The Campaign

by Mandery, Evan J.

• ISBN13: 9780813366982
• ISBN10: 0813366984
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-10-01
• Publisher: Westview Pr

Summary

The Campaignis a close-up look at the paranoid, frenzied, oppressive, and exhilarating world of modern political campaignsa universe where truth is fungible and moral conviction a mere asset, like good looks or personal wealth. Corporeal restraints do not exist. People regularly become things they are not.Evan Mandery, research director on Ruth Messinger's doomed challenge to Mayor Rudy Giuliani, offers a behind-the-scenes look at political campaigns in the television era. A day-to-day account of the 1997 New York City mayoral race, it takes us to the real battlegrounds of modern politics: polls, focus groups and television editing studios. With Mandery as our guide, we watch first-hand as political consultants, conceive of the ideal candidate and then attempt to fit their client into that ideal, no matter how uncomfortably.The stars of the story are memorable: Rudy Giuliani, popping his eyes and tweaking the truth; Al Sharpton, the colorful preacher and rising political force; and Ruth Messinger herself, torn between her populist political upbringing and the modern political world where money dominates over all other concerns. Sometimes cynical, often mirthful, and always honest,The Campaignwill forever change your view of political campaigns.

Author Biography

Evan Mandery attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He was research director on Ruth Messinger’s 1997 Mayoral campaign. He currently lives in Manhattan, where he is an attorney.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Jams, Jellies, and Other Tools of the Trade	1	(104)
Polled in Every Direction	105	(170)
Into the Breach	275	(100)
Afterword	367	(8)
Notes	375	(14)
Acknowledgments	389	(2)
Author's Note	391	(2)
Index	393