April 27, 2012
There are two winners in every presidential election campaign: The inevitable winner when it begins — such as Rudy Guliani or Hillary Clinton in 2008 — and the inevitable victor after it ends. In The Candidate, Samuel Popkin explains the difference between them.
Based on detailed analyses of the winners — and losers — of the last 60 years of presidential campaigns, Popkin explains how challengers get to the White House, how incumbents stay there for a second term, and how successors hold power for their party. He looks in particular at three campaigns — George H.W. Bush’s muddled campaign for reelection in 1992, Al Gore’s flawed campaign for the presidency in 2000, and Hillary Clinton’s mismanaged effort to win the nomination in 2008 — and uncovers the lessons that Ronald Reagan can teach future candidates about teamwork. Throughout, Popkin illuminates the intricacies of presidential campaigns — the small details and the big picture, the surprising mistakes and the predictable miscues — in a riveting account of what goes on inside a campaign and what makes one succeed while another fails.
A vision for the future and the audacity to run are only the first steps in a candidate’s run for office. Presidential hopefuls can survive the most grueling show on earth only if they understand the critical factors that Popkin reveals in The Candidate.
Based on detailed analyses of the winners — and losers — of the last 60 years of presidential campaigns, Popkin explains how challengers get to the White House, how incumbents stay there for a second term, and how successors hold power for their party. He looks in particular at three campaigns — George H.W. Bush’s muddled campaign for reelection in 1992, Al Gore’s flawed campaign for the presidency in 2000, and Hillary Clinton’s mismanaged effort to win the nomination in 2008 — and uncovers the lessons that Ronald Reagan can teach future candidates about teamwork. Throughout, Popkin illuminates the intricacies of presidential campaigns — the small details and the big picture, the surprising mistakes and the predictable miscues — in a riveting account of what goes on inside a campaign and what makes one succeed while another fails.
A vision for the future and the audacity to run are only the first steps in a candidate’s run for office. Presidential hopefuls can survive the most grueling show on earth only if they understand the critical factors that Popkin reveals in The Candidate.
