Synopses & Reviews
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.
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
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.
About the Author
Dan Balz is the lead political reporter for
The Washington Post and a regular commentator on
Face the Nation and
Meet the Press. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland.
Hayes Johnson, a Pulitzer Prize winner and author of fourteen books, holds the Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of Maryland and lives in Washington, D.C. Both are regular guests on Washington Week on PBS, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and the Today show.