Synopses & Reviews
See how and why Washington is not functioning.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Bob Woodwardand#8217;s freshly reported, thirty-five-page Afterword to his national bestseller, andlt;Iandgt;The Price of Politicsandlt;/Iandgt;, provides a detailed, often verbatim account of what happened in the dramatic and#8220;fiscal cliffand#8221; face-off at the end of 2012 between President Obama and the Republicans.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Now itand#8217;s happening again. In fall 2013, Washington faces a new round of budget and fiscal wars that could derail the American and global economies.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;We are primarily a blocking majority,and#8221; said Michael Sommers, Speaker John Boehnerand#8217;s chief of staff, summarizing the House Republican position.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;It was the land of no-compromise:andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;On health care cuts over ten years, Boehner suggested to Obama, you are $400 billion, Iand#8217;m at $600 billion. and#8220;Can we split the difference here? Can we land at $500 billion?and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;Four hundred billion is it,and#8221; Obama replied. and#8220;I just canand#8217;t see how we go any further on that.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;After making $120 billion in other concessions, Obama pleaded with Boehner, and#8220;What is it about the politics?and#8221;andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;My guys just arenand#8217;t there,and#8221; Boehner replied.andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;We are $150 billion off, man. I donand#8217;t get it. Thereand#8217;s something I donand#8217;t get.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;The Price of Politicsandlt;/Iandgt; chronicles the inside story of how President Obama and the U.S. Congress tried, and failed, to restore the American economy and set it on a course to fiscal stability. Woodward pierces the secretive world of Washington policymaking once again, with a close-up story crafted from meeting notes, documents, working papers, and interviews with key players, including President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner. Woodward lays bare the broken relationship between President Obama and the Congress.
Review
“A highly detailed dissection of the debt-limit negotiations. … A remarkable achievement. …Woodward, being Woodward, digs deeper and draws more out of the protagonists than anyone else has.” —Jeff Shesol, The Washington Post
Review
"Groundbreaking" —
David Gregory, NBC's Meet the Press
"Takes us inside the room once again." —Charlie Rose
"Fabulous book and great reporting." —Norah O'Donnell, CBS This Morning
Review
“Bob Woodward, in characteristic fashion, does his competitors one better by filling in blanks and providing even finer detail.” —Miranda Green, The Daily Beast
Review
"A book everyone is talking about." —
Diane Sawyer, ABC
"A very revealing, insightful book." —Sean Hannity, Fox News, "Hannity"
"Required Reading" —Elizabeth Titus, Politico
Review
“Almost every bookshelf in the U.S. capital holds a thin volume called 13 Days, Robert F. Kennedy’s account of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Memo to Washington: Make room on those shelves for Bob Woodward’s latest behind-the-scenes book, The Price of Politics, which might as well have been called 44 Days. The centerpiece is a riveting account of the tedious negotiations to reach a ‘grand bargain’ on the federal budget.” —David M. Shirbman, Bloomberg Businessweek
Synopsis
See how and why Washington is not functioning.
Bob Woodward's freshly reported, thirty-five-page Afterword to his national bestseller, The Price of Politics, provides a detailed, often verbatim account of what happened in the dramatic "fiscal cliff" face-off at the end of 2012 between President Obama and the Republicans.
Now it's happening again. In fall 2013, Washington faces a new round of budget and fiscal wars that could derail the American and global economies.
"We are primarily a blocking majority," said Michael Sommers, Speaker John Boehner's chief of staff, summarizing the House Republican position.
It was the land of no-compromise:
On health care cuts over ten years, Boehner suggested to Obama, you are $400 billion, I'm at $600 billion. "Can we split the difference here? Can we land at $500 billion?"
"Four hundred billion is it," Obama replied. "I just can't see how we go any further on that."
After making $120 billion in other concessions, Obama pleaded with Boehner, "What is it about the politics?"
"My guys just aren't there," Boehner replied.
"We are $150 billion off, man. I don't get it. There's something I don't get."
The Price of Politics chronicles the inside story of how President Obama and the U.S. Congress tried, and failed, to restore the American economy and set it on a course to fiscal stability. Woodward pierces the secretive world of Washington policymaking once again, with a close-up story crafted from meeting notes, documents, working papers, and interviews with key players, including President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner. Woodward lays bare the broken relationship between President Obama and the Congress.
Synopsis
andlt;Bandgt;In this bestselling book, the finest political journalist in the nationandlt;Iandgt; andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;andlt;Bandgt;chronicles the inside story of how President Obama and the US Congress tried, and failed, to restore the American economy and set it on a course to fiscal stability.andlt;/Bandgt;andlt;pandgt;Woodward pierces the secretive world of Washington policymaking once again, with a close-up story crafted from meeting notes, documents, working papers, and interviews with key players, including President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner. At the center of andlt;Iandgt;The Price of Politics andlt;/Iandgt;is a high-stakes personal and political struggle between the president and the speaker. andlt;Iandgt;The Price of Politics andlt;/Iandgt;takes the reader through the electric forty-four days during the summer of 2011 with day-by-day, often hour-by-hour, accounts as the two attempt a "grand bargain" to cut entitlement spending and increase tax revenue.andlt;BRandgt;
Spanning the first three and a half tumultuous years of Obama's presidency, The Price of Politics shows why the grand bargain was never reached, and how the president, the speaker, and the Congress settled for stopgap measures that delayed any serious deficit reduction until 2013.
With extensive documentation and firsthand accounts, Woodward reveals how the broken relationship between the White House and Capitol Hill drove the US economy to the edge of the fiscal cliff.
Synopsis
andlt;I andgt;The Price of Politicsandlt;/Iandgt; chronicles the inside story of how President Obama and the U.S. Congress tried, and failed, to restore the American economy and set it on a course to fiscal stability. Woodward pierces the secretive world of Washington policymaking once again, with a close-up story crafted from meeting notes, documents, working papers, and interviews with key players, including President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner. Woodward lays bare the broken relationship between President Obama and the Congress.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;In a new afterword, andlt;I andgt;What Is Really Happening in Washington's Economic Warsandlt;/Iandgt;, Woodward details the further negotiations after Obama's reelection, when he and Congress faced the fiscal cliff only to end in a perilous stalemate.
About the Author
Bob Woodward is an associate editor at andlt;iandgt;The Washington Postandlt;/iandgt;, where he has worked for forty-one years. He has shared in two Pulitzer Prizes, first for andlt;iandgt;The Washington Postandlt;/iandgt;and#8217;s coverage of the Watergate scandal, and later for coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He has authored or coauthored twelve #1 national nonfiction bestsellers. He has two daughters, Tali and Diana, and lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, writer Elsa Walsh.