Rating: 
Summary: Great fun, even for us partisan types!
Review: A great read! There are plenty of books out there than can rub a democrat or republican the wrong way... this is not one of those books. The format of the book allows even the most partisan-minded reader to enjoy the exchange between James and Mary. Invidividual events and spaces of time are described in a sort of he-said she-said format, a checks-and-balances format. Neither of these strong personalities stands idly by without calling the other on something they did wrong. Or right. James and Mary both do a wonderful job showing just how crazy a national campaign can be. Both campaigns contented with bombshells from the opposition and the media. But, some of the greatest obstacles came from within their own parties. I think this book should temper some of the harsh criticisms about how the campaigns were run. A campaign is not some machine that you simply switch on so it can do its job. It's trench warfare, toe-to-toe-to-toe (toss in a third toe for Perot). This book shows that campaigns are never boring, every hour brings new surprises, and that a surprising number of people can impact the effectiveness of a campaign. Enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: The title says it all....
Review: about Carville's ethics (or should I say lack thereof), and how Mary Matlin thinks that the presidential race is one big game, since serious evidence points to collusion between the two of them in throwing the '92 Bush campaign, which would otherwise have been such a major shoe-in for Bush that the major candidates didn't even bother to show. However, somehow Matlin ran the worst campaign in history, while Carville ran the most devious and dishonest, while the two were sleeping together-- and we're suppose to believe there's no connection-- and this is true, if you're talking about the "connection" brain cells of the anyone who believes it. Meanwhile, Matlin's old line of "I can't help loving a sick creep like Carville, I'm just a stupid woman and he turns me on" is both a pathetic show of her own lack of values, as well as a slur against her gender; Matlin is either a double-agent, or else we must believe that she is a complete idiot. Either way, she's completely unfit to be trusted with so much power as in '92, and we certainly shouldn't listen to her now.
Showing obvious signs of southern inbreeding (ala the banjo-duelling kid from "Deliverance"), as well as a crooked, diseased upbringing, Carville's convoluted descriptions and rationalizations of corrupt, dirty politics is an elightening, if disturbing, view into his own paranoid dementia as well as an historical look into those of other equally sick, twisted individuals like Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Andreivich, and other propagandists; the title itsself a dead give-away into the Machiavellian underpinnings of the Clinton campaign and subsequent administration, under which the power achieved became the defense of the means by which it was attained, and history repeated itself unto the American people who failed to learn from its mistakes. However, after reading this book, I can say that this man should never be trusted, let alone allowed near a campaign or other position of any potential for power whatsoever.
While Carville is undoubtedly the ugliest man in history, his book shows that his mind is much uglier and more corrupt, and the anecdotes which developed in the coupling of this mated pair of demon-spawn are no more worthy of perusal than those between any other deceptive tyrants such as Adolf and Eva-- if this is the modern-day romantic ideal, pray that the end shall come soon.
Anyone who reads this book without utter disgust is either equally amoral and defensive, or simply doesn't comprehend the far-reaching effects and implications-- this isn't fiction, folks--this is REAL. Of course anyone who enjoys such stories would not recognize reality if it raised their taxes, took their rights away, and raped their daughter like Bill Clinton.
If this book were fiction, it would be great prophetic satire; but unfortunately it's not, and God has a sick sense of humor for those who just don't get the fact that actions have consequences, such as trusting the untrustworthy. Carville belongs in a sideshow, not on your bookshelf, unless you are studying to know thine enemy-- and this guy's obviously maniacal.
Rating: 
Summary: Is all really fair?
Review: ALL'S FAIR lively describes what happened behind the presidential campaign of both parties, plus the Perot camp in 1992 in most vivid (and vulgar at times) spoken language.
It makes me long for the 2004 presidential race, in such a way that Hillary decides to run at the end, forcing Carville to leave CNN to run her campaign to repeat the success of her husband. It remains mystery, however, how those two (now) talking heads remain happily married with kids.
Though, in this book, both Carville and Matalin remained rigidly royal in defending their clients (Clinton and Bush) against various accusations, in real life after the 92 election, Clinton ended up acknowledging his womanizing behind the green door of White House library to embarrass his country to the rest of the world in an unprecedented fashion, while Bush Sr. continues his activities which are highly suspected of conflicts of interest, not withstanding what his son is doing in the White House right now. Is ALL really FAIR?
