalomania," the book also reveals that "for years (the staff had) been living an even bigger lie -- the lie of Saint Elizabeth." Although she was very popular with the American people, Edwards insiders saw in Elizabeth "an abusive, intrusive, paranoid, condescending crazywoman."
On the Republican side, maverick Sen. John McCain "was disgusted by Republicans in Congress and talk radio gasbags such as Rush Limbaugh." But he also was known for "his legendary temper" and "his hotheadedness" and was "prone to outbursts of profanity." Both he and his wife were rumored to have had affairs. (No evidence is presented for either charge.) What should have been the most fun story in the book -- McCain's selection of his running mate -- is given rather short shrift. Although he had indicated that he was going to pick Sen. Joe Lieberman, at the eleventh hour he picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. She was the big "game changer." In making his choice, the authors write, "McCain was flying by the seat of his pants," because she had barely been vetted. McCain's staff gave her a crash course in all things political and worked her too hard. She got frustrated, lost her temper, "shouted" and "screamed" at campaign staff, and when she threw a "hissy fit," they began to worry that she "was mentally unstable," even though her behavior was understandable. But McCain never complained about Palin. And she gave his campaign the shot of energy it needed.
The book is not about policy or party. It's about personalities, egos, relationships, behaviors and a whole lot of swearing. The reader will get a fascinating look at the inner workings of the "blood sport" of politics and how to run for office: appealing to voters, raising money, organizing staff and developing strategy.
Copyright © 2010 by Mary Louise Ruehr.
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Here are links to other recent One for the Books columns. More links are available on my blog at http://blogs.dixcdn.com/shine_a_light/one-for-the-books/
A Vicarious Vacation in Ireland -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4786929
Sex, Drugs, and Rock ’n’ Roll -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4768003
Keep It Short! -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4758011
The “Dome” Tome and “U” -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4753011
Revisiting Jane Austen -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4743712
Fun Christmas Reading -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4727452
Palin-Tology -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4718844
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