Synopses & Reviews
The definitive account of the landmark election from two of America's best known political reportersThe election of 2008 shattered political barriers, illuminated undercurrents of race, gender, and class, and ignited an extraordinary battle among some of the most formidable political rivals ever to seek the presidency in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John McCain. It was an election that played out against a backdrop of wars, a shattered economy, and deep pessimism about the future.
Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson followed this campaign from the candidates' first forays into Iowa and New Hampshire to the historic night of Obama's victory celebration. They take readers on a gripping journey through the epic battle for Iowa, Clinton's dramatic comeback in New Hampshire, the racially tinged primary in South Carolina, the stunning endorsement of Obama by Senator Edward M. Kennedy over the Clintons' objections. They reveal the strategic mistakes of the Clinton campaign and the story behind Obama's breakthrough organization. They cover McCain's struggle for survival in the Republican primaries, Sarah Palin, and the economic meltdown that ensured Obama's victory.
Exclusive interviews with the candidates and their top strategists produce intimate portraits of Obama, Clinton, and McCain under stress throughout the longest and most expensive presidential campaign in American history. Balz and Johnson also move far off the campaign trail to listen to voters in battleground states express their deep anxieties about the darkening economic climate and the challenges facing the United States. This book is a riveting account of how this election not only marked a new era in American politics but also offered a test of historic proportions at a watershed moment for our nation.
Review
Kirkus Review "A superior piece of political reportage and interpretation...Essential for watchers of politics and a model for similar electoral analyses in the future."
Booklist Review
Even readers who followed the election closely will find revelations and new perspectives in this gripping account of a fascinating election season. -- Vanessa Bush
New York Times Review
"Makes for engaging reading--for both politics addicts interested in small new details and the more casual reader interested in a broad, savvy overview of the run-up to a historic election." --Michiko Kakutani, New York Times
Time Magazine Review
"Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson...capture the momentous contest in a polished account refreshingly free of last year's breathless sound bites, pundit insta-reaction or fixation on trifling gaffes...an evenhanded and comprehensive account of the race..." --Randy James
Los Angeles Times Review
"Balz and Johnson's material is rich and built upon extensive firsthand interviews... [filled] with details that range from poignant to chilling." --Art Winslow.
Other Praise:
"The classic political campaign of our time has its classic retelling now in Haynes Johnson's and Dan Balz's Battle for America 2008. In addition to the compelling narrative of the events we remember, they have, through their post-election reporting, solved almost all the mysteries about what was happening behind the scenes in the Obama, Clinton, and McCain camps." --David S. Broder, Washington Post
"Magisterial...Captures the thrill of the campaign and its meaning. Balz and JOhnson are the true heirs to Teddy White..." --George Stephanopoulos. ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos
"It's not often that you take a nonfiction book about politics with you on a summer vacation--unless you're having trouble sleeping. But you should take The Battle for America 2008...It's fast-paced and beach-worthy, as good a page turner as any mystery thriller." --Al Kamen, Washington Post
"...a riveting account, combining big-picture analysis, important revelations and intriguing anecdotes." --Roger Simon, Politico
"...told masterfully and fluidly...by two of the best political journalists of this or any era...stocked with scoops and original insights from an incredible campaign--a must-read for political junkies." --Rick Klein, ABC News
"Buy it. Keep it on your shelf. This is a book you want to keep for awhile and savor." --Chris Matthews, Hardball MSNBC
"Every four years there's one great book written about a presidential campaign. For those of us who grew up with Teddy White, it's always exciting when we find that book. I think this is the one." --Joe Scarborough, "Morning Joe" MSNBC
"...extremely well-reported history of the 2008 presidential campaign...There are plenty of scoops..." --Marc Ambinder, The Atlantic
"Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson report a lot of new behind-the-scenes details, so the story feels fresh. What feels familiar are the problems Sen. Obama faced on the campaign trail, which mirror the ones President Obama faces today in selling health care reform." -- John Dickerson, Slate.com.
