Sneaking Into the Flying Circus How the Media Turn Our Presidential Campaigns into Freak Shows

by Pelosi, Alexandra

• ISBN13: 9780743263047
• ISBN10: 0743263049
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-05-09
• Publisher: Free Press

Summary

Alexandra Pelosi, creator of the Emmy award-winning filmJourneys with Georgeand ofDiary of a Political Tourist, makes her literary debut with an intimate look at the frenzied and grueling underbelly of presidential campaigning and the puppet role of the media. Pelosi went along on the campaign trail in order to, as she puts it, "document the absurd hazing rituals that our presidential candidates have to go through." With this savvy, well-connected, and fearless guide, it's a rollicking, breakneck journey unlike any other.Pelosi's one-on-one time with the 2004 presidential candidates affords an up-close perspective on the highs and lows of campaign life: the genuine thrill of seeing America, the unrelenting grind of endless campaign stops, the hope and heartache of poll results. While the candidates try to stick to tightly constructed scripts, Pelosi's nonnetwork angle makes for revealing portraits of the men who wanted to be president.But even more, Pelosi's approach reveals fundamental flaws in the media's election coverage. A former member of the campaign press corps, she turns her gimlet eye on the media, which are busy enacting their own election-time rituals: "Every election cycle journalists defy the theory of evolution, living sequestered on a bus, with no sleep, few showers, and tons of junk food, going town-to-town listening to the same speech over and over. You're stuck in this dysfunctional relationship between the news organization that has you there to do their bidding and the campaign that is trying to co-opt you."And herein lies Pelosi's driving point: politicians and journalists don't trust each other, and so, in election coverage and in politics in general, the press is utterly hamstrung. Since the candidates never say anything unscripted and the journalists have to make nice in order to maintain access, modern presidential campaigns have become little more than media events. Politicians and journalists alike are going through the motions, and the voters have no idea who the candidates really are.But Pelosi says the public are not fools: "Everyone knows that the media do not give them an accurate portrait of a person." No wonder people are apathetic. But whose fault is it? Are the candidates driving people away from the political process, or are the media keeping them out?Probing, insightful, and lively,Sneaking into the Flying Circusexposes the election process for what it is: a three-ring gala production that comes to town every four years. As a nation and an audience, we're often willing to suspend disbelief -- and we often can't resist when the clowns try to get us in on the act. It is, after all, the greatest show on earth.

Author Biography

Alexandra Pelosi  began covering politics in Washington, DC for Conus Communications, a television news feed service, in 1993. In 1995, she moved to New York to work for Dateline NBC. In the summer of 1999, NBC News assigned Pelosi to move to Austin, Texas to cover the presidential campaign of George W. Bush. She brought her camcorder along, and made a movie, "Journeys With George," which aired on HBO on Election Night 2002 and received six Emmy nominations. In 2004, HBO ran her second documentary feature-length film, "Diary of a Political Tourist," on the Democratic primary race. Pelosi is the daughter of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader.

Table of Contents

Introduction	ix
ACT I
Party Train at the White House	3	(3)
Hello, New Hampshire	6	(3)
The Early Favorite	9	(2)
Meeting Dr. Dean	11	(4)
The Man of the House	15	(3)
Anonymous at Midway with the Great Unwashed	18	(3)
Meeting Up with the Deansters	21	(4)
Networking and Not Working	25	(2)
How to Use Your Family	27	(4)
Finding Joey	31	(3)
Your First Photo Op	34	(5)
President of What?	39	(3)
My Summer Vacation with the Grahams	42	(3)
Flying High on the Grassroots Express	45	(8)
Alert the Media	53	(3)
My New Last Name Best Friend	56	(3)
"Rock on, Senator"	59	(4)
Wes Clark or Puff Daddy: Who Would You Rather Party With?	63	(4)
It's 12:06. Do You Know Where Your General Is?	67	(3)
"What Are You Going to Do About the Chicken?"	70	(3)
Who Will Ruin the Party?	73	(4)
Meeting McGovern	77	(6)
I See Dean People	83	(4)
Selling Out	87	(3)
Everyone Says John Kerry Is Done	90	(7)
ACT II
The Invasion	97	(8)
Not Ready for Prime Time	105	(5)
Handling Howard	110	(4)
John Edwards Is Hottt! But Boring	114	(4)
Gephardtpalooza	118	(3)
Everyone Says Kerry Is Surging	121	(1)
The Deanies Versus the New York Times	122	(5)
Dean Versus the Media	127	(6)
Heroes or Zeros	133	(1)
Dick's Last Day	134	(2)
The Scream	136	(7)
Look Who's Back!	143	(5)
Death by Nuance	148	(5)
Dean's Demise	153	(4)
Feel That Joementum!	157	(4)
The General Dies Off	161	(3)
Interpreting Howard Dean	164	(6)
Everyone Loves Kerry	170	(5)
Howard's End	175	(5)
Seven Women Discover the Meaning of the Word "Propaganda"	180	(6)
John Versus John	186	(8)
Who Has the Power?	194	(4)
Super Sucky Tuesday	198	(9)
ACT III
The War of the Photo Ops	207	(4)
Back Inside the Bubble	211	(13)
Hunting with the Pack	224	(8)
Why Can't Aunt Zon Come to the Party?	232	(5)
Stakeout	237	(6)
Media Culpa Redux	243	(3)
Catching Up with George	246	(3)
Good Guys and Bad Guys	249	(4)
The Number Two	253	(4)
The Summer of Hate	257	(7)
Why Does Everyone Love Celebrities and Hate the Media?	264	(7)
Election Night!	271	(3)
George Is in the House	274	(7)
Acknowledgments	281	(2)
Index	283