One-Car Caravan : On the Road with the 2004 Democrats Before America Tunes In

by Shapiro, Walter

• ISBN13: 9781586481872
• ISBN10: 1586481878
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-11-01
• Publisher: Perseus Books Group

Summary

Walter Shapiro, the political columnist for USA Today and a seasoned presidential campaign reporter, decided that for the 2004 Democratic race, the most dramatically unpredictable nomination fight in three decades, he would get to the candidates early, when their campaign stops were small gatherings in New Hampshire living rooms and Iowa union halls, their staffs a beleaguered aide or two, their ideas not yet confided in sound bites. He hoped to capture the drama and the behind-the scenes stories of the opening days of a presidential race, the uncharted "Invisible Primary," when the candidates are open and accessible, and politics is still truly fun.
One-Car Caravan is the deliciously entertaining result. It is a revealing account of the humble roots of the current presidential campaign, full of incisive portraits of Howard Dean, John Edwards, Dick Gephardt, John Kerry, Joe Lieberman, and the others as they make the decision to run for president, and struggle to define themselves, raise money, and plot a course to the White House, well before most people are paying any attention.

Author Biography

Walter Shapiro is the political columnist for USA Today. In his thirty-year career covering politics, he has been a reporter for Esquire, Time, Newsweek, The Washington Post, and The Washington Monthly, and is also a stand-up comic who performs regularly in New York. He and his wife, the journalist Meryl Gordon, live in New York City

Table of Contents

Author's Note	p. ix
Rubes on the Road	p. 1
Testing the Waters	p. 15
I Nominate Me	p. 37
The Money Primary	p. 58
The Staff of Life	p. 81
Iowa and New Hampshire	p. 100
The Candidates in Wartime	p. 121
The Reverend Al	p. 142
In Which the Candidates Define Themselves	p. 152
In Which the Candidates Remain Themselves (Despite All Efforts to Package Them into Something Else)	p. 175
Visions of the White House	p. 195
Acknowledgments	p. 217
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