Review
"Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson ... capture the momentous contest in a polished account refreshingly free of last year's breathless sound bites, pundit insta-reaction or fixation on trifling gaffes ... an evenhanded and comprehensive account of the race...."
-Randy James, Time
"Makes for engaging reading - for both politics addicts interested in small new details and the more casual reader interested in a broad, savvy overview of the run-up to a historic election.
-Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
"Magisterial.... Captures the thrill of the campaign and its meaning. Balz and Johnson are the true heirs to Teddy White...."
-George Stephanopoulos, ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos"
Review
"Dan Balz's "Collision 2012" is the best presidential campaign chronicle in many years. It is a great book, in part because it isn't about what happened as much as about how people in the campaigns were thinking. It is unusual in that it gives proper place to the impact of thought on political outcomes.
- Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal
“Dan's ability to be a fly on the wall is unparalleled.”
—Gwen Ifill, PBS
“The behind-the-scenes reporting throughout—heck, the Christie chapter alone—makes the book a must-read… It was a fascinating ride, which Balz captures vividly in this
most worthy sequel to The Battle for America 2008.”
-Al Kamen, The Washington Post
“This is more than a look back at the last presidential race. It is a close look into the campaign. I lived it every day, but Im already learning a lot from Dans deep reporting. It will go on my shelf as a Bible of the great 2012 race.”
-Jeff Zeleny, ABC News
“Coming from one of the most respected reporters in politics, Balz's account is perhaps the most highly anticipated of the 2012 campaign retrospective genre.”
-Huffington Post
“With a sharp eye for detail, crisp and often evocative prose, an understanding of politics and politicians, and the experience gained over decades as a thoughtful old-school journalist, Balz recreates the rhythms of the grueling presidential year of 2012”
—The Washington Times
“This book is old-fashioned in a good sense…. Specific without being tedious, “Collision 2012” is short on windy analysis and long on attributed quotes and statistics”
—The Washington Post, Howell Raines
“Balzs new book, “Collision 2012: Obama vs. Romney and the Future of Elections in America,” is so full of anecdotes and revelations that it is hard to stop. But I will. Because even though I think this is one of the best political books I have ever read, harkening back to the “Making of the President” books in terms of its richness of detail and analysis, it is not a collection of anecdotes. Instead, it is a searing, unsparing indictment of Americas presidential election system and the way candidates run for office.”
—Roger Simon, Politico
"As the Washington Posts chief correspondent, Dan Balz is one of a handful of old media lions who can still shape the conventional wisdom; as such his new campaign book “Colllision 2012? is as close to an account-of-record as were likely to get."
—Alex Halperin, Salon.com
"Washington Post chief correspondent Dan Balz's new book, Collision 2012: Obama vs. Romney and the Future of Elections in America, is everything one would expect from the worthy successor to the mantle of Balz's mentor, the late David Broder. Without a trace of snarkiness or the self-righteousness that creeps into too many books by journalists about politics, and without overemphasizing which campaign operative stabbed which one in the back, Balz walks us through the often zany and never boring 2012 election cycle."
- Charlie Cook, National Journal
"Dan Balz, a veteran Washington Post reporter who wrote The Battle for America, 2008, a best-selling account of that years presidential race, offers us an admirable sequel in Collision 2012."
- Ed Luce, Financial Times
Synopsis
Balz and Johnson offer a riveting account of the 2008 presidential election, which shattered political barriers; illuminated undercurrents of race, gender, and class; and ignited an extraordinary battle among some of the most formidable political rivals ever to seek the presidency.
Synopsis
The bestselling, truly gripping account of 2008's landmark election, updated through 2009 The election of 2008 shattered political barriers and ignited an extraordinary battle among some of the most formidable political rivals ever to seek the presidency. Now, Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson, two of America's most respected journalists, offer the first complete picture of the strategies-and singular personalities- that accompanied the candidates' first forays into Iowa and New Hampshire through Obama's historic victory on Election Night. Filled with insider details, this riveting, wholly nonpartisan account of the historic election will capture the attention of everyone who witnessed it, as well as future generations who wished they had. A Washington Post and L.A. Times Best Book of the Year.
