Book Report: Buck Up, Suck Up, and Come Back When You Foul Up
I love the idea of doing book reports on all of the books I read, but that leaves out everything I've done since Christmas. So you're not going to get reviews of What's the Matter with Kansas?, Dick Schaap's autobiography, James Chace's 1912 on that year's presidential campaign, the Daily Show book, Howard Dean's informative post-meltdown pamphlet on what's wrong with the Democrats, or anything else I've been reading.
Fortunately, I do remember enough of the book I read immediately before the DiMaggio biography, James Carville and Paul Begala's Buck Up, Suck Up, and Come Back When You Foul Up. I love the title: it's funny, it's valuable to remember, and it's clearly not the same words they used in the War Room. Fortunately, the book is much the same way.
Carville and Begala make two main arguments here: one, that lessons in politics are useful in life, and two, that good living makes good politics. The first argument is simple and true. Anyone who ever wants to convince people or win an argument can learn effective strategies from Carville and Begala. The second point implies a Seven Habits of Highly Effective People-style list of strategies and philosophies for good living and good politics, which is thankfully exactly what we get. (I believe strongly that the Seven Habits is about as close you can get to a literal must-read.) The presentation is solid and lively, with anecdotes about politicians, friends from home, and happily, self-effacing examples of when our authors screwed up. It's a light read, a fun read, and a tremendously useful read. I find it easy to give this book a thumbs up.
The authors make one stumble by omission. The idea that good values make good politics is true, but it's not as easy as Carville and Begala imply. They make their point at the end, almost as a reflection: wow, look, these are the strategies, and they're honest too, that's great. But the truth, and the authors know it, is that poor long-term values can work effectively in the short term, and in campaign life, sometimes short-term is all you need. Here's an example: Carville and Begala title a chapter "Be Open." That's true if the Washington Post is getting on your case for stonewalling on Whitewater. (Incidentally, yikes, if I ever stonewall the Washington Post, please slap me. That's like flipping off a cop when he's following you with the sirens on.) But honesty doesn't always work like it should. Sure, if you can pierce through the claptrap and tell people what they already know, but no one will admit, it can be a powerful way to connect. That won't always work, though. A candidate can tell the truth about his old affair and think it's a smart move - hey, at least I was honest - but it's not. You'll still get smacked for it. If the press doesn't, your opponent will. Don't always "be open."
To be fair, Carville and Begala don't live in this kind of dream world. They advocate tough strategies, like a section called "Attack, Dammit, Attack" and another on mastering the counterpunch. Taken as a whole, their strategies do work, and they're honest, and they'll give your audience a fair opportunity to make a decision. It's too bad they couldn't find a cure for temptation.