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With
the presidential election in full swing, bookstores have transformed
into veritable Libraries of Congressmen, featuring titles
by and about politicians on the national stage. Add to that
the flood of books on issues like health care, national security,
the environment, and the role of government and, indeed, it
takes a village to sort through it.
What's
of particular note, though, is an irony often overlooked in
the midst of the mass media hubbub. The same election circus
that has perfected the ten-second soundbite also makes indispensable
use of an older, wordier technology: the book.
Books
by politicians are especially rampant this election year not
only because of increased interest by the public but because
of increased public relations activity by the politicians
themselves.
What
a candidate says in a soundbite exists in the here and now
and is then gone in a literal electronic flash (although soundbites
sometimes find extended life in YouTube clips and attack ads).
What candidates write in a book, on the other hand, is crafted
to last. Anyone critical of the soundbite culture need only
look as far as the local retail bookshelf or library to find
all the depth they could possibly want from politician after
politician.
Let's
set aside all the books written about—and against—the
various candidates by pundits and politicos. Set aside, too,
the books written by political insiders like Scott McClellan,
whose gee-whiz-I'm-sorry explanation, What Happened,
provides interesting if not especially substantial glimpses
in Washington political life. Instead, let's consider what
politicians themselves have to say in their books.
The main
movers and shakers on the nation's political stage have all
written books. The challenge, of course, is to differentiate
the honest, insightful memoir from the slickly sincere campaign
propaganda.
America has a long tradition of presidential scribes. Jefferson
and Lincoln, of course, stand out as two of the most enduring
writers in any American genre. Teddy Roosevelt made his living
as a writer, authoring some 35 books on history, biography,
and nature. His writings were among the most influential forces
shaping our modern stereotype of "the Old West."
 In
modern times, JFK won literary acclaim for his 1956 Profiles
in Courage, a book that's since become standard reading
for many high schoolers. Kennedy, still in the Senate when
he wrote Profiles, looked at eight of his predecessors
who embodied integrity in their actions. His book won him
the Pulitzer Prize.
But prior
to the 1980s, presidents and other political leaders tended
to avoid self-serving literary endeavors—at least until
they were out of office. Even Ulysses S. Grant, who could
have really used a self-serving book to rescue his legacy
if anyone could have, avoided the topic of his embattled presidency
entirely when he wrote his Memoirs, focusing instead
on his youth and his Civil War experiences. Wildly popular
in its day, Grant's Memoirs is still considered one
of the finest works of American nonfiction.
Richard
Nixon wrote extensively in an attempt to rescue his presidential
legacy—a process that began before he was even elected
when he published Six Crises in 1962. Following his
defeat in the 1960 election, Nixon wrote the book during his
so-called "Wilderness Years." He looked at six critical moments
in his political career and talked about the way they shaped
him. At the time, he had no intention ever to run for the
White House again, but when he did make a go of it in 1968,
Six Crises provided voters with insight about their
candidate.
Nixon's
post-presidential writings include two memoirs, the uncreatively
titled RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon, which is solidly
written if somewhat uninspiring, and the much more relaxed
and insightful In the Arena: A Memoir of Victory, Defeat,
and Renewal. Nixon also wrote extensively on public policy,
particularly foreign affairs, and it's no coincidence that
scholars today, even those who loathe Nixon's character flaws,
recognize Nixon's presidency chiefly for its important foreign
policy triumphs.
 Another
president whose post-presidency writings have done much to
bolster his image has been Jimmy Carter. Generally considered
mediocre at best as president, Carter now enjoys high approval
ratings. Much of that has to do with his humanitarian work
and his Nobel Prize, but some of it has to do, too, with his
prolific literary career, which has balanced public policy,
personal faith, and memoir (with some kids books thrown in
for good measure).
Carter
actually wrote the first real self-styled "campaign book disguised
as a memoir" in 1975. Why Not the Best served as the
autobiographical introduction of this obscure governor from
Georgia to America. He followed it up in 1977 with A Government
as Good as Its People. Carter has since gone on to write
21 other books on topics as diverse as peace in Palestine,
America's "endangered values," the virtues of aging, Bible
study, and his mother. Although he won the Nobel Prize for
Peace rather than for Literature, Carter has nonetheless racked
up an impressive resume as a versatile writer.
In 1987,
George H.W. Bush published Looking Forward—at
a time when he was looking forward to being elected president.