Synopsis
From the bestselling author of The Battle for America 2008 and longtime Washington Post correspondent, an inside view and analysis of the Obama-Romney presidential race Four years ago, a bright young presidential candidate named Barack Obama campaigned on a theme of hope and change, and made history. Today, he finds himself in another bitter, divisive presidential race but without the buzzwords. Instead, an embattled president struggles with a dysfunctionally divided Congress, the controversial healthcare bill, a decade-long war, and a stagnant economy.
Obama’s Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, former corporate tycoon and former governor of Massachusetts, faces his own controversies in the form of vague policies, fluctuating positions, and questions about his business practices in the private sector. Romney’s personal fortune and business background seemed at odds with the Republican base until he named Wisconsin congressman, Tea Party darling and fiscal conservative Paul Ryan as his running mate.
Using sources deep inside both campaigns and on the campaign trail through primary and battleground states, Washington Post correspondent Dan Balz writes with a keen political mind and a seasoned reporter’s ear. He traces the highs and lows of the Obama presidency as well as the ruthless Republican primary as both laid the groundwork for one of the most crucial, contentious elections of our time. Collision 2012 puts the race for the White House in context and explores just what the election means for the future of the democratic process and America.
Synopsis
From the bestselling author of The Battle for America 2008 and longtime Washington Post correspondent, an inside view and analysis of the Obama-Romney presidential race Four years ago, a bright young presidential candidate named Barack Obama campaigned on a theme of hope and change, and made history. Today, he finds himself in another bitter, divisive presidential race but without the buzzwords. Instead, an embattled president struggles with a dysfunctionally divided Congress, the controversial healthcare bill, a decade-long war, and a stagnant economy.
Obama’s Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, former corporate tycoon and former governor of Massachusetts, faces his own controversies in the form of vague policies, fluctuating positions, and questions about his business practices in the private sector. Romney’s personal fortune and business background seemed at odds with the Republican base until he named Wisconsin congressman, Tea Party darling and fiscal conservative Paul Ryan as his running mate.
Using sources deep inside both campaigns and on the campaign trail through primary and battleground states, Washington Post correspondent Dan Balz writes with a keen political mind and a seasoned reporter’s ear. He traces the highs and lows of the Obama presidency as well as the ruthless Republican primary as both laid the groundwork for one of the most crucial, contentious elections of our time. Collision 2012 puts the race for the White House in context and explores just what the election means for the future of the democratic process and America.
About the Author
Dan Balz is the chief correspondent at The Washington Post and its former national editor, political editor, White House correspondent, and Southwest correspondent. He is the coauthor of two books, the New York Times bestseller The Battle for America 2008 and Storming the Gates. He is a regular panelist on PBS's Washington Week and MSNBC's The Daily Rundown.
Table of Contents
The Battle for America 2008 To the Reader
Takeoff
Book One: They're Off
1. Obama
2. Johnnie Boy
3. Hillary
Book Two: The People
4. "Very Scary Times"
Book Three: The Democrats
5. Hillary for President
6. The Unraveling
7. Iowa: Round One
8. Iowa: Round Two
9. Five Days in New Hampshire
10. Disintegration
11. An Uncivil War
12. Clash of Dynasties
13. King Caucus
14. The Fighter
15. Politics in Black and White
16. Over the Top
Book Four: The Republicans
17. Looking for Reagan
18. Prisoner of War
19. The Implosion
20. No Surrender
21. Can Anybody Play This Game?
22. Phoenix Rising
Book Five: The Election
23. America: Decision Time
24. Citizen of the World
25. Mile High in Denver
26. Palinmania
27. Collapse
28. Endgame
29. President-elect
30. Interlude
Epilogue: The Inauguration
Acknowledgments
Notes and Sources
Index