Is there any reason why there have been no books covering the 1996 and 2000 elections similar to White’s, “The Making of the President” series. Of course, Jules Witcover and Jack Germond did a good job with 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1992. I do also realize that many books have been written about the 2000 mess. However, no one (to my knowledge) has written a comprehensive book on the campaigns of these two elections. I guess Bob Woodward’s, “The Choice” covers the early part of 1996. Any reason why no comprehensive look at either campaign?
First some history.
When Theodore (Teddy) White put out The Making of the President 1960 it created a sensation because nobody had ever done it before and because White had gained unprecedented access behind the scenes. People were fascinated by the inside look at two such different and fascinating candidates and also at the process, which was changing before peoples’ eyes with the addition of major primaries and television coverage.
He became the leading reporter/pundit on presidential elections, so much so that he got too close to the story. In 1972 it all fell apart. So many other reporters were now following the candidates on a daily basis that Timothy Crouse wrote a scathing inside book on the reporters called The Boys on the Bus, somewhat demythologizing the magisterial process that White seemed to imply. He excerpted this in Rolling Stone, which also ran campaign reports from Hunter Thompson, eventually collected in Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, that gave an extremely cynical view of how Nixon was manipulating the process. Cynicism became understatement when Watergate hit after the election. White, supposedly so close and so inside, missed Watergate entirely in his coronation of Nixon. His prestige was utterly destroyed and he never was able to do another campaign book.
After that, presidential coverage became a continual overwhelming roar, with more and more reporters reporting on - or at least typing words about - every possible aspect of the campaign, while the campaigns themselves became increasingly sophisticated in manipulating the press into seeing and reporting only what they wanted shown.
By the 1996 and 2000 elections, 24 hour cable news networks made the reporting even less meaningful, and made books about the campaign nearly superfluous.
But that never stopped anybody from writing them, and I was surprised you couldn’t find any. So I went into Amazon and found these, not including ones just on the vote counting. Probably none are quite comparable to White’s, but those are no longer writable or sellable.
*Bush’s Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential *
by James Moore
*The 2000 Presidential Campaign: A Communication Perspective *
by Robert E. Denton
*Campaign 2000: A Functional Analysis of Presidential Campaign Discourse (Communication, Media, and Politics) *
by John P. McHale, et al
*The Road to the White House, 2000: The Politics of Presidential Elections *
by Stephen J. Wayne
The Big Enchilada: Campaign Adventures with the Cockeyed Optimists from Texas Who Won the Biggest Prize in Politics
by Stuart Stevens
*The Longest Night: Polemics and Perspectives on Election 2000 *
by Arthur J. Jacobson (Editor), Michel Rosenfeld (Editor)
*The Nightly News Nightmare: Network Television’s Coverage of U. S. Presidential Elections, 1988-2000 *
by Stephen J. Farnsworth, S. Robert Lichter
*No Way to Pick A President : How Money and Hired Guns Have Debased American Elections *
by Jules Witcover
*Political Culture and Voting Systems in the United States : An Examination of the 2000 Presidential Election *
by Brian L. Fife (Author), Geralyn M. Miller
*Missed Opportunity: Gore, Incumbency, and Television in Election 2000 *
by E. D. Dover
*Smashmouth: Two Years in the Gutter with Al Gore and George W. Bush *
by Dana Milbank
*America’s Choice 2000: Entering a New Millenium *
by William J. Crotty (Editor)
*It Looks Like a President Only Smaller: Trailing Campaign 2000 *
by Joel Achenbach
*Campaign America 2000 : The View from the Couch *
by William O’Rourke
Electing the President, 2000: The Insiders’ View
by Kathleen Jamieson (Editor), Paul Waldman (Editor)
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase]
White, supposedly so close and so inside, missed Watergate entirely in his coronation of Nixon. His prestige was utterly destroyed and he never was able to do another campaign book.
[QUOTE]
Not entirely true. While he never wrote another “The Making of the President 19XX” book, his book “America In Search Of Itself”, for around half its’ length, discusses the 1980 election.
I’m guessing that while books covering one aspect of an election may sell, there isn’t a market yet for general books on the 1996 and 2000 elections.
If the Gods Had Meant Us to Vote They Would Have Given Us Candidates by Jim Hightower