Rating: 
Summary: Cutesy On The Campaign Trail
Review: Carville and Matalin deserve credit for being scrupulously honest about the '92 campaign. Matalin especially is willing to fess up to her errors of judgment near the top of the Bush campaign, and bravely reveals what it's like to see a candidate you support and love see victory slip away. But the Carville/Matalin relationship is a bit too cute for politics, and the he said-she said back and forth of the book gets stale after the first couple hundred pages. With the exception of the personal looks inside the campaigns, there's little new here, and nothing that hasn't been covered better by other chroniclers of that strange election year. Matalin and Carville are both very good at what they do, but what they do is not professional writing, and neither is very good at it.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful book by two master strategists
Review: Even though the Clinton vs. Bush campaign was 12 years ago, this book is well worth a re-visit. The book is relatively long but I found every page of high interest.
Mary Matalin's sections on the Bush re-election were wonderful reading and I am an avowed liberal. She perfectly captured the patrician nobility of Bush Senior and the campaign that destroyed itself. From the disasterous reign of John Sununu as Chief of Staff, the tragic death of Lee Atwater, the paralysis of Margaret Tutwiler, the insanity of Ross Perot, the mean-spiritedness of Patrick Buchanan, the shrill defeatism of Rich Bonds, and the often confused and muddled voice of an out of touch President, George Bush, the characters are vividly drawn and almost sympathetic.
Carville on the other hand is masterful in his analysis of the consciousness of the American Everyman. The strength of Carville's strategy is common sense played offensively. He respects the middle class American sense of irony and skepticism trying to move toward optimism and problem solving.
Even though the book is 478 pages long, it is really a fast read. Both Matalin and Carville are witty, strategic professionals with years of experience. I didn't get the book to read a sappy love story and I was glad the book focused on the considerable professional experiences of this couple rather than on their fledgling romance.
Carville's desciptions of Bill Clinton do the man justice as a flawed but brilliant leader. Matalin's desciptions of George Bush do the man justice as a man who believes his class, gender, and race was destined for leadership but he just can't navigate the reality of the average American experience.
Where both Matalin and Carville converge is in their perspectives on Patrick Buchanan, a mean hateful old man, and Ross Perot, a crazy old man.
Besides a blow by blow detailed story of the Clinton vs. Bush campaigns from beginning to end, the book is full of political wisdom and strategy.
Rating:
Summary: Great Political Book!
Review: Even though this book is almost 500 pages, I really sped right through it. If you are a political nut like I am, you will absolutely love this book. It mainly focuses on the 1992 presidential election (if you are looking for intense details of Matalin and Carville's relationship, you are looking at the wrong book) But it offers so much. It really is a he said/she said blow-by-blow account of the entire election. The format for this book is the best possible one. It keeps in interesting, entertaining, easy-to-follow and enjoyable. I could hardly believe that at certain points Matalin caused me, an avowed liberal, to feel sorry for Bush over his loss for reelection. I could hardly put this book down, and loved it throughout. Read this book if you are into politics, election campaigns, or stategies. You will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Great Political Book!
Review: Even though this book is almost 500 pages, I really sped right through it. If you are a political nut like I am, you will absolutely love this book. It mainly focuses on the 1992 presidential election (if you are looking for intense details of Matalin and Carville's relationship, you are looking at the wrong book) But it offers so much. It really is a he said/she said blow-by-blow account of the entire election. The format for this book is the best possible one. It keeps in interesting, entertaining, easy-to-follow and enjoyable. I could hardly believe that at certain points Matalin caused me, an avowed liberal, to feel sorry for Bush over his loss for reelection. I could hardly put this book down, and loved it throughout. Read this book if you are into politics, election campaigns, or stategies. You will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: from the Romeo and Juliet of American politics
Review: Ever since I saw the documentary "The War Room," I have been a huge fan of James Carville's. It also helps that I am a big liberal Democrat. However, for the longest time I did not know that he was married to Mary Matalin, a longtime top Republican strategist. I also was unaware of the fact that they were more or less opposite numbers in the 1992 campaign, when Carville worked for Bill Clinton, and Matalin for President George H.W. Bush.
This book shows the inner workings and machinations of both the Clinton and Bush campaigns in 1992, from the viewpoints of Carville and Matalin respectively.
The book is written in turn; first Carville tells a little of what was happening in the Clinton camp, then Matalin offers the contemporary perspective of the Bush camp. This style works really well. At some points it develops into quasi-conversation, as if they were speaking to each other. There is ample room for the airing of their own personal views of what was going on as well.
There were two overriding themes in the book: the way Carville ran Clinton's operation, best known as The War Room, clearly changed the way political campaigns are conducted in this nation, and, partially because of the innovations of The War Room the Bush effort was off its game big-time. At times it was amazing to see the sheer ineptitude of the Bush campaign, such as when Mary Matalin describes how the White House and the Bush campaign were unwilling or unable to effectively coordinate their activities until the Republican convention.