Honest and straightforward, the book was also a little like
eating the confetti left after a big political rally. Working
as a page at the '88 Republican convention in New Orleans,
I got a free paperback copy of Bush's book. They may, in fact,
have given away more free copies at that convention than they
sold to the general public.
In contrast,
Bush's wife, Barbara, conspired with the family's Springer
spaniel to write the wildly successful Millie's Book,
which recounted life in the White House as observed by the
family pet. "I overheard the Bushes talking the other night.
Some discussion about me keeping a lower profile," wrote Millie.
"The media were reporting that I was getting more publicity
than some members of the Cabinet. Considering some of my press,
maybe they should be grateful."
The same
might've been said comparing Millie's books sales to the president's.
Millie's Book remained on the New York Times
Bestseller List for 29 weeks, topping out at number one. It
eventually sold 400,000 copies, which made George's forward-looking
literary attempt look kind of sad. In fact, I suspect the
low sales figures are one of the most closely-guarded top-secret
secrets of that Bush's administration.
Regardless of anyone's personal feelings about Bill Clinton,
from a literary perspective, his presidency resulted in several
influential political works. The most notable was probably
his wife Hillary's It Takes a Village, published in
1996.
"The
African proverb 'It takes a village to raise a child' summed
up for me the commonsense conclusion that, like it or not,
we are living in an interdependent world where what our children
hear, see, feel, and learn will affect how they grow up and
who they turn out to be," wrote Hillary Clinton in the introduction
to the tenth anniversary edition, released just prior to the
launch of her own presidential campaign. "At the core of this
book is my own experience as a mother and my conviction that
parents are the most important influences on the lives of
their children. But decades of work on behalf of children
have taught me that no family exists in a vacuum, many parents
need support to become the best parents they can be, and sadly,
not every child has a parent as a champion."
 The
book's title turned into a cultural catchphrase, a phenomenon
Hillary herself joked about in the anniversary edition. "This
small book with the bright, whimsical jacket provided endless
opportunities for headline writers," she wrote. "[M]y all-time
favorite: 'It Takes a Village to Raise a Pig.'"
Bill
Clinton waited until 2005 before writing his political magna
opus, My Life (as Bill's fans and critics alike will
admit, it's always all about him, so why shouldn't the title
be, too). "And he can write," said author Larry McMurty, reviewing
the book for the NY Times. Bill's autobiography won praise
for being witty, engaging, and well-written. "In the end,"
admitted Booklist, in a favorable review, "Clinton's
life story probably will function like a supersized Rorschach
test. Most readers will find just what they're looking for."
Bill
Clinton's 2007 endeavor, Giving: How Each of Us Can Change
the World, proved to be a far-less enchanting read. The
Washington Post called it "an extended public service
announcement masquerading as a book." Many political observers
questioned the timing of the book's publication, coming out
as it did while Hillary was starting her run at the White
House. Defenders said it was Bill's attempt to keep the Clinton
name in the news and focus on issues important to his wife;
cynics reiterated the truism, "It's always all about Bill."
Al Gore,
another Clintonite, has had a pair of successful book outings.
Gore carefully positioned himself above the fray with 2006's
An Inconvenient Truth, his environmental wake-up call
that earned him mad props around the world, including the
Nobel Peace Prize. While he didn't avoid pulling punches in
his criticism of George W. Bush's administration, he came
across as statesman-like in his comments. However, when he
published The Assault on Reason in 2007, Gore could
hardly prevent the venom from spilling out of his inkwell.
The book is an excellent primer on the responsibilities of
citizenship, but his outstanding political theory gets marred
by his partisan swipes, preventing the book from being a true
enduring classic. (It was still one of the best books I read
last year.)
One final
literary footnote to the Clinton years: Republicans reacted
strongly against Clinton's administration, propelling Newt
Gingrich to the post of Speaker of the House on the strength
of his Contract with America. Gingrich followed it
up with books that implied an odd mix of disillusionment and
Republicans-have-it-right hope: Restoring the Dream
(1995), To Renew America (1996), and Lessons Learned
the Hard Way (1998). Gingrich learned some hard lessons
of his own that very same year when he had to step down as
Speaker and leave the House. While he continues to write public
policy books, his best writing has been with co-author William
Forstchen on several "alternative history" novels—unsurprising,
perhaps, since his own attempt to rewrite history didn't work
out so well.
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