There is also a lot of discussion of how the media, especially television and newspapers, influence the way a campaign is run these days. Predictably, there is a healthy amount of negativity expressed toward the press, especially Matalin's railing at the so-called liberal media, even though Carville makes some good arguments that Clinton was not receiving the best coverage, either.
A must-have for anyone interested in the nuts and bolts of political campaigns, especially for people who want to get involved in the higher operations of politics.
Rating:
Summary: "All's Fair" goes beyond the strange bedfellows of politics.
Review: For anyone interested in how opposites attract and presidential campaigns are won or lost, "All's Fair" is one of those "must-read" books well worth the time spent in its somewhat long 478 pages. With able assistance from Peter Knobler, America's favorite political odd couple of James Carville and Mary Matalin explain how they kept their relationship together while simultaneously working against each other's professional goals. As you may recall, the Democratic Carville helped manage President Clinton's successful bid for the White House in 1992, while Republican Matalin was a major figure in the reelection campaign of President Bush. The two have since appeared frequently as commentators on NBC's "Meet the Press," and even in an antacid commercial In this account, however, Carville and Matalin avoid most of the pitfalls of the typical partisan memoir by using an even-handed "he said/she said" approach that usually provides equal time for these two very different people. Although the subtitle is "Love, War, and Running for President," those looking for intimate, melodramatic details of their weird alliance will be disappointed. Both Carville and Matalin do an admirable job of maintaining their individual dignity and conjugal privacy. Indeed, 80 percent of "All's Fair" is about the difficult business of public life. Only 20 percent concerns their personal feelings. And yet, that 20 percent gives this story a human dimension often lacking in more conventional election histories. This book makes several other things clear: * Carville may be the more colorful and quotable media critic (he has very valid points about pack-journalism, polls, and press self-indulgence) but Matalin is far more astute and perceptive about how the editorial news-gathering process operates. She understands how reporters try to be fair; he jokes darkly about "feeding the Beast." * Matalin tends to get bogged down in political minutiae. At least in the '92 race, Carville had a better gut instinct for how the average voter feels and thinks. * Women still are not getting the freedom and respect they deserve in their careers. It's obvious that, at the office, Matalin had to deal with the stigma of her association with Carville to a much greater extent than Carville ever was questioned about Matalin. There is definitely an unfair double-standard in effect. * Maybe the best chapters are those that cover "a day in the life" of each organization. It's there that you really get a sense of the fears and hopes all those civic-minded campaigners had as they struggled to sort out a daily flood of information overload. * If this brilliant husband-and-wife team can ever agree on a candidate, watch out! He (or she) will win in a landslide.
Rating:
Summary: "All's Fair" goes beyond the strange bedfellows of politics.
Review: For anyone interested in how opposites attract and presidential campaigns are won or lost, "All's Fair" is one of those "must-read" books well worth the time spent in its somewhat long 478 pages. With able assistance from Peter Knobler, America's favorite political odd couple of James Carville and Mary Matalin explain how they kept their relationship together while simultaneously working against each other's professional goals. As you may recall, the Democratic Carville helped manage President Clinton's successful bid for the White House in 1992, while Republican Matalin was a major figure in the reelection campaign of President Bush. The two have since appeared frequently as commentators on NBC's "Meet the Press," and even in an antacid commercial In this account, however, Carville and Matalin avoid most of the pitfalls of the typical partisan memoir by using an even-handed "he said/she said" approach that usually provides equal time for these two very different people. Although the subtitle is "Love, War, and Running for President," those looking for intimate, melodramatic details of their weird alliance will be disappointed. Both Carville and Matalin do an admirable job of maintaining their individual dignity and conjugal privacy. Indeed, 80 percent of "All's Fair" is about the difficult business of public life. Only 20 percent concerns their personal feelings. And yet, that 20 percent gives this story a human dimension often lacking in more conventional election histories. This book makes several other things clear: * Carville may be the more colorful and quotable media critic (he has very valid points about pack-journalism, polls, and press self-indulgence) but Matalin is far more astute and perceptive about how the editorial news-gathering process operates. She understands how reporters try to be fair; he jokes darkly about "feeding the Beast." * Matalin tends to get bogged down in political minutiae. At least in the '92 race, Carville had a better gut instinct for how the average voter feels and thinks. * Women still are not getting the freedom and respect they deserve in their careers. It's obvious that, at the office, Matalin had to deal with the stigma of her association with Carville to a much greater extent than Carville ever was questioned about Matalin. There is definitely an unfair double-standard in effect. * Maybe the best chapters are those that cover "a day in the life" of each organization. It's there that you really get a sense of the fears and hopes all those civic-minded campaigners had as they struggled to sort out a daily flood of information overload. * If this brilliant husband-and-wife team can ever agree on a candidate, watch out! He (or she) will win in a landslide.
|
